Aš / Asch
Aš / Asch
Between the Smrčiny Mountains and the Ore Mountains is the Aš Spur, which is surrounded on three sides by Germany. Approximately 45,000 inhabitants lived in this area, who were practically 100 % German.
A little bit of history
On October 1, 1933, Konrad Henlein, a gym teacher from Aš, founded the Sudeten German Patriotic Front, which, under the name of the Sudeten German Party (SdP), won 70.84% of the vote in the 1935 elections and became the strongest party in the pre-Munich republic. Aš became the starting point of the Sudeten German movement. Henlein initiated the so-called Karlovy Vary Programme, in which the SdP demanded a “solution” to the Sudeten German question.
The situation escalated in 1938 when, on the eve of Henlein’s birthday on 5 May, a procession of 21 000 supporters of the movement from all over Cheb region marched through Aš, greeting the assembled crowds with the shout “Sieg Heil”. During September 1938, as elsewhere in the border area with Germany, an armed coup attempt was made by the Henleinists. The result was deaths and injuries. The Czechoslovak government responds by declaring martial law and occupying the border districts with troops.
On 18 September, on the night of Saturday to Sunday, the Neulaufen customs office was raided. Because of the growing nervousness on both sides, a skirmish broke out on the borders. Czech border guards fired flares to warn the Czech offices in Aš. They informed the Cheb headquarters and a military unit was sent to Aš. There was a feeling of tension in the air, people were nervously awaiting news from Berlin and Prague.
21. September “Der Melniker Sender” reports in German that the friendly countries of France, Great Britain and Italy have recommended that Czechoslovakia accept Hitler’s demands for the secession of the Sudetenland. The Czechoslovak government had to accept these demands.
In response to these developments, the SdP managed to occupy police and government offices. In relation to the subject of this article, perhaps the most important event is the occupation of the largest post office of the three in the district, Aš 1. The clerks were secretly ordered to take away all cash and stamp supplies. They had a truck rented from an Aš forwarding company ready for this purpose and were to take everything to Hořovice near Plzeň. A German employee of the office, who was returning by car to the Aš 1 post office from the railway station around 9 o’clock, realized what was happening and immediately turned around, parked the car in a nearby alley and informed the Freikorps troops who had surrounded the office from the outside. The Freikorps units began to guard the entire area and the employees had no chance to escape with cash and valuables. After 9 p.m., the officials were ordered by the gunmen to leave the office and not to damage anything. The Freikorps then transported them across the border.
In response to these events, the Czech inhabitants began to leave the town in fear, and on the same night the leaders of the SdP proclaimed the “Free State of Aš”, which encompassed the entire Aš Spur.
Nine days before the signing of the Munich Agreement, Freikorps troops raided the Aš customs house and disarmed Czech policemen and gendarmes. They built anti-tank roadblocks from felled trees on the roads to Cheb, and set up a headquarters at Goethe’s Stone. At Hazlov there was a shooting and the “Free State of Aš” began to be abandoned by the Czech population en masse.
In the following days, there was no communication with the outside world. Only Bavaria or Saxony could be reached, but everything towards Cheb was closed. No Czech foot was allowed to enter the territory of the Free State of Aš. Schools were not taught, work was stopped. The population celebrated in the streets. 300 German anti-fascists and Czech officials were gathered in the gymnasium. They were taken to Germany and interned there for many days. Their families, if they did not flee in time, were expelled.
A few days later, Czechoslovak President Edvard Beneš rejected Hitler’s demands and ordered a general mobilization in Czechoslovakia. The SdP Executive declares: “The mobilization of Mr. Beneš in Prague has no validity for the ‘Free State of Aš’”. On October 3, at 8 a.m., Wehrmacht troops marched into the town through all the border crossings, and at 11:15 a.m. Adolf Hitler crossed the now non-existent border at Wildenau and was enthusiastically welcomed by the inhabitants of Aš.
Thus ended the history of the Free State of Aš, which had its own administration, ordered driving on the right side of the road, and even issued its own postage stamps, which is the subject of this article. The Sudetenland thus fell to Germany.
Aš overprints
The Aš provisional issue contains only 5 stamps and has postal validity from 22 September 1938 to 19 October 1938.
The reprint was made by the printing office Fa. Albert Gugath, Buchdruckerei in Aš. In the first edition only stamps with the head of Edvard Beneš and T. G. Masaryk were reprinted. That was not enough, so in the second printing the stamps with the coat of arms were also reprinted. The printing form contained 50 stamps (5 horizontal rows and 10 vertical rows).
Overprinting of the denomination was done by letterpress (letterpress is characterized by its weight, the printed denomination is clearly visible on the other side of the stamp).
50 heller stamp with Edvard Beneš from printing plates 1 and 2
This stamp has long been underestimated. It is very interesting that it was printed by two different printing plates. The picture of Mr. Beneš from plate 1 has a light ear and the picture of Mr. Beneš from plate 2 has a dark ear (later engraved). Edvard Beneš from both printing plates is overprinted with the overprints of all 6 Sudeten cities. The peculiarity of the Sudeten overprints is that they are often placed over the ear and it is not always possible to identify the printing plate. For stamps where the printing plate No. 1 is recognizable, there is a surcharge on the price.
When overprinting the number 1, the thick letters were not enough to cover the whole sheet. Therefore, the bottom row of the sheet was set with thin letters. This resulted in Type 1 II with a small edition of only 1,269 copies, 240 of which were on greenish paper. In contrast, type 1 I had an edition of 11 421 copies, of which 611 on greenish paper.
There are 240 vertical and linked pairs of numbers 1 I and 1 II, of which 70 are on greenish paper and 30 are with reverse overprint. Reverse overprint stamps and especially unused pieces are very rare.
In addition to the peculiarity of the “2 printing plates”, the stamps with Edvard Beneš also offer one other difference. During the later second printing, someone forgot to wash off the black ink, so Beneš was accidentally overprinted in black instead of red. After two printings the mistake was corrected. This created 100 rarities. Interestingly, each print was made on a stamp from a different printing plate, so this rarity exists on two printing plates.
There are double overprints, reverse overprints, overprints shifted to both sides, partial overprints (those that overlap the stamp on both sides are considered double overprints). These peculiarities make the Aš overprints very interesting. A few of these peculiarities are illustrated below.
Celebratory postmark
Aš reprints/letters often have the so-called “red celebratory postmark”, which was meant to pay tribute to the Freikorps troops. The stamp was put on all postcards before postal use, so there are also postally unused stamped pieces. The stamp reads:
Wir haben das Joch getragen, nun sind wir frei und bleiben frei. Postamt Asch 1, am 21. September 1938
This stamp exists in 3 variants.
Type 1 – swastika and wreath of oak leaves in the text (the most common variant)
Type 2 – swastika and wreath of oak leaves above the text (rare variant)
Type 3 – swastika and wreath of oak leaves above the text with an error in the text “Semptember” instead of “September” (very rare variant)
Fronthilfekarte
The SDP used stamps and postal funds to procure money which they used to pay the salaries of Freikorps officers, civil servants and other state bodies. For this purpose, so-called “Fronthilfekarten” (postcards) were issued. Their price was very high. A postcard with a value of 50 hellers was sold for 2 crowns and 50 hellers, and a postcard with a value of 1.20 crowns cost 5 crowns. 50 hellers postcard was valid for Aš only and 1.20 crowns postcard for interstate shipments.
About four-fifths of the postcards had the Freikorps motif with the swastika flag with the Bismarck tower in the background. Another, roughly one-fifth, had various motifs such as portraits, youth etc… In the book “Die Postwerzeichne des Sudetenlandes” it is written about the huge demand and not only for postal use but also as a commemorative item of the “liberation”. The huge demand was the main reason for the long working hours at the post offices. There are also postmarks with the time 24:00.
The profit from the sale of these postcards (with the red postmark and the stamp affixed) was used to fund the SdP. Therefore, unused postcards are rarer.
Postal stamp of Aš
According to the book “Sudeten-Deutsche Befreiungs-Stempel 1939”, Aš used the Czech stamp type “4 a” in black.
According to the book “Sudeten-Deutsche Befreiungs-Stempel 1939”, Aš used the Czech stamp type “4 a” in black.
Czech postmarks:
Aš 1 – with letters – c p, 1 b, 3 c, 3 d, 3 e, 4 a, 4 e
Nationalized postmarks:
Asch 1 – with letters – c p, 1 d
Asch 3 – with letters – b, c
Postal Integrality
When on 21 September 1938 the radio announced that the Prague government was agreeing to the terms of the Sudetenland’s withdrawal, the SdP immediately occupied all the offices and just before midnight the main post office in Aš 1. After the occupation, the Czechs were prevented from taking away all the valuables and so everything remained and was confiscated. Evidence shows that overprints began to be used from the early hours of 22 September 1938.
Also noticeable is the frequent use of the stamp 30.IX.38 – 12. This is probably related to the official acceptance of the Munich Agreements. In the book “Die Postwerzeichnen des Sudetenlandes” it is written that never more postage stamps were sold than then. It says that collectors and philatelists came from the Reich to document the event. Postal clerks at the time worked late to meet the demand. There are also time stamps with 23 and 24 o’clock.
Sources:
1. Handbuch der Sudetenphilatelie, Gerhard A. Späth (2021)
2. Die Postwerzeichnen des Sudetenlandes, J. Hugo Hörr (1941/1963)
3. modernidejiny.cz
4. Michel – Deutschland-Spezial 2021
5. POFIS Československo 1918 -1939 (2015)
6. asch-boehmen.de