German occupation Estonia year 1941 stamps Overprint “OSTLAND”

German occupation Estonia year 1941 stamps Overprint “OSTLAND” MNH

In 1941, after Nazi Germany occupied Estonia during World War II, a set of postage stamps was issued for use in the occupied territory:

1941 German Occupation of Estonia Stamps:

Overprints:

• The stamps were essentially Estonian stamps from 1939-1940 that were overprinted with new inscriptions and values by the German occupation authorities.
• Common overprints included “Ostland” (referring to the German territorial administration) and new denominations such as “Reichspfennig.”

Designs:

• The underlying Estonian stamp designs depicted things like the coat of arms, landscapes, and historical figures/monuments.
• Some showed effigies of former Estonian leaders that were overprinted.

Values:

• New values ranged from 1 to 60 Reichspfennig, brought in line with German civilian postal rates.
• Some higher values may have existed for foreign rates.

Purpose:

• To provide postage stamps for civilian mail within the occupied territories after invalidating previous Estonian stamps.
• To symbolize German authority and administration over Estonia.

Printing:

• While using existing Estonian stamp stocks, the overprinting was likely done in Germany itself.
• This allowed tight control over stamp production during the occupation period.

The overprinted 1941 stamps for occupied Estonia had a relatively short period of usage until new Germania design definitive stamps were issued by German authorities in 1942-1944. But they remain an important piece of Estonian philatelic history from the wartime occupation years.