"Der Führer in Wien" 15 March: internal postcard.
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"Der Führer in Wien" 15 March: internal postcard.
"Der Führer in Wien" 15 March: foreign postcard to Egypt.
15 March: The Dollfuss stamps of 24g (both colours: ANK589 & 590) and 10S (ANK588) were withdrawn and lost their validity for franking both inland and foreign mail. See below at 6 April.
17 March: "Legal tender in Land Austria is, as well as the Schilling, the Reichsmark, which has the value 1 Schilling 50 Groschen." See separate article on the Demise of the Schilling.
18 March: The following rules appeared in the Berlin Gazette for the Fieldpost for the German troops in Austria 1. The Postal arrangements for the German troops in Austria will be provided during their stay in Austria by the Field Post Offices set up for these troops… 3. Mail to and from the German troops in Austria is subject to the ordinary German domestic fees. However unfranked or insufficiently-franked ordinary letters and postcards sent to the German troops in Austria should until further notice not be surcharged. Likewise ordinary letters and postcards, which are posted by these German troops as unpaid Field-post letters or cards at their Field Post Offices, should be transported without surcharge…
The discretionary clause in reference to the free posting is repeated in order No. 11 of the Army Command 10 (Innsbruck) for the soldiers: "Field-post letters or cards handed in or posted in mailboxes by the German troops in Austria are free of charge. They must carry the designation 'Feldpost' and the issuing unit, eg Schütze XX Feldpostnummer 123" [see example cancellation at 8th April].
For the Civil post, the Generaldirektion in Vienna produced provisional Postal Stationery with swastika overprint and new denominations in Reichspfennig [postcards Schneiderbauer No. 299 I, 300 I and 306 I, letter cards No. 67 I: see top illustration on next page]. However these were not approved by the Reichspostministry. The Austrian rates remained in force for basic and ancillary services (see Appendix I). German postage stamps were not valid [but see second illustration below!].
26 March: "Ordinance on the introduction of new postage for letters and postcards in Land Austria." The new rates came into force on 4th April 1938; some are given in Appendix I. The cheaper "local rate" was reintroduced; it applied within the delivery area of the office of posting; but if several post offices lay in the same community, they formed a uniform local district.
Letter card: Vienna I to Vienna III, 26/5/1939. Overprinted card, reused.
Commercial postcard from Vienna to Denmark, dated 2 April 1938,
with 12 Rpf and 3 Gr purporting to make up the foreign postcard rate
of 15 Rpf which was introduced 2 days later!
3 April: The "Führerblock" issued (in Germany) on 5 April 1937 became valid for franking in Land Austria. This is a 2x2 block of 6Rpf+19Rpf stamps, issued for Hitler's 48th birthday, with huge margins with inscriptions. Issued perf 14 (SG635), imperf (SG636) and with rouletted margins (SG637). As explained in the 'commentary' of 15th April, it was sold on Sunday 3rd April but only at a special post office at Graz on the occasion of Hitler's visitation; and on the 4th when he was in Klagenfurt, the 5th in Innsbruck and so forth: general sales began on 13th April. Examples dated 3rd April are RARE!
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©Andy Taylor. Last updated 24 Aug 2002