NAZI GERMANY
STAMPS
1944
MICHEL 864
100th ANNIV of BIRTH of
Prof. Dr. ROBERT KOCH
Issued: 25th Jan 1944. This stamp features a portrait of Dr. Robert Koch (Physician, Bacteriologist and Nobel Prize winner in 1905) and was designed by E.R Vogenauer. Engraved at the Vienna State Printing Works the stamp was unwatermarked, perf K 14 and was lightly gummed with yellowish vertical ribs on sheets (10x5). There was a special postmark dated 11th Dec 1943 (backdated as the stamps were issued later than expected).
MICHEL 865
11th ANNIV of the ASSUMPTION of POWER
Issued: 20th Jan 1944
. This stamp was designed by Gottfried Klein from a photograph by Hitler's personal photograher Heinrich Hoffmann. Printed photogravure on coated paper by the Vienna State Printing Works the stamp was perforated K 14 with yellowish gum and had no watermark. There was no special postmark or postcard used to celebrate this event.
MICHEL 866 to 868
25th ANNIV of GERMAN AIRMAIL SERVICE
This impressive set of 3 stamps was issued on 11th Feb 1944
and was printed photogravure on coated paper at the State Printing Works in Vienna. These stamps were unwatermarked and appeared on sheets of 50 performated K 14. The 6 + 4Pf stamp (Mi866) was designed by Erich Meerwald and the remaining two stamps (Mi867 and Mi868) were designed by E.R. Vogenauer. The use of two different designers is quite obvious when looking at the difference between the lower value of the three stamps compared to the two higher values. The lower value is much "busier" than the more simplistic designs of the other two stamps.
MICHEL 869 to 872
10th ANNIV of WINTERHILFSWERK
(Mother and Child)
Issued: 2nd Mar 1944
. This von Axster-Heudtlass designed set of 4 stamps was printed photogravure on coated paper by the Vienna State Printing Works. There is no watermark, the gum used was vertically ribbed, yellow to dark yellow and the perforations are K 14. Although there was no official postmark used with this issue there was a postmark used in Krakow and Greater Germany that is sometimes associated with these stamps.
MICHEL 873 to 885
ARMED FORCES' and HEROES' DAY (II)"
(Tag der Wehrmacht & Heldengedenktag (II))
This set of 13 stamps was issued on 11th Mar to commemorate Heroes Day on 17th March. The complete set was designed by Prof. O. Anton and printed photogravure on coated paper by the Berlin State Printing Works. The stamps are unwatermarked, perforated K 14 and had yellow ribbed gum.
This was the second set of stamps issued to commemorate Hero's Day, the first set was issued in 1943.
MICHEL 886
1,200th ANNIV of the CITY of FULDA
Issued: 11th Mar 1944
. This P. Wolff designed stamp depicts, from left to right, the Cathedral, Michaels Church and the Orangery. Printed photogravure by the Vienna State Printing Works this stamp did not have a watermark and was issued on sheets of 50 with vertical ribbed or smooth yellow to dark yellow gum and was perf K 14. A special postmark was used only on the 12th March 1944
which depicts Michael's Church.
MICHEL 887
55th BIRTHDAY of ADOLF HITLER
Issued: 14th Apr 1944. This G. Klein designed stamp was issued a week before Hitler's 55th Birthday on the 20th Apr 1944
. These stamps did not have a watermark and were issued by the State Priniting Works in Berlin on sheets of 50, perf K 14, with vertical ribbed yellow to dark yellow gum. By this stage of the war Hitler had become more and more of a recluse so an older photograph was used for the portrait seen on this stamp. There was a special postmark used on the actual day of Hitler's Birthday in Amsterdam, Berlin, Braunau, Munich, Nurnberg and Vienna.
MICHEL 888 to 893
POSTAL EMPLOYEES FUND
(Kameradschaftsblock der Deutschen Reichspost)
Issued: 3rd May 1944
. This is the 1944
version of Comrades of the German Reichs Post stamps, Mi773 through Mi778, but with new designs and different colours and values. These stamps were also designed by von Axster-Heüdtlass and were printed by the Vienna State Printing Works photogravure on coated paper. The sheets of 50 stamps did not have a watermark and were perf K 14 with horizontal ribbed yellow to dark yellow gum.
BREAKING NEWS: 6th Jun
Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of German Occupied France begins with the largest amphibious landing in history.
MICHEL 894 and 895
EXHIBITION of the RAD
(Reich's Arbeits Dienst)
issued: Jun 1944
. These two Ahrlo designed stamps were printed recess at the Berlin State Printing Works. They were available in sheets of 50 on unwatermarked paper with dark yellow gum and perf K 14.
BREAKING NEWS: 22nd Jun
Operation Bagratron an assault by Soviet forces defeats German Army Group Centre, possibly the greatest German defeat of the war.
MICHEL 896
400th ANNIV of ALBERT UNIVERSITY
(Königsberg)
Issued: 2nd Jul 1944
. The Vienna State Printing Works produced this Prof. Marten designed stamp on unwatermarked, per K 14, vertical ribbed dark yellow gummed paper. There is an associated special postmark which was used only on the 7th July 1944
.
MICHEL 897 and 898
7th ANNIV of INNSBRUCK SHOOTING COMPETITION
(Tiroler Landesschiessen)
Issued: 2nd Jul 1944. Printed by the Vienna State Printing Works, these two L. Alton designed stamps were produced photogravure on sheets of 50, perf K 14, unwatermarked and vertically ribbed or smooth dark yellow gummed paper. They feature a Tyrolean infantryman armed with a musket superimposed over a 1940's German soldier carrying a machine gun, the modern successor to the musket. There was a special postmark used during the shooting competition from 2nd to 17th Jul 1944.
BREAKING NEWS: 20th Jul
Adolf Hitler barely survives another assasination attempt, this time led by Claus von Stauffenburg, thanks to some sturdy wooden furniture.
MICHEL 899
10th ANNIV of The BROWN RIBBON RACE
Issued: 23rd Jul 1944
. This impressive stamp was designed by Prof Richard Klein and was produced by the Vienna State Printing Works. The stamp was recess printed on sheets of 50, unwatermarked, perf K 14 and horizontally ribbed white to dark yellow gummed paper. Although the special cancel was never officially used due to the cancellation of the race, post offices did use the handstamp to cancel CTO orders from dealers and collectors as if the event had actually taken place. Any postally used cancels were most likely applied after the war.
MICHEL 900 and 901
The VIENNA DERBY
Issued: Aug 1944
. These 2 identical (except for the colour) stamps were designed by H. Frank and issued on sheets of 50. They were printed by the Vienna State Printing Works on unwatermarked, perf K 14, vertically ribbed white to dark yellow gummed paper.
BREAKING NEWS: 24th Aug
Allied troops liberate Paris after 4 long years of German occupation.
MICHEL 902 and 903
GERMAN SOCIETY for GOLDSMITH's ART
Issued: 11th Sep 1944
. Produced Photogravure on coated paper at the State Printing Works in Vienna, these stamps were designed by E. R. Vogenauer. There was no watermark and the perf K 14 stamps were vertically ribbed with dark yellow gum. There was a special postmark as well as a postcard used in conjunction with the event.
MICHEL 904
STAMP DAY
(Tag Der Briefmarke)
Issued: 2nd Oct 1944
. The fourth and last 'Day of the Stamp' was designed by Erich Meerwald and printed photogravure on coated paper by the Vienna State Printing Works. It was K 14, unwatermarked and had horizontally ribbed dark yellow gum. Unusually for this series it was issued at the end of the year rather than in January as was the norm for the previous issues.
BREAKING NEWS: 21st Oct
American troops enter the City of Aachen, the first German city to fall to the allies.
MICHEL 906
21st ANNIV of the BEER HALL PUTSCH
Issued: 9th Nov 1944
. The final stamp issued in 1944
was this K. Diebitsch designed stamp printed photogravure on coated paper by the Berlin state Printing Works. It was unwatermarked, perf K 14 and had vertically ribbed dark yellow gum and was available in sheets of 50. The stamp design is interesting in that it shows an eagle (Germany) fighting a 3 headed serpent, the heads possibly representing Britain, France and the United States all co-signatories of the hated Versailles Treaty concluded at the end of the First World War and arguably one of the underlying causes of the Second World War.
MICHEL 3
PERMISSION STAMP for FELDPOST
(Packages up to 2kg)
Issued: 24th Nov 1944
. This label was issued to allow much needed winter clothing to be sent from Germany to soldiers fighting on the Eastern Front where they were ill equipped for the Russian winter. The design is the same as that of Michel 795 from 1941 with an overprinted "FELDPOST 2kg". This label was recess printed on sheets of 100 on unwatermarked, perf K 14, vertically ribbed or smooth paper from the Berlin State Printing works. Although the stamp states a weight of 2kg it is believed that parcels greater thn 2kg were allowed through even without additional postage being added.
MICHEL 4
PERMISSION STAMP for FELDPOST
(Christmas Parcels)
Issued: 20th Oct 1944. This stamp is very similar to the 1942 concession label except it is much smaller, being 22½ x 18mm. It was unwatermarked, K 14 and typography printed at the Berlin State Printing Works. The main purpose of this stamp was to send Christmas parcels weighing less than 500 grams free of charge. Overprinted examples are considered to be private prints created to defraud collectors.
MICHEL 6
INSELPOST - ISLAND POST
(Vukovar Overprint)
Issued: Oct 1944
. These labels were created by the German forces trapped on Crete and the neighbouring islands to be used as airmail concession labels. 200,000 of the 1942 parcel labels were overprinted with the word "Inselpost" but the plane carrying them was shot down over the Gulf of Salonika and they were all lost. Approximately 2,000 labels remained in Vucovar, Yugoslavia where they were issued to collectors. Most of these are CTO and have are cancelled with a letter 'e' but they were never used on official mail. Genuine used stamps do not exist.
BREAKING NEWS: 16th Dec
German troops stage a last ditch offensive in what comes to be know as the Battle of the Bulge. It fails and the noose tightens.
MICHEL 7
LOCAL ISSUE CONCESSION LABELS
(Crete)
Issued: 1944
. Airmail concession labels of 1942 were overprinted red "Inselpost" between two parallel lines of asterisks in Crete. Approximately 100,000 labels were produced at the soldier's newspaper "Veste Kreta" printing works. 
MICHEL 8 and 9
LOCAL ISSUE CONCESSION LABELS
(Rhodes)
Issued: Oct/Nov 1944
. Both of the concession labels of 1942 (the blue airmail and brown parcel labels) were re-used in late 1944
, this time with the word "INSELPOST" printed in black capital letters horizontally across the stamp.
MICHEL 10
LOCAL ISSUE CONCESSION LABELS
(Second Issue)
Issued: Nov 1944
. Diagonally overprinted "INSELPOST" in black or blue at the State Printing Works at Agram or Atzinger.
BREAKING NEWS: 31st Dec
Sensing the end is near Hungary changes sides and declares war on Germany.
