Local Stamps
Plauen - 1945
Plauen
From an Old Postcard
Local stamps were produced during 1945 for
the Soviet occupation zone town of Plauen in Saxony. Plauen is situated
near the borders with Bavaria and the Czech Republic.
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.
In the late 19th Century, Plauen was a textile manufacturing center, specializing in lace, and in the early 20th Century, it became an industrial boom-town.
During
the time of the German Democratic Republic, there was a Red Army
garrison near Plauen, and later, the town was the site of the training
school for DDR border guards. Plauen was the scene of the first mass
demonstrations against the DDR in October 1989, which ultimately lead to
the downfall of the DDR and the reunification of Germany in 1990.
These stamps for Plauen were issued in
December 1945, with the surtax going to reconstruction projects and
other charities. The stamps were printed on various paper types, and
they were perforated 12 1/2. For detailed information on the paper
types, gum types, and varieties of this issue, refer to the Michel
Deutschland Spezial Katalog volume 2.
The
designs depict: the city arms, the ruined Elster Viaduct, the rebuilt
Elster Viaduct, City Hall, Monument to St. George and the Dragon, Plauen
lace, and the entrance to the city theater.
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Germany - Allied Occupation
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Local Stamps - Plauen - 1945
