Local stamps for Oldenburg were produced
during 1948. These stamps, in the form of two souvenir sheets, were
actually a private issue by the German Red Cross to raise money for
reconstruction projects around Oldenburg.
A reminder: One must realize that in the months and years following the
collapse of the Third Reich, up to about 1948, there was really no
civilian or commercial infrastructure, no local government, and the only
national governments were those of the Allied occupation military
forces. All of the local issues of Germany from this period, especially
the ones with obliterating overprints on the stamps of the former Third
Reich, have been heavily counterfeited. Authentic mint and used stamps
from this period are actually very scarce. One must assume that
unauthenticated mint condition examples of some of the local issues are
either forgeries or reproductions. Likewise, one must assume that
unauthenticated used condition examples from this period are either of
"philatelic" in origin or have been favor-canceled. These all have
minimal philatelic value. If one is buying unauthenticated examples of
the post-war local issues, please keep this in mind and DON'T spend too
much money on them.
The city of Oldenburg and the surrounding
area survived World War II in pretty good shape, as the Allied bombing
around the city was minimal during the war. The population of Oldenburg
and its neighboring towns, located in West Germany, increased
tremendously after the war, as this area became one of the main
destinations for German refugees from the Soviet occupation zone.
The souvenir sheet shown above is one
of two "philatelic" products produced by the German Red Cross in 1948.
This souvenir sheet was produced both perforated and imperforate. The
imperforate one is shown above.
The sheet sold for 2.50 Reichmarks, with all the proceeds going to the German Red Cross. The souvenir sheet was not valid for postal use.
The
four "postage stamp" designs in the souvenir sheet depict, from top
left to lower right, a building in Jever, Oldenburg Castle, the Linoleum
Factory in Delmenhorst, and the City Hall in Wilhelmshaven.
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Local Stamps - Oldenburg - 1948