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6.) Resumption of mail services between the zones

A further barrier to domestic mail services in Germany fell on 24 October 1945. On this day services between the zones was authorised in almost all regions of the country.7

Interzone letter from Dortmund (British Zone) to Dresden (Soviet Zone) dated the first day of service

This card is described as "Reisepost" (roving mail). It was written in Tuttlingen (American Zone) on 11 September 1945, taken to Duisburg (British Zone), then postmarked and mailed there.

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7.) Resumption of international mail services

The “gate to the world” opened up - at least as far as mail services were concerned - on 1 April 1946 when clearance was given for standard letters and postcards of a private nature to be sent to destinations abroad.

International letter dated 1 April 1946 from Hanover to the Netherlands, censored by the British Military.

International mail was censored rigorously and, in the case of any violations of the rules, returned to sender.

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8.) Mail to and from Prisoners of War (POWs)

In mid 1945 contact between POWs and their loved ones was permitted. POW mail was usually exempt from charges; only in the British Zone were postal charges mandatory. Standard postcards and letters were allowed - initially there was a limit to the number of words that could be written. This was later abolished.

Postcard from Greven in Westfalia to a prison camp in Egypt (dated 7 Feb 1946)

Letter from Hanover to a prisoner in an American camp (dated 18 Feb 1946)

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POW mail was similarly affected by the increase in charges on 1 March 1946, which were also doubled. Postcards then cost 30Rpf, letters 50Rpf.

Postcard dated 5 March 1946 to a prisoner in a French camp. Only pre-printed postcards were allowed to be sent to French and Russian camps.

POW Letter from Hanover dated 7 March 1946 to a prisoner in Great Britain.

Postal charges for mail to and from POWs was also abolished in the British Zone on 12 March 1946 and were thus levied for only 11 days.

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9.) Use of AM POST stamps outside the British and American Zones. 9.1) Customs union with Kleinwalsertal Kleinwalsertal had participated in a customs union with Germany since the nineteenth century. This made sense as it was, and still is, only accessible from Germany. Thus a duty free trade and exchange of goods with Germany was possible. On 1 May 1945, Allied troops (2nd Moroccan Infantry Division) crossed the border into Kleinwalsertal and occupied it. For the purpose of mail services, Kleinwalsertal was assigned to the RPD Augsburg and, as a result, was supplied with AM POST stamps. Following the dissolution of the German Reich by the Allies, Austria was once again an independent country. Kleinwalsertal was Austrian territory and so, from 20 September

1945, mail services to and from Austria became impossible.6

Business letter from Hirschegg to Swabia bearing a 12 Pf AM POST stamp of the American print,

in line with German charges for long-distance letters. Although the situation was pointed out to the mangement of the German Post on several occasions, a number of pieces of mail which had been transported without objection from Kleinwalsertal to Germany are still in existence. From 1 April 1946 mail services to Kleinwalsertal once again became officially possible, however at the then rate for International post from

Germany of 75Rpf for letters.6

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9.2) Use of AM POST in Soviet Zone For a limited time, the use of AM POST stamps was also possible in two regions of the Russian Zone, though for different reasons. 9.2.1) Redrawing of boundaries between the British and Soviet Zones

After the war the boundaries of the Allied occupied areas was not necessarily identical to the boundaries between postal areas. As a result, some post offices were supplied with AM POST stamps as they were in the British zone when the stamps were delivered but - as a result of the redrawing of boundaries in July 1945 - became part of the Soviet zone. This mainly affected post offices of the RPD Brunswick.

Postcard from Sülzhayn in the southern Harz (dated 7 September 1945) to Berlin. Sülzhayn was in the Soviet Zone - sending mail from the Soviet Zone to Berlin was possible.

One region in which the redrawing of boundaries took place was the southern Harz. Use of AM POST stamps which were still available was tolerated for a while. Due to disagreements between the postal authorities of the RPD Brunswick and the OPD Erfurt, the post offices in the southern Harz were not allocated to either of the two authorities. Mail services were maintained by the OPD Erfurt, as, following the redrawing of boundaries, there was no contact with the RPD Brunswick. It was not until December 1945 that these post offices came under the supervision of the OPD Erfurt, leading to the declaration on 18 December of that year that AM POST stamps were no

longer valid.6

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9.2.2) Temporary use of AM POST stamps by the OPD Dresden

AM POST stamps were not valid in either the French or Soviet Zones. Use of these stamps - if it was noticed - was not accepted. AM POST stamps were treated as invalid, rejected and a surcharge had to be paid. Some letters and postcards bearing AM POST stamps, however, slipped through the net. Only in the OPD Dresden and the affiliated OPDs of Chemnitz and Leipzig was the use of AM POST stamps tolerated for a limited period from 29 October 1945. The reason they were accepted was an unclear passage in a regulation which stated that all stamps issued in Germany after the end of the war were valid.

Long-distance letter dated 21 November 1945 from Oelsnitz in the Erzgebirge bearing 2 postmarked AM POST 6Pf stamps of the German print

On 23 November 1945 the OPD Dresden asked the Russian authorities responsible for mail in Berlin if this practice was correct. The reply was negative; the use of AM POST stamps in the OPD Dresden was not permissible. The OPD Dresden informed its post offices accordingly on

11 December and this intermezzo came to an end.6

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10.) Use of AM POST in Berlin On 17 August 1945 the postal authorities in Berlin decreed that by order of the Allied Military Command AM POST stamps to the value of 6, 8 and 12 Pf should be sold and used. The Russians protested against this order, whereupon sales ceased on 17 September 1945.

A directive issued by the municipal authorities of Berlin on 8 December 1945 pointed out that AM POST stamps

could still be used. From then on, AM POST stamps were valid in Berlin.6

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11.) Company and POL (Police) Perfins Perfins were added to stamps to prevent the private use of stamps intended for use by businesses.The main intent of these perforations, therefore, was to facilitate identification and safeguard ownership. The stamps were to be placed in the perforator face up in order to ensure that the same image was always visible. Errors and carelessness meant that mirror images and inverted images were sometimes produced as a result of stamps being placed on top of one another or folded over.

Letter from a police station in Essen with a 12Pf stamp from the German print and made identifiable by a perfin. During the AM POST period, POL perfins were only used by the police

headquarters in Essen.

Company perfin of the firm Günther Wagner from Hanover. A block of 4 30Pf stamps, German print, with the perfin perforation somewhat off-centre.

Pair of 5Pf stamps, American print, with correct and mirrored perfin.

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12.) Postal ID Cards Postal IDs were used to identify persons wishing to collect poste restante mail. They were valid for 3 years and could be extended if required. Payment of the fee for issuing or extending a postal ID was evidenced on the ID with valid stamps.

A newly issued postal ID, 25 July, at the main post office in Wolfenbüttel

13.) Forgeries While the AM POST stamps were still in use, it occurred to certain resourceful individuals that the stamps could be forged, both to the detriment of the post office and of collectors. They quickly realised that certain values, colours and perforations were very rare and thus also very expensive.

Johannes Klink from Niebühl was one of the first to recognise this fact and he was extremely creative. He was the owner of a printing works and so was well-equipped (literally) to produce forgeries.

Klink made his forgeries using the letterpress method of printing, as can be seen from the stamp motif.

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The following forgeries were made by Otto Thobe from Duisburg. He was also the owner of a printing works and his forgeries were not restricted to stamps, as can be seen below (a newspaper extract).

Forger at work

3-year jail sentence for stamp forger On October 26 and 27, the printer Otto Thobe appeared before the Duisburg district court charged with forging stamps.Thobe had forged the 8Pfg, 80Pfg and 1RM stamps as well as Tunis parcel cards. He had also "fabricated" registered letters, R-labels and postmarks allegedly from the Hanover 4 post office. Not satisfied with this, Thobe also forged cigarette ration coupons. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for forging stamps and 2 years for forging ration coupons.The sentence was reduced to 3 years for both offences, to run concurrently.The court also decreed that Thobe should lose all civil rights for 3 years and pay a fine of RM 500. The material used for the forgeries was confiscated. Furthermore, the accused was barred from carrying out his profession for 5 years. Two other accused persons were acquitted;.a third accused is to be tried separately.

These forgeries were commissioned by the Bremen opera singer Peter Winter and are marked as forgeries, either on the front or back.

Apart from the fakes shown here, all the forgers produced other values which - with a little experience and close observation - can easily be distinguished from genuine stamps.

As well as the stamps, the Hamburg postmark was also faked in this case.

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14.) The end of over-the-counter validity and use thereafter On 31 October 1946 the validity of AM POST stamps came to an end in the American and British Zones and in Berlin. Thenceforth only the stamps so called “Ziffernserie” was valid there and in the Soviet Zone. AM POST stamps were accepted for one more week in the British Zone.

Long-distance letter from Kiel dated 1 November 1946, the first day the stamps were "tolerated"

in the British Zone.

After the AM POST stamps became invalid, a considerable number remained to be returned by the post offices to the RPDs.

The Americans had 2 of their values overprinted and used them till the end of the 40s as proof of payment of fees and taxes in embassies and consulates across Europe.

In the British Zone customers were granted a period of grace during which unused AM POST stamps could be exchanged at the post office counter. The stamps which were handed in were then cancelled.