OFFICIAL POSTCARDS

This page was last updated
10-Feb-2024 12:57

LERNT DEUTSCHLAND KENNEN!

GET TO KNOW GERMANY - INTRODUCTION

The 'Get to Know Germany' series of postcards was designed to encourage Germans to visit places of interest or natural beauty within Germany and is a popular area for collectors. However, this is a very large area to collect (over 2,600 postcards). They were first issued in 1932, continued throughout the Third Reich period and then after the war in West Germany up until 1964. There were 9 series issued during the Third Reich period from 1933 to 1945 and these are the cards featured on the next few pages.

Providing firm dates for many of the various issues is problematic, so the dates provided below may not be entirely accurate, although they are a good starting point.

The format of the cards is fairly standard, depicting a scene or well-known building from around Germany, as well as the sender's details on the left-hand side, and a pre-printed stamp on the right-hand side just above the address. The reverse side of all of these cards is blank, leaving adequate space for the sender to write a meassage. On examples where the postcard was sent outside of Germany you will find self-adhesive stamps have been added to account for the extra duty.

PRE- 'GET TO KNOW GERMANY'

Prior to the release of the popular 'LERNT DEUTSCHLAND KENNEN!' or 'Get to Know Germany' series of postcards there were several issues of postcards that can be considered as precursors to the main series. These cards did not contain the 'Lernt Deutschland Kennen' (Get to Know Germany') heading on the top left-hand side of the card, but they did have the same basic format and were designed to encourage tourism within Germany. The pre-printed stamp on these cards is either an Imperial Eagle, Friedrich von Schiller, Ludwig van Beethoven or the Weimar Republic President, Friedrich Ebert (1871-1925). Ebert did appear on one set of Third Reich era postcards, P202, whereas the rest of the series up until 1945 featured either President Paul von Hindenburg or Adolf Hitler pre-printed stamps. Currently 'Get to Know Germany' postcards issued after 1945 are not included here.

IMPERIAL EAGLE
(One Series)

P164 Valid from 17th Feb 1926 until 31st Jul 1930: This set consists of 26 different cards all are green, without a border, and with a 5Rpf, Imperial eagle, pre-printed stamp. Picture postcards could only be purchased by subscription after 1931.

FRIEDRICH von SCHILLER
(One Series)

P174 1927: features 10 different cards all are green, without a border and with a 5Rpf, Friedrich von Schiller, pre-printed stamp.

LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
(One Series)

P178 1927: features 27 different cards all are green, without a border and with an 8Rpf, Ludwig van Beethoven, pre-printed stamp.

REICHSPRESIDENT FRIEDRICH EBERT
(Seven Series)

There were seven separate issues featuring Reichs President Friedrich Ebert:

P185 1928: features 10 different cards all are green, without a border and with a 8Rpf pre-printed stamp.

P188 1929: features 10 different cards all are green, now with a border, a short-tailed 'e' in 'Postkarte'.

P189 1930: features 61 different cards all are green, with a border, the scene is now a photograph rather than a line drawing and there is a description below the scene. The 'e' of 'Postkarte' has a small tail.

P191 1931: features 36 different cards all are green, with a border, the 'e' of postcard now has a long tail. The undotted line of the address section is thick and solid.

P192 1931: features 35 different cards all are green, the 'e' of 'Postkarte' has a long tail and the solid line in the address section now has a 'rope' design rather than the circles that make up the border.

P201 1932: features 9 different cards all are green, the 'e' of 'Postkarte' still has a long tail and the card finally has the 'Lernt Deutschland Kennen!' Title. Almost all future cards will feature this title (although there are a few cards in the series that have alternative titles).

P202 1932: The final series depicting Friedrich Ebert pre-printed stamps features 81 different cards all are green, the 'e' of 'Postkarte' still has a long tail.

RHINELAND EAGLE
(One Series)

P205 1925: This series depicting a Rhine Eagle pre-printed stamp on six different cards all are green.

REICHSPRESIDENT PAUL von HINDENBURG
(Six Series)

There were six separate issues featuring Reichs President Paul von Hindenburg:

P221 1933: features 78 different cards all are green and have a 6Rpf Hindenburg Medallion pre-printed stamp. This is the only Hindenburg issue that has a long-tailed 'e' in 'Postkarte'. There is no control date in the bottom right-hand corner.

P231 1934: features 9 different cards all are green and have a 6Rpf Hindenburg Medallion pre-printed stamp. This series has a medium-length tail on the 'e' of 'Postkarte'. There is no control date in the bottom right-hand corner.

P232 1934: features 144 different cards all are green and have a 6Rpf Hindenburg Medallion pre-printed stamp. This series has a short-tailed on the 'e' of 'Postkarte'. There is no control date in the bottom right-hand corner.

P233 1934: features 36 different cards all are green and have a 6Rpf Hindenburg Medallion pre-printed stamp. This series is the first to feature a control print date that shows when the card was printed e.g., '34-' or '35-' etc.

P236 1934: features 1218 different cards and is spread across 11 pages. All are now brown and have a 6Rpf Hindenburg Medallion pre-printed stamp. This series is the only Hindenburg series that is brown in colour.

P238 1937: features 9 different cards and returns to the green colour as in previous issues. This is the only Hindenburg series that features a green 5Rpf pre-printed stamp.

ADOLF HITLER
(Three Series)

There were three separate issues featuring Adolf Hitler:

P304 1941: features 72 different cards all are brown and have a 6Rpf Hitler Medallion pre-printed stamp. These cards can be differentiated by the full sender's and receiver's address such as 'Hausnummer' and 'Postschlieβfachnummer' instead of 'Haus-Nr' and 'Postschlieβfach-Nr'.

P305 1941 Onwards: features 375 different cards all are brown and have a 6Rpf Hitler Medallion pre-printed stamp. These cards can be differentiated by the shortened sender's and receiver's address such as 'Haus-Nr' and 'Postschlieβfach-Nr' instead of 'Hausnummer' and 'Postschlieβfachnummer'.

P307 1942 Onwards: The final Hitler Medallion series features 651 different cards all are brown and have a 6Rpf Hitler Medallion pre-printed stamp. These cards can be differentiated from all other Adolf Hitler 'Lernt Deutschland Kennen!' postcards by the additional text 'Nur im Inland zugelassen' - 'Only approved in Germany' below the word 'Postkarte'.



These pages were compiled from several sources including, but not limited to:
1. The 'MICHEL Ganzsachen Deutschland 2018' ISBN 9783954022250