Traditional Costumes of Germany 1935

On October 4, 1935, the annual issue of the so-called 'Nothilfe' stamps with surcharge, which had existed in the Weimar Republic since 1924, appeared. The number of stamps in the series gradually expanded from four to nine in 1934 (professions). But in 1935, there were even 10 stamps. Traditional costumes had been chosen as the motif for 1935. Images featuring only women in traditional dress. Had they received too much criticism regarding the previous issue featuring only male professions? Karl Diebitsch (1899-1985) was asked to design the piece; he had already designed the four stamps for 100 years of German Railways earlier that year. For those, he had used photographs taken by a professional photographer. He did not have to make significant changes to his design for the Emergency Relief stamps. He followed the same principle for the borders of the images and the typeface used. And here too, he made use of photographs taken by portrait and landscape photographer Hans Retzlaff (1902-1965). The 3 + 2 Pfennig stamp depicts traditional costume as worn in East Prussia in the town of Ermland, now part of Poland. In the background is Marienburg Castle. Almost razed to the ground in 1945, but now restored and placed on the World Heritage List. The 4 + 3 Pfennig stamp features a lady from the small town of Rossberg in former Upper Silesia near Beuthen. This town also now belongs to Poland and has been renamed Rozbark. It has become a district of Beuthen, which is now called Bytom. The lady depicted on the 5 + 3 Pfennig stamp is from the Rhineland, Rüdesheim. In the background is the Rüdesheimer Berg with Burg Ehrenfels. The grapes in the foreground indicate that this area is considered one of the best vineyards in the country. Lower Saxony borders the North Sea and the Netherlands. The woman depicted on the 6 + 4 Pfennig stamp hails from the former principality (until 1918) and free state of Schaumburg-Lippe. The traditional costume originates from Lindhorst. In the background, a small but characteristic part of a Saxon farmhouse can be seen. The gable is decorated with wooden horse heads. The lavishly dressed woman on the 8 + 4 Pfennig stamp hails from Kurmark. The traditional costume is found in Niederlausitz in the state of Brandenburg. In the background is part of the Heinersbrück area in the Spreewald, a wooded peatland formed after the last Ice Age. Many branches of the River Spree can be found here. One of the traditional costumes best known to us Dutch people originates from the Black Forest. This is due to the pom-poms on the hat. The image on the 12 + 6 Pfennig stamp is by Anna Zwick of the large farm in the Gutachtal in the background. The Marburg traditional costume originates from Hesse. On the 15 + 10 Pfennig stamp, this traditional costume—in particular the pointed bonnet known as the 'Zipfelmütze', as it was common in the Hessian hinterland—is depicted against the backdrop of Nieder Asphe, near Münchausen, the 387-meter-high Christenberg. Bavaria is very well known for its traditional costumes. The 25 + 15 Pfennig stamp depicts a woman in the traditional costume of Bayrischzell, a municipality in the state of Bavaria. This does not show everyday attire, but rather a costume specifically worn on festive occasions. This is called the Miesbacher Tracht. The island of Fohr lies south of the much better-known-sounding island of Sylt, one of Germany's Wadden Islands. The 30 + 20 Pfennig stamp shows a house characteristic of the island. It is a popular island for tourists because of the beautiful beaches, just visible behind the woman. Finally, the 40 + 35 Pfennig stamp featuring an image of a woman in traditional costume specially created for her wedding ceremony. The woman is from Effeltrich, located in Upper Franconia, approximately 20 kilometers north of Nuremberg. The small tower in the background is part of the Kirchenburg in Effeltrich. The stamps were available not only as sheet stamps but also in a stamp booklet. This booklet, the 41st booklet, contained four values. The price of the booklet was 2 Reichsmarks. Because various values ​​were compressed into stapled sheets within the booklet, several combinations are possible. As can be seen on the illustrated sheet with two values ​​and text. Complete sheets containing the contents of the stamp booklets were also in circulation, allowing for even more combination possibilities. Even double printings. A beautiful series of stamps that was only valid for postage up to and including June 30, 1936.