German Stamps Under Hitler Reign

Hi, in my collection I have a handful of German stamps. Imwas thinking of specializing in stamps put out or ordered printed by Hitler. Whats your thoughts? Thanks. Not sure if this would be the appropriate forum for it.

Why not? As my uncle once told me, "It doesn't matter what you collect, as long as you enjoy it."

I haven't really done anything with my German stamps in many years, but the Third Reich has always been one of the most interesting periods (probably the most interesting period) of German history for me.

Whenever I go through these stamps, I find them fascinating, especially the ones of Hitler going through his stamp collection. Many great stamps from Germany in that time period.

Hi Ireland2018 I just answered your Disney question and now I'll answer this one. When I was much younger I collected the Hitler and occupation stamps 1936-1945 and I'll tell you it is very difficult and expensive. I got mine in the late 60's and sold them all in the 90's when I decided to specialize in Canada and the USA.
I see them in auctions and at shows and the prices seem unrealistic to me.But as a specialized collection, it makes the Washington/Franklins or the Canadian Admirals look easy! And there are a lot of fakes. The overprint occupation stamps are very easy to fake and you have remember that after WW2 stamps were a lucrative black market item. You have to do a lot of research.

Hitler didn't collect stamps. He may of been given display books by various postal authorities. Hitler didn't take a salary from the State but was paid for having his face on the stamps of Germany .

The issue of collecting Nazi era German memorabilia, including stamps, is always emotionally charged. Stamps during this area can be regarded independently from Hitler and his policies because the postal system preceded him and followed him as a function of the state. Nazi memorabilia particularly particularly war related or those items touched by Hitler cast this dichotomy to a understandably totally different level with auction house like Alexander's holding auctions consisting largely if not totally of Nazi materials and collectors of autographs staying as far as possible from official documents signed by Hitler, despite his being a major historical figure.

Minority opinion: when I get Hitler head stamps in a collection, I put them in the shredder. It makes me feel good and I do not like having them in my home. Almost all are worthless junk anyway.

I simply do not understand this frame of mind: destroying stamps because you don't like who is depicted on them. Using that mindset, any stamps issued depicting Stalin or Mussolini should also be destroyed. What about the various Chinese and Korean dictators under whom atrocites against humanity have been perpetraded? Stamps with Christian symbolism due to the Crusades and Spanish Inquisition? What's next, destroying stamps that depict our founding fathers because they were evil white slaveowners?

It's a dangerously slippery slope.

Yes, the stamps are yours, so you can dispose of them how you see fit, but I disagree with that manner of treatment of philatelic items.

P.S. Discussions on this topic never end well.

I've thrown away, or sent to the recycler, hundreds if not thousands of stamps in recent years. The things they all had in common were, first, they were very common stamps; and second, all were damaged to some degree.

Climber Steve


ditto for me. They have to be REALLY cheap stamps, or REALLY mangled belong being considered suitable as a space filler.

For example, more than 10% of a relatively common stamp missing: I TRASH it.

Less than 20% of a SCARCER stamp missing: I SAVE it. (scarcer meaning, say, more than two or three dollars catalog value if intact)

--Jim Wentzell
stampguyaps177-681

I've never quite understood the "slippery slope" metaphor when it pertains to something other than ethics or morality. For example, I like to help myself to an occasional piece of cake; but is that slippery slope inevitable if I were to continue to indulge myself?

Have I begun to slide down the slope after my SECOND helping of cake? How about after the THIRD???

Eating HALF my own birthday cake might push me even further down the aforementioned slope; but even that depends on the SIZE of the cake (it might be a smallish, six-inch personal tart or cheesecake). I'd never, for example, devour HALF of a half-sheet cake.

Seriously, as long as something doesn't infringe on the rights of others I say go ahead and shred, mutilate, or otherwise destroy whatever stamps you feel like.

Hitler, Mao, Castro, Nixon, even a Donald J. Trump stamp from Equatorial Guinea or St. Vincent/Grenadines--I will never destroy any that come my way. But I say if it makes YOU happy, DO IT!

As long as they're YOUR stamps and not MINE!

Of course the whole premise changes if, for example, any heirs of Adolph Hitler's were to conceivable profit in any way from the sale or exchange of stamps with Hitler's image. In that case the shredder would get a busy, immediate workout.

--Jim Wentzell
stampguyaps177-681

At least I hope you don't put the "Futsches Reich" stamp into your shredder, if you once find it. It's this Hitler head to keep in an album for sure.

I dont mean to strart a topic that could cause problems. I was just curios. I have a small folder where I have stamps issued during the war from countries involved with or in ww2. Only country I dont have is german stamps, We are here for the same reason and thats to have fun, ask a question when something arises or help someone else when they hzve one. I ,ean no trouble or problems at all.

You cannot shred history. What someone chooses to do of their own volition however is their right to do.

Interesting story about Nazis stamps and some of the history behind it . During the early 1970's in the United States ,the American Nazis Party {their headquarters was one mile from my house} went around to various stamp dealers and stamp bourses {I had a monthly table at the Holiday Inn ,these were run by Mike Jackson ,a friend and stamp supply dealer in Chicago}. These young guys were buying Hitler Head stamps .
I received a letter and so did Mike from a major New York stamp dealer asking all stamp dealers to stop selling them to anyone that we knew were not collectors and don't sell any quanity to any one person .
It seems those stamps were making their way into the U.S. Prison system and were being used on out going mail to people who had Jewish names ,sort of a shock when they received their daily mail . These NUCKLEHEADS were later stopped by the Postal Autorhities . I do have a copy of one of these hate letters which I picked up years later thru a Rasdale Auction .

I agree with Chasa: His stamps are his to do with them as he pleases.
I agree with revenuecollector: "He simply does not understand".
When stamps started to appear, someone bought a big lot of them to wallpaper her home. Was she on a slippery slop?
Some countries that I have emotional resentment of, I placed their stamps in a battered album. Am I on a slippery slope?
The WWII German stamps represent a regime the racism behind it, and the effected people, both victims and survivors, had no other to compare with. Not Stalin, not Mussolini, or anyone else.
The fact that 70 years later those stamps can be used to hurt others just by seeing them, shows that they are more then just "philatelic items".

BTW, WWII stamps shouldn't be under classic era stamps?