Women in German history series

Women in German history (Frauen der deutschen Geschichte) is a definitive stamp series issued in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and West Berlin from 1986 to 1990, and in reunited Germany 1990 to 2003. The series was replaced by the current definitive series Blumen (flowers) from 3 January 2005.

Description

The stamps were designed by Gerd and Oliver Aretz.

Each stamp represents a portrait of a famous German woman. Two are Austrian: Lise Meitner and Bertha von Suttner. The color of the portrait is different from the color of the country name and denomination.

The name of the country on the stamps changed according to German history :

  • "Deutsche Bundespost" (Federal German Post), 1986–1990 in Western Germany and 1990–1995 in reunited Germany,
  • "Deutsche Bundespost – Berlin", 1986–1990 for a use in West Berlin,
  • "Deutschland" (Germany) since 1995.

The currency of the denomination changed too with the introduction of the euro:

  • 1986 to 2000, expressed in pfennig and without a unit. For example: "100" for 100 pfennig (or 1 deutsche Mark).
  • in 2000 and 2001, the denomination is in pfennig and in euro (with use of € symbol).
  • since 2002, only euro is used with the € symbol.

Even if it was a definitive stamp series, because of the Reunification of Germany some issues for Westberlin were used only a short time and stamps with postmarks from real post services (not the collectors postmarks like most of Berlin 12) are rare.

List of the stamps

Women in German history (FRG and West Berlin)

Denomination
in Pfennig 		Woman Michel catalog
2nd line for West Berlin 		Date of issue Known as
5 Emma Ihrer 1405
833		 9 February 1989 trade unionist
10 Paula Modersohn-Becker 1359
806		 14 April 1988 painter
20 Cilly Aussem 1365
811		 5 May 1988 tennis player
40 Maria Sibylla Merian 1331
788		 17 September 1987 painter
50 Christine Teusch 1304
770		 13 November 1986 politician
60 Dorothea Erxleben 1332
824		 17 September 1987
Berlin: 10 November 1988		 first woman doctor in Germany
80 Clara Schumann 1305
771		 13 November 1986 pianist and composer
100 Therese Giehse 1390
825		 10 November 1988 actress
120 Elisabeth Selbert 1338
–		 6 November 1987 influential on West German constitution
130 Lise Meitner 1366
812		 5 May 1988 physicist
140 Cécile Vogt 1432
848		 10 August 1989 neuropathologist
170 Hannah Arendt 1391
826		 10 November 1988 philosopher, author
180 Lotte Lehmann 1427
844		 13 July 1989 singer
240 Mathilde Franziska Anneke 1392
827		 10 November 1988 feminist writer
250 Luise von Preußen 1428
845		 13 July 1989 queen of Prussia
300 Fanny Hensel geb. Mendelssohn 1433
849		 10 August 1989 composer
350 Hedwig Dransfeld 1393
828		 10 November 1988 politician
500 Alice Salomon 1397
830		 12 January 1989 feminist activist

Women in German history (after German reunification)

Denomination
in Pfennig 		Woman Michel catalog Date of issue Known as
30 Käthe Kollwitz 1488 8 January 1991 artist
70 Elisabet Boehm 1489 8 January 1991 feminist organizer
80 Rahel Varnhagen von Ense 1755 13 October 1994 author
100 Luise Henriette von Oranien 1756 13 October 1994 princess of Brandenburg
150 Sophie Scholl 1497 14 February 1991 resistance activist
200 Bertha von Suttner 1498 14 February 1991 pacifist and writer
400 Charlotte von Stein 1582 9 January 1992 literary
450 Hedwig Courths-Mahler 1614 11 June 1992 writer
Country name: Deutschland
100 Elisabeth Schwarzhaupt 1955 16 October 1997 government minister
110 Marlene Dietrich 1939 14 August 1997 actress
220 Marie Elisabeth Lüders 1940 28 August 1997 member of parliament
300 Maria Probst 1956 16 October 1997 politician
440 Gret Palucca 2014 8 October 1998 ballerina

Women in German history (in euro)

Denomination in
Pfennig and euro 		Woman Michel catalog Date of issue Known as
Denomination in Pfennig and euro
100 / 0,51 € Grethe Weiser 2149 9 November 2000 actress
110 / 0,56 € Käte Strobel 2150 9 November 2000 government minister
220 / 1,12 € Marieluise Fleißer 2158 11 January 2001 writer
300 / 1,53 € Nelly Sachs 2159 11 January 2001 Nobel Prize–winning author
Denomination in euro only
0,45 € Annette von Droste-Hülshoff 2295 27 December 2002 poet
0,55 € Hildegard Knef 2296 27 December 2002 actress, singer, and writer
1,00 € Marie Juchacz 2305 16 January 2003 political activist
1,44 € Esther von Kirchbach 2297 27 December 2002 writer

References

  • Kroemer, Michael (4 May 2000). "40 Jahre Briefmarkengestaltung (40 years of stamp design)" (in German). Bergische Universität Wuppertal. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
  • "Die Dauerserie "Frauen der deutschen Geschichte"" (in German). 1 January 2002. Archived from the original on 9 February 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
  • "Brief History Of German Postage Stamps". Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2007.