PROPAGANDA POSTCARDS
(1935)

This page was last updated
29-May-2024 08:11

100th ANNIVERSARY OF THE
1st GERMAN RAILWAYS
(7th Dec 1935)

BACKGROUND: 1935 saw the 100th Anniversary of the German Railways and to commemorate the event there was an exhibition in NÜRNBERG as well as a series of Michel 580 to 583 official stamps.

The exhibition was opened on 14th Jul 1935 by the General Director of the Deutsche Reichsbahn , Julius Dorpmüller assisted by Reich Minister of Transport, Paul von Eltz-Rübenach, and Julius Streicher, Gauleiter of Middle Franconia. Due to close in Sep the exhibition was extended, by popular demand, until 13th Oct 1935 at which time 500,000 visitors had attended.

There was a movie entitled "The Centenary of the German Railways" which was once available on youtube but has now been removed for violating their policy on hate speech.

SONDERSTEMPEL: A special handstamp was issued to commemorate the anniversary inscribed ""100 JAHRE DEUTSCHE EISENBAHNEN" | NÜRNBERG | REICHSBAHN- | AUSSTELLUNG | 1935"

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FIRST VERSION

Published by Ludwig Riffelmacher this postcard celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the first German railway connection, a 6Km stretch of track from Nürnberg to Fürth. It has both an image and text on the reverse side. The text reads:

"100 JAHRE DEUTSCHE EISENBAHNEN 1835 - 1935 | Erster Dampfwagen zwischen Nürnberg und Fürth"

'100 YEARS OF GERMAN RAILWAYS 1835 - 1935 | First steam car between Nurnberg and Furth'

The train featured on this card is the 'Adler' or Eagle which was the first commerically used passenger and freight train in Germany. The train itself was built in 1835 by Englishman Robert Stephenson, son of George Stephenson the 'father of the railways'. The first journey, depicted on this card, was between Nürnberg and Fürth and took place on 7th Dec 1835. The Adler was scrapped in 1855 but several replicas were produced in later years. Images of the Adler can be found on German stamps issued in 1960, 1985 and 2010.

The rather portly gentleman in the foreground is most likely Joseph Anton von Maffei (4th Sep 1790 – 1 Sep 1870), a German industrialist who together with Joseph von Baader (1763–1835) and Theodor Freiherr von Cramer-Klett (1817–1884), was one of the three most important railway pioneers in Bavaria.

An almost identical version exists but without the word "Postkarte" and the publisher's name and address now in lower case letters.

SECOND VERSION - 'DEUTSCHLAND EXHIBITION'

A second version of this card appeared in 1936 with the same image but now with revised texts on the bottom of the card. On this occasion the card seems to indicate that the exhibition was held in BERLIN, but it was actually located in NÜRNBURG. You can watch footage from the event on YouTube at this link.

There was a 'German' Exhibition held in BERLIN from 18th Jul until 16th Aug 1936 which coincided with the Olympic Games, but it was not a railway exhibition. The new text reads:

'Die erste deutsche Eisenbahn auf der Ausstellung "Deutschland" Berlin 1936'

'The first German railway exhibition "Germany" Berlin 1936'

THIRD VERSION

An identical design to the two above was also made available in 1937 with the texts on the reverse written in English, and was published by Karl Ulrich. The text reads 'Verkehrsmuseum Nürnberg | In remembrance of the inspection by the Institute of Transport on 2nd Jul 1937'. This card has the words 'Postcard' and 'Postkarte' in the destination section.

FOURTH VERSION

There are at least three versions of this card which was also published by Verlag von Ludwig Riffelmacher.

1. The first version has three lines of text on the bottom left-hand edge which reads: "Die erste deutsche Eisenbahn" | wurde am 7.Dezember 1835 zwischen den | Städten Nürnberg-Fürth eröffnet" - 'The first German railway was opened on December 7, 1835 between the cities of Nuremberg and Fürth'

2. The second version has 5 lines of text on the lower left-hand side which reads:

"1835-1935 | 100 Jahre deutsche Eisenbahn | Am 7. Dezember 1835 wurde die erste deutsche | Eisenbahn, die sogen. "Ludwigsbahn", zwischen | den Städten Nürnberg-Fürth eröffnet." - '1835-1935 | 100 years of German railways | On December 7, 1835, the first German | railway, the so-called. "Ludwigsbahn", between | the cities of Nuremberg-Fürth.'

3. The third version has the same text as the second version only now it is printed on the top left-hand side of the card.

The two cards above feature one of the Michel 580 to 583 commemorative stamps issued to mark the anniversary as well as the special handstamp used in NÜRNBERG. The reverse side of the cards differ in the location of the title and related text: the first card has text on the lower left-hand side and the second card has it on the upper left-hand side.

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FIFTH VERSION

The fifth card features the same image as the first but without any inscription on the bottom edge. In this case there is a small inscription in the top right-hand corner 'Erste Eisenbahn "Deutschlands" zwischen Nürnberg u. Fürth xxxxx 1835'. The other side of the card has a long passage of text providing more details on the anniversary.

The example below left was a local delivery in KIEL on 6th Jun 1920, so the design of the card preceeds the 1935 anniversary by at least 15 years. This particular example has mixed franking comprising three different stamp issues. The stamp on the left is a regular BAYERN issue, the centre stamp is the same but now with a "Volksstaat Bayern" overprint and the third a Bavarian issue stamp overprinted "Deutsches Reich"

The example below left was cancelled in NÜRNBERG and despatched to New York City in the U.S on 23rd Feb 1922. Note on this example the stamp is on the reverse of the card.

SIXTH VERSION

This sixth card was published by F. Bruckmann and differs from the others in that it has a slightly different image and more noticeably is in black and white instead of full colour, however this card does exist in a colour version (see below). The text on this card is similar to the other cards and reads:

'Reichsbahn - Ausstellung Nürnberg' 1935 | 100 Jahre Deutsche Eisenbahn | Das bild der ersten Deutschen Eisenbahn von Nürnberg | nach Fürth, 1835. Gemalt für die Ausstellung | von Erich Schilling und Professor Bruno Goldschmitt'

'Reichsbahn - Nuremberg Exhibition' 1935 | 100 years of German railways | The picture of the first German railway from Nuremberg | to Fürth, 1835. Painted for the exhibition | by Erich Schilling and Professor Bruno Goldschmitt'

SEVENTH VERSION

This is a full colour version of the card shown above, only this time published by Paul Janke and not F. Bruckmann. There are at least two variations of this design.

EIGHTH VERSION

This variation was printed by Verlag Fritz Lauterbach of Furth and has an inscription in German, English and French which reads "First German railway between Nuremburg and Fuerth, in 1835". I'm not sure of the publication date of this card, but it does seem to be a more modern creation.

PHOTO CARDS

The following postcard, published by well-known Verlag Paul Janke of NÜRNBERG, is numbered '6302' and is likely part of a set of postcards issued by the publisher to commemorate the anniversary.