[Translated from “Die nordbayerischen Zulassungsvermerke im Jahre 1945”, Sammler Dienst 14 & 15, 1981]

THE NORTHERN BAVARIA CERTIFICATION ENDORSEMENTS IN 1945

W. Strobel

Letters and postcards from the Northern Bavaria area in the summer of 1945 occasionally bear special endorsements, as for example in Figure 1.  In spite of several past articles, little is known about the significance, existence and period of use of these endorsements, which exist with various wordings.  Dr. Apelt²⁰ was the first to publish a postal decree from Aschaffenburg, which concerned one of the endorsements.  His article had the great privilege of using only facts and verifiable sources, which I also wish to consider in my following statements.   At that time, Dr. Apelt knew no facts and dates regarding the resumption of postal communications in Bavaria and the period of use of the various endorsements. W. Lewerendt²¹ published this data, but unfortunately without citing any sources. As will be shown, today his data must to some extent be questioned and corrected. Jürgen Schmid²² mentions a few new sources but accepts, partially without sources, the periods of use specified by Lewerendt.

In past years I have collected a whole series of previously unknown orders, decrees and documents of the Military Government and the Reichspost from the year 1945 in official gazettes, postal history records, American military archives, and in the Koblenz federal archives and publications in Bavarian newspapers from 1945. Moreover, I was able to make full use of several large collections of letters and cards with certification endorsements, have followed auction offerings, and today, from 225 of these covers and an additional 50 Northern Bavaria covers without certification endorsements from the same period, I can draw conclusions on the occurrence of the various certification endorsements, which essentially changes the relationships of commonality or rarity established by Lewerendt. In spite of that, several questions remain open as before, and I would be thankful to any readers for supplementary references and submissions of material.

We want to first review the situation at that time. World War II ended on May 8, 1945 with the unconditional capitulation of the German armed forces. Germany, especially its cities, for the most part lay in ruins and ashes. Railway, street, mail and telephone connections were largely destroyed. Germany was occupied by the victors. Postal communications came to a standstill. Through Law No. 76 of the Military Government, all postal communications were explicitly suspended.

But it didn’t last long. As in all regions of Germany, so too in American-occupied Bavaria, postal communications were soon resumed – at first for the local government agencies, then for banks and businesses. Finally, private communications were also reestablished. According to Law No. 76, the entire postal service was subject to the censorship of the Military Government. These censorship regulations, in the form of a comprehensive notebook, were available for inspection in all post offices.

Postal communications were resumed very early in several Bavarian localities. In Northern Bavaria (the subject of our interest), for example in Aschaffenburg, local mail (i.e. no external dispatches) resumed soon after the entry of the American forces, namely on April 30, 1945⁸ – even before the end of WWII. In Nürnberg local service began on June 25², and in Bamberg on July 7, 1945¹⁴.

The certification endorsements are closely connected with the subsequent resumption of some non-local mail service within Bavaria. July 7, 1945 (a Saturday) has previously been cited in the literature as the date for the beginning of official (local government) mail – letters up to 1000 grams and letters of public agencies – within Bavaria on the right side of the Rhine river but without the district of Lindau (Bodensee) which was occupied by the French. Apparently all of the data emanates from the same source². The certification endorsements are not mentioned therein. Lewerendt²¹ also gives the July 7 date – without source – as the beginning of the single-language certifications as in Figure 1. I question the July 7 date in both cases; it is perhaps valid only for the resumption of official mail service in Nürnberg or its immediate vicinity. For in an overview of the American Military Government¹, July 16 is named as the beginning of postal communication in the Regensburg Postal Directorate. Since this [Postal Directorate] was only reestablished^4a on August 15, and previously belonged partially (Upper Palatinate administrative area) to the Nürnberg Postal Directorate, at least in portions of this [Nürnberg] Postal Directorate official mail communication would probably have commenced later than July 7. The earliest publications on this subject known to me originate in newspapers of July 20 and 21^12,15, and mention only postal communication in the district of the Nürnberg Postal Directorate, but not in all of Bavaria. The certification endorsement is already mentioned in these publications. nbsp; The earliest official covers that I am aware of are from July 14 (with endorsement) and July 15 (without endorsement). Naturally, one must consider that the newspapers of that time appeared only weekly, and due to the poor mail, transportation, telephone and telegraph connections there could have been a delay of several days between the printing of the paper and its appearance. Therefore, under the circumstances, an announcement in the newspaper could have corresponded to an event that occurred 10 to 14 days in the past. On the other hand, the occupying powers that published the newspapers had at their disposal excellent sources of information: It can be ascertained that in various newspapers, appearing in regions and localities far from each other, similarly worded current reports oftentimes were published simultaneously. 

The certification endorsements exist with various wordings.

Type I – single-language endorsement for official mail (Fig. 1 and 2)

Because of its significance, I want to render below the so far earliest known announcement of Regensburg post office from July 20, 1945 (almost word for word identical with a notice in “Bavarian Day”, Bamberg, of July 21, 1945.

“Courier Mail for the Authorities

BAMBERG. With the approval of the American Military Government, courier mail service has been established in the entire Postal Directorate (at this time comprising the administrative areas of Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia and the Upper Palatinate). Trips will be made every Tuesday and Friday mornings at 8 o’clock from the Bamberg post office. Delivery of mail must be made the previous day at the Maxplatz post office counter; the fees are to be paid there in cash. Only official government, municipal and other agencies are permitted in reciprocal official communications, thus not to private recipients. All postcards and letters must bear the endorsement on the address side: ‘Ich versichere, daß diese Sendung keine persönlichen Mitteilungen enthält; ihr Inhalt ist für die öffentlichen Belange von Wichtigkeit’ [‘I certify that this mail contains no personal communication; its contents are of importance to the public interest.’].  This endorsement is to be signed (namestamp is permissible)."

On the known covers the certification endorsement reads somewhat differently: “Ich versichere daß dieser Brief keine persönlichen Mitteilungen enthält. Sein Inhalt ist für die öffentlichen Belange von Wichtigkeit.” [“I certify that this letter contains no personal information. Its contents are of importance to the public interest”.]

Varying wordings are known: “Wir versichern” instead of “Ich versichere” occurs frequently. Other variations: “... enthält und daß sein Inhalt für die allgemeinen Belange von Wichtigkeit ist” [“... and that its contents are of importance to the general interest”], and “Ich versichere hiermit, daß dieser Brief keine persönliche Mitteilung enthält und jederzeit Einsicht genommen werden kann” [“I hereby certify that this letter contains no personal information and can be inspected at any time”].

a)     Period of use July 7(?) to July 27 (?), 1945

The earliest letter with the Type I certification endorsement known to me originated on July 14, as stated. The certifications occur only in several localities of the Upper and Middle Franconia and the Upper Palatinate administrative areas (at that time all in postal district 13a), not in Main Franconia (today Lower Franconia) and also not in Lower Bavaria (at that time postal district 13b), which belonged the Munich Postal Directorate. In the regions from which certification endorsements are not known, mail traveled without endorsements, as shown by existing examples.

Letters of the Bayerischen Hypotheken- und Wechselbank [Bavarian Mortgage and Exchange Bank] could be sent as official mail during this period, and also as business mail when this was later permitted (see Type III).

b)     Period of use July 28(?) to September 2, 1945

The Type I certification is known until August 8 from several localities in Upper and Middle Franconia and the Upper Palatinate, where it was used instead of the Type II certification, presumably because the order for the altered certification endorsement arrived belatedly.

Moreover I am acquainted with usage from two towns in Lower Bavaria, which belonged at the end of the war to the Munich Postal Directorate but were transferred to the reconstituted Regensburg Postal Directorate on August 15, 1945^4a. At this time I know of no written documentation which extended the area of use for certification to Lower Bavaria, so that for the time being one can only make assumptions about the reason for its occurrence there (see IIa).

c)     Period of use September 3 to September 18, 1945

So far one example from the Upper and Middle Franconia administrative district is known with a Type I rather that a Type II certification.

Type II – dual-language endorsement for official mail (Fig. 3)

On July 28, 1945 business mail communication was permitted; a special dual-language certification endorsement was prescribed for this (see Type III). At the same time the Allied Military Government ordered an altered and now likewise dual-language endorsement for official mail. In the literature, July 28 (a Saturday) is stated as the date for this order, but without source. The earliest publication known to me dates from August 4⁵; the earliest cover from August 2, 1945. Official mail items had to bear the following endorsement in German and English on the left front side:

Ich bestätige, daß dieser Brief nur amtliche Mitteilungen enthält, die für das Wohl der Allgemeinheit wichtig sind.

Unterschrift . . .

I certify that this piece of mail contains only official business and is for the welfare of the community.

Signed . . .

Both certifications had to be signed as before (name stamps were permissible). Local mail was also not exempted. Both endorsements also had to be affixed to all official mail dispatches (thus also postal checking letters and letters account numbers, etc.).¹⁰ Figure 2 verifies that this was also the case for Type I.

As examples show, letters of banks (Reichsbank, Volksbank, Stadtsparkassen, Bayerischen Vereinsbank) were handled as official mail. Business letters are also known which – probably erroneously – bear the Type II certification for official mail rather than the Type III certification for business mail (Fig. 4).

Typographical errors, omitted letters and words, especially in the English text, are abundant. The following deviations are known: “Wir / We” instead of “Ich / I”, “versichere” instead of “bestätige”, only one signature line, English text before German (instead of vice-versa), “letter” instead of “piece of mail”.  In Pappenheim and Treuchtlingen, both located in the Weisenburg (Bay) rural district, the English text on several letters reads “I certify that this piece of mail does contain only official communications essential for Landkreis business” (Fig. 5). Type I German text was combined (probably erroneously) with Type II English text in various localities (also known on printed labels) (Fig. 6).

Two time periods are to be differentiated:

a)     Period of use July 28(?) to September 2, 1945

The certification endorsements occur in the entire district of the Nürnberg Postal Directorate, i.e. in the administrative areas of Upper and Middle Franconia, Main Franconia, the Upper Palatinate (all postal district 13a). Only a few letters without certification are known.

Moreover, there are letters with the certification endorsement from a few Lower Bavarian localities (postal district 13b) with the earliest date of August 20 (a Monday). On August 15, 1945 the Regensburg Postal Directorate was reestablished;^4a it comprised Lower Bavaria (previously the Munich Postal Directorate) and the Upper Palatinate (previously the Nürnberg Postal Directorate). It could be surmised that the order previously valid only for the Upper Palatinate was extended to Lower Bavaria in the course of the reestablishment. The occurrence of the certification endorsement in only a few localities of Lower Bavaria speaks against this presumption. Also, so far no written documentation has been discovered. The letters from Lower Bavaria, as with other usages outside of the Nürnberg Postal Directorate (e.g. in Upper Bavaria, North Württemberg, Hesse), can be explained through ignorance of the sender or partially through the mailing of letters in neighboring districts because the letter was otherwise not allowed to be mailed (so-called border-crossing mail).

Until the discovery of an official order, letters from Lower Bavaria with certification endorsements can only be regarded as “unclarified”.

b)     Period of use September 3 to September 18, 1945

The publication regarding the suspension of certification for a portion of business mail (see IIIb) can, through an imprecise reading, be misinterpreted as if certification also ended for official mail. However, that was not the case, as the text of the questionable order proves (see IIIb).  Only a few official letters from this period exist without certification endorsements.

In contrast to previous literature, it can be confirmed that the certification endorsement for official mail was further prescribed from September 3. The requirement ended only on September 19, as shown by a document found in American military archives.⁴ Other publications also state this data.^7,11a

The known certified covers from a few Lower Bavarian towns are, based on the grounds described in IIa, to be regarded as “unclarified”.

Type III – dual-language endorsement for business mail (Fig. 7)

On July 28, 1945 (a Saturday), business mail traffic was initiated within Bavaria, on the right side of the Rhine excluding the French-occupied district of Lindau (Bodensee). Only open letters up to 100 grams and ordinary postcards from businesses, commercial and trade industries, insurance companies, banks, lawyers, doctors and pharmacists were permitted; including letters to private persons.^2,5,9,10,17 The sender had to be authorized by the Military Government or under its orders to resume his business activity. Dispatches were allowed only in commercial matters; they were not permitted to contain personal correspondence.

In Northern Bavaria a dual-language endorsement was ordered for this business mail; the earliest publication regarding this is dated August 4, 1945.^{5,6,9,10,11,15a} The earliest business letter I am aware of is likewise from August 4, 1945; an uncertified letter from August 2, 1945 is also known.

The address side of postcards and letters had to bear the following endorsement in German and English:

Ich bestätige, daß meine Firma von der örtlichen Militärregierung genehmigt ist und von der Mititärregierung die Genehmigung erhalten hat, wichtige Geschäftspost zu versenden.

Unterschrift . . .

I certify that my firm has local Military Government approval and is authorized by Military Government to send essential business mail.

Signed . . .

Both of these endorsements were to be signed by a business proprietor or his delegated representative. As opposed to official mail, name stamps were not mentioned as being permissible. Nevertheless they occurred just as frequently as with official mail. On the left front side of postcards and on the reverse of letters the following was required: the return address, below that the language in which the correspondence was written (in English and in large Latin letters, e.g. “GERMAN”), and the word “GESCHÄFTLICH” [commercial]. The return address had to be on the reverse side of envelopes, even if already printed on the front. On postcards, other than the prescribed information, no further written correspondence was permitted on the left front side.^5,9,15a,10

As with the dual-language certification endorsements for official mail, there were also frequent typographical errors in business mail endorsements, especially in the English text. Also, the English text can occur first and the German second (instead of vice-versa). Deviant text: “Wir ... unsere ...” instead of “Ich ... meine ...”, in English “We ... our ...”, but often in spite of the German plural form the unchanged English singular “I ... my ...” - “Ich versichere ...” instead of “Ich bestätige ...”; “erhielt” instead of “erhalten hat”. On several covers (also on printed labels) the sentence fragment “genehmigt ist und von der Militärregierung” is missing from the German text.  Certainly a unique creation of the sender is the handwritten single language endorsement “Ich versichere nur Geschäftliches zu versenden” [I certify that I will only send out business matters] (Fig. 8).

[Here there is obviously something missing from the original German. The only thing understandable is the English text “Our firm is approved by the Military Government and has permission to dispatch important business letters.”]

a)     Period of use July 28(?) to September 2, 1945

The Type III certification endorsements occur, as with Type II, in the entire district of the Nürnberg Postal Directorate: administrative districts Upper and Middle Franconia, Main Franconia, Upper Palatinate (all postal district 13a).

I am not aware of any examples from Lower Bavaria during this period; they would have to be considered as “unclarified” for the reasons mentioned in IIa.

b)     Period of use September 3 to September 18, 1945

After September 3, sealed business letters up to 1000 grams could be mailed in Bavaria on the right side of the Rhine with the district of Lindau (Bodensee).  Registered and Special Delivery letters were now permitted. At the same time private communication was allowed for letters up to 20 grams and postcards. Probably for this reason, the certification and “GESCHÄFTLICH” endorsement requirements were abolished for mailings up to 20 grams. In contrast, the regulation about the language declaration (“GERMAN”, etc.) continued in force.

In my opinion the “GESCHÄFTLICH” endorsement was prescribed according to the still in force censorship orders (consecutive number 13), and should not have been allowed to be abolished. The possibility cannot be completely excluded that, perhaps for this reason, the certification and “GESCHÄFTLICH” endorsements were reintroduced during period b, as can be inferred from a newspaper announcement.¹⁹ However, this new order was apparently overtaken by developments, because from September 19, 1945 the certification endorsement requirement was finally abolished.^4,7,11a   The word “GESCHÄFTLICH” was again ordered for all business mail – in accordance with the censorship regulations.

For about three days after September 3 there were still many business letters with certification endorsements, because the firms were informed too late about the abolition of endorsements. Thereafter, most business mail was sent without the certification endorsements.

Certification was prescribed between September 3 and September 18 only for business letters over 20 grams up to 1000 grams.

Letters with certification endorsements during this period exist from a few towns in Lower Bavaria. These items are unclarified (see IIb).

* * *

After the certification endorsements were no longer prescribed, letters and postcards with the endorsements appeared well into 1946, mostly no longer signed, at times also crossed out. In this manner the senders used up their envelopes and postcards that already had the endorsements. No special value should be ascribed to these (at most a 20% increase over the price of an uncertified cover). The same applies for the use of certification endorsements beyond the area of the Nürnberg Postal Directorate, for example in Upper Bavaria, North Württemberg, Hesse. The certification endorsements were never ordered there. If they were used, they were either so-called border-crossing mail or the endorsements were applied erroneously. Covers from Lower Bavaria with certification endorsements are still unclarified, as I have stated.

A word about the manner in which the certification endorsements were applied to covers. Since nothing was prescribed for this and every sender applied the endorsements himself, practically every conceivable possibility occurs: either directly on the envelope, beginning in manuscript, then typewriter, address machine or mimeograph, and even handstamped or printed.  Or all of the mentioned types, except handwritten, on pasted labels in the most varied colors. These differences should not be overvalued since they are of purely private origin.

Regarding the prices for letters and postcards with certification endorsements, it must be said that inflated auction offerings of 70.— to 90.— DM generally remain unsold, unless by way of exception it is a case of one of the very rare pieces. Today one can scarcely obtain a cover for under 30.— DM, which shows the range of prices. In general, if these prices are demanded for covers after the prescribed period of use or outside of the designated area of use, the seller either does not know the facts or is speculating on the buyer’s lack of knowledge.

As a criterion for frequency, I reproduce in table form below the analysis of 224 letters with certification endorsements from Northern Bavaria, taken from several large collections and from recent auction and dealer offerings.

Of the 224 items (100%), 12 (5%) are Type I, of which 2 are from Lower Bavaria (unclarified); 126 (56%) are Type II, of which 6 are from Lower Bavaria (unclarified); 86 (39%) are Type III, of which 3 are from Lower Bavaria (unclarified). The remaining 213 pieces from Northern Bavaria (postal district 13a) are distributed as indicated in the table.

* * *

I would be thankful for additional references, reports and discoveries, in order to further research the still unclarified segments.

Literature (The numbers refer to the footnotes in the text)  

Illustrations