GERMAN EMPIRE
OFFICIAL POSTCARDS
Please note the following for this website. Official Postcards are defined as:
1. Postcards of the German Empire issued by the Official German postal Authority, from 1873 until 1945.
2. Postcards that were generally available throughout the entire country and have a pre-printed (Indicia) stamp to cover the cost of postage.
The vast majority of official postcards have no printing on the reverse side so no image of the reverse side is provided, except in the few instances where there was something printed on the reverse of the card.
P298
(POSTCARD)
Issued: 1st Aug 1941. Permanent postcard. The sender's note is on three lines and the text is in Antigua script. There are two variations of this card, the first P298-I has straight edges and P298-II has a serrated edge. The same design as P311 below but with out the propaganda message at the bottom of the left-hand pane.
A P298 must have the following characteristics:
(1) The value stamp depicts a 5Pf green Adolf Hitler Head pre-printed stamp. And
(2) The left-hand pane shows three lines of sender's text in Antigua script and no propaganda message.
P298 I
POSTCARD
POSTCARD
P301
(REPLYCARD)
Issued: 1st Aug 1941. Permanent postcard. The sender's note is on three lines and the text is in Antigua script.
A P301 must have the following characteristics:
(1) The value stamp depicts a 5Pf green Adolf Hitler Head pre-printed stamp. And
(2) The left-hand pane shows three lines of sender's text in Antigua script.
P301
REPLYCARD
REPLYCARD
P311
(POSTCARD)
Issued: 1943/44. Postcard with three lines of sender's address like P298-I above, but now with propaganda message on the bottom of the left-hand pane.
A P311 must have the following characteristics:
(1) The value stamp depicts a 5Pf green Adolf Hitler Head pre-printed stamp. And
(2) The left-hand pane shows three lines of sender's text and a propaganda message at the bottom of the left-hand pane.
P311 is one of a series of these cards that had a propaganda message. In this case the message reads:
"Faβt | Kohlenklau! | Verderbt dem Kohlenklau den Spaβ | und spart mit Kohle, Strom und Gas"
'Beware | Coal theft! | Spoil the fun of the coal thief. Save coal, electricity and gas'.
This message was intended to convince Germans of the need to save valuable war materials for use by the military and not waste them. Kohlenklau was part of widespread campaign in the newspapers, posters, radio and there was even a game that children could play at home. The Allies had a similar campaign with 'The Squander Bug'.
P311
POSTCARD
POSTCARD
P313-II
(POSTCARD)
Issued: Aug/Nov 1944. This postcard, along with P314 were the last official postcards issued before the end of the war. The final form change now has 5 dotted lines and 4 lines of text in the sender's section. There are now two lines of text in the destination notes (at the bottom of the right-hand pane) and 4 dotted lines.
There are two variations in the diamenter of the circle that has been added to the vertical divider line: P313-II(a) = 21.5mm and P313-II(b) = 18.5mm.
A P313 must have the following characteristics:
(1) The value stamp depicts a 5Pf green Adolf Hitler Head pre-printed stamp. And
(2) There is now a circle on the vertical dividing line.
P313-II(a)
POSTCARD
POSTCARD
P313-II(b)
POSTCARD
POSTCARD
MAIN REFERENCE SOURCES
1. MICHEL GANZSACHEN DEUTSCHLAND 2018. ISBN: 978-3-95402-225-02. BOREK GANZSACHEN-SPEZIAL-KATALOG DEUTSCHLAND ab 1933. ISBN: 3-87091-060-7
3. MICHEL BILDPOSTKARTEN- UND MOTIVGANSACHEN KATALOG DEUTSCHLAND 1997. ISBN: 3-87858-631-0
4. GANZSACHEN-HANDBUCH DES "DITTEN REICHES" 1933-1945 by FRECH. ISBN: UNKNOWN
