Reichspost

Reichspost (German:

postal service of Germany

from 1866 to 1945.

Deutsche Reichspost

Upon the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the break-up of the German Confederation in the Peace of Prague, the North German Confederation was established, instigated by the Prussian minister-president Otto von Bismarck. Originally a military alliance, it evolved to a federation with the issuing of a constitution with effect from 1st July 1867. In the course of the war, Prussian troops had occupied the Free City of Frankfurt and the King of Prussia (later to become the German Kaiser, or Emperor) had purchased the remnants of the Thurn-und-Taxis Post organisation. According to article 48, the federal area of the Northern German states, de facto an enlarged Prussia, came under the united postal authority, led by director Heinrich von Stephan.

With the

Alsace-Lorraine. Its official name was Kaiserliche Post und Telegraphenverwaltung. The Southern German federated states of Baden (until 1872), Württemberg (until 1902) and Bavaria initially maintained separate state post authorities, that nevertheless were integrated into the nationwide administration. On 1st January 1876 a Reichspostamt under Postmaster General von Stephan was split-off from Bismarck's Reich Chancellery as a government agency in its own right. In the First World War, a Reichsabgabe

tax was levied on the postal traffic from 1st August 1916 in order to finance the war expenses.

With the establishment of the

videophone

.

In the

Reichsarbeitsdienst members in the field, becoming the general postal authority of the occupied territories. Deliveries were more and more affected by the advance of Allied troops from January 1945 onward. The Reichspost finally ceased to function with the German Instrument of Surrender on 8th May. The last Reichspostminister Julius Dorpmüller, a member of the Flensburg Government, was arrested two weeks later, and governmental authority was officially taken over by the Allied Control Council with the Berlin Declaration

of 5th June.

Successors

The Reichspost was initially replaced by

Saar

postal authority (1947–1956).

After the

Deutsche Post AG, a share holding company, later reintegrating the Postbank, and Deutsche Telekom.^[1]

Other use

Between 1894 and 1938, a daily newspaper called Reichspost was issued in Vienna, Austria.^{[citation needed]}
During the Second World War there was an additional use for the postal vans: "01.05.1942 Transfer of Postschutz in the SS (see Gottlob Berger), shortly after that also the 'remote power mail' ('front help of the Deutsche Reichspost') used as 'SS power driving season'. During 1942, these buses were used for transporting psychiatric patients to the gasification facilities of [the] T-4 euthanasia program."^{[citation needed]}

Notes

^ History of Deutsche Post AG (1995)

[1] History of Deutsche Post AG (1995)

[1]

Deutsche Reichspost

Successors

Other use

See also

Notes