Historical Context
It’s difficult to fully appreciate the importance of the postal service to people in Germany in the 1940s. In a time before widespread adoption of the private fixed-line telephone, the Reichspost’s postal services were the primary means for corresponding with friends, relatives, customers and suppliers, locally, nationally and abroad. At its peak, as many as 600,000 people were employed by the Reichspost. Collections and deliveries were frequent. Mail moved quickly. Postage was inexpensive.
War of course interrupted all of this. Mail services held up well until 1944, but eventually, they broke down completely as the bombing of cities, roads and railways reached its destructive peak and multi-pronged allied advances into Germany cut through supply lines and operational routes.
When hostilities ended, most forms of communication, in particular, civilian postal services, were prohibited. A forced silence descended, just as people yearned to find out what had happened to those they knew and loved but were now separated from.
From around June 1945, basic, strictly controlled and censored postal services were gradually reintroduced. People could once again begin to communicate. Now, a simple postcard could provide a sign of life or convey a message of hope for a better future. The survivors – prisoners of war, civilian internees, former concentration camp inmates, refugees, evacuees, freed forced-labourers and other displaced peoples – turned to the postal service to find, stay in touch and reunite with each other.
The postcards and letters from these times are valuable historical documents. They were a vital thread, running through the lives of the people who depended upon them.
Postal History
A traditional postal history collection documents the postal services which were available, how they were provided and how well they functioned in practice. To do this, postal history collectors typically focus on items of mail which illustrate important aspects of philatelic topics, such as franking, postage rates, mail routes and postal markings. Scarcity is often a key driver of acquisition.
Social Philately
Today, many postal history collectors also look at the items in their collection through a different lens; they try learn about the people who used the postal service, study the messages they sent and the topics they discussed, and reflect on the historical context of these activities.
What Next?
I hope you find the subject matter of this website interesting and that you continue to enjoy your visits as I go through the process of sharing my collection. As I do so, I will also share the knowledge I have acquired: please do tell me about any mistakes, misunderstandings and errors that you find.