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Line 1: {{About\|the "Deutsche Post of the GDR"\|other agencies called "Deutsche Post"\|Deutsche Post (disambiguation)}} ~~:''~~{{Hatnote\|References to "Mi" plus a number (e.g., Mi #242) refer to the catalog number of a particular stamp in the [[Michel catalog]] of German postage stamps.''}} {{Infobox government agency [[Image:Flag of German post (East Germany).svg\|thumb\|Official flag of the DP of the GDR (1955-73)]]▼ \| agency_name = Deutsche Post of the GDR \| nativename = Deutsche Post der DDR The '''Deutsche Post''' (''DP''), also '''Deutsche Post of the GDR''' (''[[German language\|German]]: Deutsche Post der DDR'') was the state-owned postal and telecommunications monopoly of the German Democratic Republic (GDR - [[East Germany]]). The DP was placed under the control of the '''Ministry for Postal and Telecommunication Services of the GDR''' ''(Ministerium für Post- und Fernmeldewesen der DDR'' -(MPF)) - a member of the '''Council of Ministers of the GDR''' ''([[Ministerrat]] der DDR)'' - and was in operation from 1949 until the [[reunification of Germany]] on 3 October 1990.▼ \| nativename_a = \| nativename_r = \| type = Agency \| seal = \| seal_width = \| seal_caption = \| logo = File:Flag of East Germany Post (1975-1990).svg \| logo_width = \| logo_caption = Flag used from 1975 until 1990 \| picture = \| picture_width = \| picture_caption = \| formed = 1949 \| dissolved = 1990 \| jurisdiction = \| headquarters = [[East Berlin]] \| employees = \| budget = \| chief1_name = \| chief1_position = \| chief2_name = \| chief2_position = \| parent_department = \| parent_agency = \| footnotes = \| agency_type = }} ▲The '''Deutsche Post''' (''DP''), also '''Deutsche Post of the GDR''' (''[[German language\|German]]: Deutsche Post der DDR'') was the state-owned [[mail\|postal]] and ~~telecommunications~~[[telecommunication]]s [[monopoly]] of the German Democratic Republic (GDR - [[East Germany]]). The DP was placed under the control of the '''Ministry for Postal and Telecommunication Services of the GDR''' ''(Ministerium für Post- und Fernmeldewesen der DDR'' -(MPF)) - a member of the '''[[Council of Ministers of the GDR]]''' ''([[Ministerrat]] der DDR)'' - and was in operation from 1949 until the [[reunification of Germany]] on 3 October 1990. ==Historical background== [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-13411-0001, Neue IfA-Postlastkraftwagen.jpg\|thumb\|New post office vans in 1952]] With the end of the [[Second World War II]] in [[Europe]] in May 1945, the [[Allied Control Council]] succeeded the former [[Nazi]] regime in Germany; as part of this action, the ''[[Reichspost\|Deutsche Reichspost]]'' (the postal service of the [[German Reich]]) was absorbed by the occupation authorities. Germany was divided into [[Allied Occupation Zones in Germany\|four occupation zones]], and [[Berlin]] into four sectors; the territories east of the [[Oder-Neisse]] rivers were placed under [[Poland\|Polish]] and [[Soviet Union\|Soviet]] authority. One of the first tasks of restoring civil government in Germany involved the restoration of postal and telecommunications services. The '''German Central Administration for Communication Services''' ''(Deutsche Zentralverwaltung für das Nachrichtenwesen)'' began its work in the [[Soviet occupation zone]] under the jurisdiction of the [[Soviet Military Administration in Germany]] on 27 July 1945. The post office in the Soviet zone fell under its authority. Initially, the individual states ''(Länder)'' in the Soviet zone issued their own stamps, but by 1946, stamps bearing the inscription ''Deutsche Post'', valid in all four occupation zones, were being issued.<ref>Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 799</ref> When ~~the~~ negotiations ~~about~~related ato general German currency ~~reform~~reforms broke down, the [[Western Bloc\|Western Allies]] proceeded with the currency reform in [[West Germany]], and on 21 June 1948 the [[Deutsche Mark]] was introduced.<ref name=Sovzone>Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 893</ref> In response, the Soviet Union announced its reform of the East German currency on 24 June 1948; the [[East German Mark]] became the currency for the Soviet zone, and its stamps were marked with overprints.<ref name=Sovzone/> This established the economic separation of the two German states. In July 1948, the stamps of the previously common issue were overprinted with the words "Soviet Occupation Zone" and subsequently the Soviet zone issued different stamps ~~than~~from the western zones, all, however, under the "Deutsche Post" label.<ref>Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 911ff</ref> The [[Federal Republic of Germany]] (FRG) was founded on 23 May 1949; the formation of the [[German Democratic Republic]] followed on 7 October 1949.<ref>Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 929 and p.1549</ref> In the FRG the "Deutsche Post" was renamed ''[[Deutsche Bundespost]]'' (German Federal Post) in 1950, while the GDR retained the term "Deutsche Post". Due to [[Berlin]]'s occupation status, the [[West Berlin]] postal service was technically independent of the West German ''Bundespost''; it was known as the ''[[Deutsche Bundespost Berlin]]''. However, no such requirements were applied to the DP operating in [[East Berlin]]. ▲[[Image:Flag of German post (East Germany).svg\|thumb\|Official flag of the DP of the GDR (1955-73)]] ==Functions== ===Overview=== Similar to many other European postal administrations until the 1990s, the DP provided the following services throughout the GDR: Line 22 ⟶ 53: # [[Telephone]] services # [[Telegram]]s # Postal banking services (including [[Giro (banking)\|giro]] and savings accounts) As in other European countries, although banking services were also available through other institutions, the DP enjoyed a monopoly on the provision of postal and telecommunications services inside the GDR (including East Berlin). Line 31 ⟶ 62: The first stamp was issued on 9 October 1949, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the [[Universal Postal Union]] (UPU) (Mi #242). Regular air mail service started in 1950, beginning with the [[Soviet Union]], then with other countries. With the creation of two German states, mail between the two was handled according to the regulations of the UPU. According to the [[Scott catalog]], during the next 41 years the DP issued more stamps than any other postal authority in Germany - 2,802 different stamps including many [[commemorative stamp\|commemorative]]s, plus 191 [[semi-postal]] designs, and 16 [[air mail]] stamps. Topics of commemoratives include common [[topical]]s (i.e.g. nature, sports, arts), science and technical issues, and [[communism\|communist-related]] themes. Additional stamps of the DP consisted of official stamps (44 types). Following the economic and currency union of the two German states on 1 July 1990, stamps were denominated in [[Deutsche Mark]]. The last DP stamp issue, on 2 October 1990, was a [[Heinrich Schliemann]] commemorative (Mi #3364/5). ===Stamps for hard currency=== Stamps were to some degree produced for sale to gain [[hard currency]] abroad, and while valid these stamps were not issued for circulation to the general public but sold directly to stamp dealers abroad and to registered philatelists. The DP invented the practice of producing a specific stamp in a set at an intentionally low number- {{snd}}called a ''Sperrwert'' (limited issue stamp) - {{snd}}to artificially increase the value of the stamp and the set.<ref>[http://www.brandeins-wissen.de/Downloads/McK/mck11_10.pdf "Weniger ist mehr" (German)] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020011338/http://www.brandeins-wissen.de/Downloads/McK/mck11_10.pdf \|date=2007-10-20 }} Explains the policy of limiting production of one specific stamp of a set to artificially increase its value, accessed 03-29-2008</ref> The first ''Sperrwert'' was the Mi #464. An example of a ''Sperrwert'' is the 25 Pfennig stamp of the 1981 postal set Mi #2587. The other stamps in the set were printed in quantities ranging from 4.5 million to 16 million, but only 2 million of the 25 Pfennig stamp were printed.<ref>Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 1,168</ref>▼ ~~[[Image:Stamps of Germany (DDR) 1981, MiNr 2587.jpg\|thumb\|A stamp with limited release from the 1981 [[East Germany\|GDR]] postal set, Mi #2587]]~~ ▲Stamps were to some degree produced for sale to gain [[hard currency]] abroad, and while valid these stamps were not issued for circulation to the general public but sold directly to stamp dealers abroad and to registered philatelists. The DP invented the practice of producing a specific stamp in a set at an intentionally low number- called a ''Sperrwert'' (limited issue stamp) - to artificially increase the value of the stamp and the set.<ref>[http://www.brandeins-wissen.de/Downloads/McK/mck11_10.pdf "Weniger ist mehr" (German)] Explains the policy of limiting production of one specific stamp of a set to artificially increase its value, accessed 03-29-2008</ref> The first ''Sperrwert'' was the Mi #464. An example of a ''Sperrwert'' is the 25 Pfennig stamp of the 1981 postal set Mi #2587. The other stamps in the set were printed in quantities ranging from 4.5 million to 16 million, but only 2 million of the 25 Pfennig stamp were printed.<ref>Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 1,168</ref> ===Distribution of periodicals and collection of radio and television fees=== Line 47 ⟶ 77: ==Organization== [[Image:DDR, Dienstmarke, 12 Pfennig, Zirkel rechts.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|\|An [[official mail]] stamp displaying hammer and compass, the official [[Coat of arms of the German Democratic Republic\|coat of arms]], (1954), Mi #20]] The agency was divided into directorates ''(Direktionen)'', which in turn were subdivided into offices ''(Ämter)''. Further, the DP operated the production facilities for construction of [[telecommunication]]s, technical services for radio and television, as well as related institutes for research, education, and learning. The DP had its own flag -– the German national flag, with the [[post horn]] in the centre. The colour for postal services was the traditional yellow, while telecommunications was grey, and radio and television technical services was dark blue. The postal uniforms were modified several times, and generally worn only in the postal service, while in the other services uniforms were usually displayed only for special events. The following ranks were applied:<ref>[{{Cite web \|url=http://www.guidetoddr.org/post.html \|title=Ranks and insignia] \|access-date=2008-03-30 \|archive-date=2019-10-25 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025062545/http://www.guidetoddr.org/post.html \|url-status=dead }}</ref> * Assistants (''Unterassistent, Assistent, Oberassistent, Hauptassistent'': 1 ~~stipe~~stripe, 1 to 4 stars) * Secretaries (''Untersekretär, Sekretär, Obersekretär, Hauptsekretär'': 2 stripes, 1 to 4 stars) * Inspectors (''Inspektor, Oberinspektor, [[Amtmann]]'': 3 stripes, 1 to 3 stars) * Counsellors (''Rat, Oberrat, Hauptrat'': 1 broad stripe, 1 to 3 stars with oak leaves) * Directors (''Direktor, Oberdirektor, Hauptdirektor'': 2 broad stripes, 1 to 3 stars with oak leaves) The DP's civil servants were trained at the directorate schools - at the Engineering School [[Rosa Luxemburg]] in [[Leipzig]], and at the College for Traffic Technology ''(Hochschule für Verkehrswesen)'' in [[Dresden]] (depicted on Mi #2587 above). {{-Clear}} ==See also== {{Commons category\|Deutsche Post of the German Democratic Republic\|Deutsche Post of the GDR}} ~~{{Commons category\|Stamps of the German Democratic Republic\|GDR-Stamps}}~~ * [[Postage stamps and postal history of Germany]] * ~~[[:de:Sperrwert~~''{{ill\|Sperrwert ~~- German wiki]]~~\|de}}'' * [[Michel catalog]] * [[Scott catalog]] ==References and sources== * The basis of this article is a shortened translation of the corresponding [[:de:Deutsche Post der DDR#Literatur\|German Wikipedia article (with literature references)]] from 30 March 2008. {{~~reflist~~Reflist}} ;Sources {{Refbegin}} * {{cite book \|~~first~~last=Michel catalog \|~~last~~author-link=[[Michel catalog]] \|year=1997 \|title=Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997 \|publisher=Schwaneberger Verlag GmbH \|location=Munich}} {{cite book \|~~first~~last=Scott catalog \|~~last~~author-link=[[Scott catalog]] \|year=2006 \|title=Scott 2006 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Volume3 \|publisher=Scott Publishing Co. \|location=Sidney, Ohio}} {{Refend}} == Further reading == Fischer, P.Peter, Skupin P., Gudenschwager W., ''DDR-Universalkatalog''. Berlin: [[Transpress VEB Verlag]], 1986. * Hille, Horst. ''DDR-Briefmarken''. Berlin: Transpress VEB Verlag, 1970 186p. ==External links== *[http://colnect.com/en/stamps/series/country/2979 Stamps Catalog of the German Democratic Republic] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Deutsche Post Of The Gdr}} [[Category:Government organisations in East Germany]] [[Category:Postal ~~organisations~~organizations]] [[Category:Philately of Germany]] [[Category:Postal system of Germany]] [[Category:Postal history of Germany\|GermanDemocraticrepublic]]