Articles
Collecting Germany – The Hitler Heads
by Richard Pederson
by Richard Pederson
Up to the present day, over 60 years after the defeat of Germany and
the Axis powers by the Allied powers in World War II, there is still a
fascination with Nazi Germany. A large portion of this fascination
stems from the atrocities committed by Hitler-led Germany, prior to and
during the war, and a lack of understanding as to how a civilized
country such as Germany could allow such events to occur. My purpose
here is not to delve into how Hitler was able to lead Germany down such
a path, but to look at a set of postal emissions from that government.
In particular, I am going to examine the set of stamps issued during
the period of 1941 through 1944, popularly called the “Hitler Heads”.
As a youth, this set of stamps attracted many of those in my generation of Baby Boomers that grew up following World War II. Many of us knew little about Hitler or, in fact, exactly what had occurred during World War II. Our parents wanted to put those times behind and, in many families, there was limited discussion of what happened. Despite that, the Hitler Heads attracted many of us budding stamp collectors. The set is large enough to be a challenge and has two basic designs,
one for the lower denominations
(up through the 80 pfennig) and one for the upper denominations (1
through 5 marks). Although all values in the set have the same profile
of Hitler, the lower values (through the 80 pfennig) have a solid
background, while the upper values (1 mark and above) have a line
background. 
The set also has
stamps in three different sizes: the one pfennig through 24 pfennig
stamps (Scott numbers 506 through 517) are 18½ millimeters by 22½
millimeters; the 25 pfennig through 80 pfennig values (Scott numbers
518 through 523) are 21½ millimeters by 26 milimeters; and the 1
through 5 mark stamps (Scott numbers 524 through 527) are 24½ by 30
millimeters. In addition, there is a 42 pfennig value (Scott number
529) issued in 1944 that some include with the set. It is identical in
size and design to the 25 through 80 pfennig values, except that it is
inscribed “Grossdeutsches Reich” at the bottom instead of “Deutsches
Reich”. 
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As a youth, this set of stamps attracted many of those in my generation of Baby Boomers that grew up following World War II. Many of us knew little about Hitler or, in fact, exactly what had occurred during World War II. Our parents wanted to put those times behind and, in many families, there was limited discussion of what happened. Despite that, the Hitler Heads attracted many of us budding stamp collectors. The set is large enough to be a challenge and has two basic designs,
one for the lower denominations
(up through the 80 pfennig) and one for the upper denominations (1
through 5 marks). Although all values in the set have the same profile
of Hitler, the lower values (through the 80 pfennig) have a solid
background, while the upper values (1 mark and above) have a line
background. The set also has
stamps in three different sizes: the one pfennig through 24 pfennig
stamps (Scott numbers 506 through 517) are 18½ millimeters by 22½
millimeters; the 25 pfennig through 80 pfennig values (Scott numbers
518 through 523) are 21½ millimeters by 26 milimeters; and the 1
through 5 mark stamps (Scott numbers 524 through 527) are 24½ by 30
millimeters. In addition, there is a 42 pfennig value (Scott number
529) issued in 1944 that some include with the set. It is identical in
size and design to the 25 through 80 pfennig values, except that it is
inscribed “Grossdeutsches Reich” at the bottom instead of “Deutsches
Reich”.
Hitler Heads 2 >> | << Articles
To Print Article: The Hitler Heads (pdf)
