SUDETENLAND 1938 - 1945

German Postal card issued in commemoration of the takeover of Sudetenland in 1938.

The card show a map of Sudetenland surrounding a picture of Adolf Hitler and Konrad Henlein by the city hall in Eger.  

My aim is to show the changes, which were implemented first by the Sudetengerman and later by the German Postal Authorities, following the takeover of the Sudetenland by Germany from Czechoslovakia after the Munich Agreement of 1938. In addition I will show the various services the German Postal Service offered in the Sudetenland from 1938 through 1945.

The exhibit consists of many different types of mailings, rates and destinations, from the time before and during the German takeover, after the postal service was normalized, and finally after liberation in 1945.

Provisional stamps have also been included, as well as miscellaneous postal documents such as identity cards and postal saving books.

Due to the unfortunate history of this area much of the material is scarce. After liberation in 1945 all Germans were expelled from the Sudetenland, and following the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948, collecting Sudetenland stamps and postal history was prohibited. This prohibition lasted until 1989.

There is not much literature known on this area and most of the research is done by the exhibitor.

Used literature:

Die Not- und Befreiungsstempel in den Sudetendeutschen Gebieten 1938/39 - K. Quaiser 1981

Die Postwertzeichen des Sudetenlandes - Dr. J. Hugo Hörr 1963

The German occupation of Sudetenland - W. A. Dawson 1988

Own research:

Sudetenland 1938 - 1945: http://sudeten.bizland.com/postal_history.htm