GERMAN PHILATELY
PROPAGANDA POSTCARDS
(1941)
This page was last updated
31-Aug-2026 06:39
TAG DER BRIEFMARKE - SOLINGEN
THE DAY OF THE STAMP - SOLINGEN
(12th Jan 1941)
BACKGROUND: This postcard was issued to commemorate the Day of the Stamp in Solingen on 12th Jan 1941.
SONDERSTEMPEL: There was a special handstamp available in Solingen inscribed "SOLINGEN | Tag der briefmarke", which can be seen on the examples below
This "day of the stamp" example features the actual official Reichspost commemorative stamp for the occasion, not a Winterhilfswerk charity stamp repurposed with a special postmark.
The stamp: The green 6+24 Pfennig stamp is the very first dedicated to the "Tag der Briefmarke" commemorative issues, released by the Deutsche Reichspost for this 12th Jan, 1941 event, Michel catalog no. 762. It depicts a post rider/herald in historical costume blowing a posthorn while resting a hand on a globe, a traditional emblem of postal communication. As a semi-postal, the 24-Pfennig surcharge went to wartime charity funds, and this design kicked off a Tag der Briefmarke series that continued annually through 1944.
City and sponsor: This card comes from Solingen, sponsored by the "Solinger Briefmarken-Sammler-Verein e.V." (Solingen Stamp Collectors' Association), a club with roots going back to 1903. The central graphic, an oversized blue sword, is a deliberate nod to Solingen's identity as the "Klingenstadt" (City of Blades), Germany's historic center of cutlery, swordmaking, and blade manufacturing, an industry the city is still known for today (its Deutsches Klingenmuseum, the German Blade Museum, documents this heritage).
Postmark: The Solingen special cancel reads "Tag der Briefmarke, 12.1.1941," with an image of a tank and the small R.d.P logo.
So this card is one that features the "real" Tag der Briefmarke postage stamp, paired with proud local industrial imagery rather than national or occupation-related propaganda.
There was another identical card except that the blue is much lighter than the other card.
