German Mail Returned From Portuguese East Africa

Here's an interesting new addition to the collection. As usual, a little background first.

With the outbreak of WWI in July 1914, Germany's postal connection to its colony in German East Africa was severed. There was a small exchange of mail permitted by the British via the HMS Pegasus in August/September 1914, and three shipments that were "smuggled" out of German East Africa in October/November 1914 through an arrangement with the sub-governor of Ibo, Portuguese East Africa.

When these late-1914 items arrived in Germany, German citizens realized that there was still a connection to German East Africa, and began attempting to send items in return. As the volume of these items increased, the Reichspost directed that any items addressed to German East Africa be routed to the Auslandsstelle Cöln (Foreign Post Processing Office in Cologne).

Items processed at the Auslandsstelle Cöln received a censorship mark in red ink.

They were also stamped with a routing marking giving the route as "Via Lissabon – Mosambik – Porto Amelia – Palma".


The first shipments back to German East Africa were send in mid-1915, but this connection didn't last long. By November 1915, items were being returned to sender, with the German consul in Portuguese East Africa reporting that the local authorities in Portuguese in East Africa had stopped accepting mail destined for German East Africa. These returned items bore several different return markings, depending on which shipment they were in. Most bear simple "return to sender" language in French or German.

A small number, however, received an adhesive label with the text "Wegen Mangel an Beförderungsge-legenheit von portug. Ostafrika zurückgekommen." (Returned from Portuguese East Africa due to lack of transport). These items also received a block "ZURÜCK" (Return) in black ink. These items are believed to be from the earliest returned shipments.

This card has the Cöln censor mark in red, the "Via Lissabon" routing marking, and the return adhesive label with "ZURÜCK" handstamp. It was sent from Kiel on 23 October 1915 to the Postinspektor in Daressalaam, but was returned to sender. The text reads roughly as follows:

Nice!