Karlovy Vary /
Karlsbad
Karlovy Vary /
Karlsbad
About 110 km west of Prague, at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá rivers, lies the world-famous spa town of Karlovy Vary. Emperors, kings and poets have been treated here. The vast majority of the inhabitants were of German nationality or German-speaking Czechs.
Karlovy Vary provisional edition is very popular among collectors thanks to the colourful overprints. There are a large number of peculiarities such as reversed overprints, overprints shifted to the side, confused overprint types or confused colours. These peculiarities exist in very small numbers and are therefore among the greatest rarities.
Czech soldiers and officials withdrew from Karlovy Vary for the first time on the night of 30 September to 1 October 1938. They took with them all the valuables and stamp stocks from all the post offices in the area except a few small ones, which were probably forgotten in the rush. A few Sudeten postal clerks occupied the post offices, but soon found that they had no forms, stamps or postmarks, so they decided to improvise.
They managed to find a few forgotten rubber stamps and collected stamps from newsagents, people and small post offices. However, some of the stamps were no longer valid. Officials selected 3 sizes of an overprint rubber stamps that matched the size of the stamp. The company Erich Schmoll, Stempelerzeugungsstätte from Karlovy Vary was commissioned to produce them and delivered the rubber stamps to the post office on the morning of 1 October 1938.
3 small sized rubber stamps (type 1)
2 large sized rubber stamps with full swastika (type 2)
2 medium sized rubber stamps with hollow swastika (type 3)
It was decided to use three overprint colours – red, green and purple. The stamps were overprinted in such a colour that the overprint would be as visible as possible on the coloured stamp background.
3 rubber stamps of type 1:
1.1 the dot after “1” is lower than the dot after “X” (the swastika is vertical)
1.2 the dot after “1” is lower than the dot after “X” (the swastika is tilted to the left)
1.3 the dot after “1” is as high as the dot after “X” (the swastika is tilted to the right)
2 rubber stamps of type 2:
2.1 the line touches the bottom of the “d” in the word “Karlsbad” (the swastika is vertical)
2.2 the upper line crosses the “d” in the word “Karlsbad” in the middle (the swastika is tilted to the right)
2 rubber stamps of type 3:
3.1 the line touches the “d” at the bottom of the word “Karlsbad” (the swastika is vertical)
3.2 the line touches the “d” at the bottom of the word “Karlsbad” (the swastika is tilted to the left)
Everything was rushed. The post office was already opening, while the overprinting of the stamps had only just begun. On October 1, 1938, around 17:30, the Czechs returned with military help and reoccupied the office. They searched the Sudeten postal clerks, questioned them and sent them away. The office remained occupied by the Czechs until 18:30 on 3 October 1938.
Interestingly, the post office was already functioning on 1 October 1938 until the reoccupation of the office at 17:30 on the same day and a small number of letters were sent. This gave rise to the peculiarity of the ‘first day of issue (EST – Ersttagsstempel). As the number of letters sent with this postmark is minimal, letters with this postmark are highly valued.
About 4 clerks managed to overprint 30,000 stamps between 1 and 4 October 1938. There were 63 types of stamps, 7 different postmarks and 3 different colours. And there were mailing cards too. One has to imagine their dedication and passion for the cause. Because of the rush and the constant sense of danger, mistakes were made when overprinting the stamps. Shifted, incomplete, inverted and misapplied overprint colours are well known. Different shades of the three colours are often seen.
In the book “Die Postwerzeichnen des Sudetenlandes” there are two letters from an unnamed doctor from Karlovy Vary to Dr. Hörr, which depict the events in Karlovy Vary at that time (translated into English below).
The first letter from a German doctor from Karlovy Vary to Dr. Hörr
As I was on holiday in the Reich during these days, and not in Karlovy Vary, I can unfortunately add nothing to the time the overprints were done and what preceded it. I had to extend my holiday involuntarily at that time because the borders were closed. The borders between the Reich and the Sudetenland did not reopen until 4 October 1938. At that time, I was staying in Leipzig and immediately after the opening I went back to Karlovy Vary. On 4 October 1938, I arrived in Cheb by train, because the railway to Karlovy Vary was not yet in operation, I had to travel back by car.
On the morning of October 4, 1938, the Führer visited Karlovy Vary. That very afternoon I went to the main post office. Although I came during office hours, the main door was locked. A large number of people were crowded inside and outside. After some 15-20 minutes I was let in and had to join a long queue. At first, I had no idea that these people also wanted to buy Karlovy Vary provisionals. I thought that on the occasion of the Führer’s arrival, a special postmark was being applied, or that some commemorative sheet had been issued. But what a joy I was and was pleasantly surprised to see the new overprints. Everyone got only a few stamps (6-10 pieces) of lower values. All the higher values, I was told by the postal clerk who sold them, had already been sold out by the morning.
When I came back a second time, I only got 4 pieces. After that, they closed the counter, because the office hours were over. On the next days, 5 October and 6 October, the stamps were sold only in 2 pieces. Later I exchanged a few more pieces (Detem, Fügner) with a collector I knew for some valuable Austrian stamps. As I later found out, the leftover stock of Czech stamps was collected from all 5 Karlovy Vary post offices and transported to the main post office to be officially overprinted with a rubber stamp.
In Karlovy Vary only, these overprints were valid from 4 October to 6 October 1938, while it was possible to use Czech or Reich stamps. From 7 October 1938 until 15 October 1938, these provisional stamps were tolerated and still franked (although they had no postal validity).
I personally sent a registered letter from Karlovy Vary on October 13, 1938 and affixed on it 2 overprints of 3,50 crowns and 50 hellers and 2 pieces of 1 Pf stamps = 0,40 RM. The exchange rate was then 1:10 (4 crowns were 0,4 Reichsmarks). But I had to add one 40 Pf stamp to it. The Karlovy Vary overprints were stamped for me.
It was different in the other towns of the district, where chaos reigned a bit. The postal clerks, mostly retired Sudeten women, had not yet received the new guidelines and were using the old Czech ones. Each district town had a slightly different postal validity.
The second letter from a German doctor from Karlovy Vary to Dr. Hörr
In this second letter, I would like to prove to you that the Karlovy Vary provisionals were not only valid in Karlovy Vary, but also in other towns in the Karlovy Vary area. Karlovy Vary provisionals were not only on ordinary postcards and letters but also on mailing cards. Please mention this information in your book “Die Postwerzeichnen des Sudetenlandes”. The Karlovy Vary post office also sold Czech mailing cards from the 10th Sokol meeting with a Fugner stamp affixed on them. I saw children, women, men, collectors and non-collectors of stamps, members of the SA, SS, police and soldiers (even of high rank) standing in a long queue. Everyone wanted to have clear proof of this historic event – Karlovy Vary are finally German. No one was afraid to stand in a long queue, first to wait before entering the post office and then to wait in front of the counter. I really appreciate the postcards with the Karlovy Vary provisionals, especially the ones with a postmark. I still own two more pieces.
I haven’t seen many of them in Karlovy Vary lately.
Another interesting fact is that Karlovy Vary overprints began to appear in German auctions as early as 1940. Below is an English translation of the description of the auction of Hans Grobe, Hannover.
A large collection of Sudeten overprints, except for a few pieces, are Karlovy Vary editions. The stamps are largely on letters to the Reich. The collection comes from the estate of an occupation officer who hereby guarantees their authenticity. This is a unique opportunity to add these sought-after pieces to your collection.
Karlovy Vary postmark
According to the book “Sudeten-Deutsche Befreiungs-Stempel 1939“, Karlovy Vary used the so-called ” nationalized Czech stamp” type “4 a” in black (the nationalized rubber stamp is a Czech bilingual stamp with the Czech name of the place removed). On the stamp marked “7a” below you can see the remains of the removed Czech inscription “Karlovy Vary”.
Nationalized postmarks listed in the book “Sudeten-Deutsche Befreiungs-Stempel 1939”:
Karlsbad 1 – with letters – 4b, 4d, 5b, 7a, 9a
Nationalized postmarks listed in the book “Die Postwerzeichnen des Sudetenlandes 1941”:
Karlsbad 1 – with letters – 4a, 4b, 4d, 5b, 5g, 6b, 7a, 9a
Karlsbad 5 – with letters – a, b
Czechoslovakian postmarks:
Karlovy Vary 1 – with letters – 4c, 4d
National emblem
Portraits
Landscapes, castles, cities
Aviation stamps
Delivery stamps
Additional postage stamps – the final issue
Mourning stamps
Sokol Winter Games stamps
For Children
Legion stamps
X. All-Sokol Gathering in Prague (Fügner)
Exhibitions in Pilsen and Košice
Exhibition of postage stamps in Bratislava
Postal integral issues
Zdroje:
1. Handbuch der Sudetenphilatelie, Gerhard A. Späth (2021)
2. Die Postwerzeichnen des Sudetenlandes, J. Hugo Hörr (1963)
3. modernidejiny.cz 4. Michel – Deutschland-Spezial 2021
4. POFIS Československo 1918 -1939 (2015)