A stamp that survived the bombing

De Bijenkorf in Rotterdam, designed by W.M. Dudok, opened on October 16, 1930, at Van Hogendorpsplein. Alongside the Bijenkorf department stores in Amsterdam and The Hague, this was one of the department store chain's largest complexes. A branch post office was established in the department store. This was announced as follows: Announcement No. 12482S of October 29, 1930: Effective October 16, 1930, the Rotterdam-Bijenkorf branch post and telegraph office has been established in the Rotterdam branch of NV Magazijn “De Bijenkorf”. The branch office received two date stamps and an office name stamp upon its opening. The second name stamp was issued in 1933. During the bombing on May 14, 1940, two-thirds of De Bijenkorf was destroyed, and the branch post office was almost entirely destroyed. The remaining part was refurbished and subsequently served as an emergency department store. However, the branch post office was never reopened. Only one office name stamp was recovered after the bombing during the clearing of the rubble in October 1956 and sent for safekeeping to the Central Directorate of the PTT in The Hague in January 1957. That was the office name stamp from 1933. In 1956, a new branch of De Bijenkorf opened on the Coolsingel. The honeycomb pattern of the facade is striking, and the sculpture by the Russian artist Naum Gabo is characteristic. On March 19, 1957, a Rotterdam-Bijenkorf postal agency was established in De Bijenkorf. The old office name stamp from 1933, the only stamp recovered after the bombing of Rotterdam on May 14, 1940, was reissued on March 16, 1957. In addition, two new date stamps were provided. The office name stamp is one of the few stamps that survived the bombing of Rotterdam, during which postal branches were destroyed.