A JOURNEY

Germany's journey from Unification (1871) and rapid industrialisation, to loss of the Colonial Empire, defeat in WWI and abdication of the Kaiser (1918) took less than a lifetime. What a fascinating story in European history, which can be told by stamps and postal history featured in our Part 2 list.

Within the mother country, initially two currency systems running side by side under the 1871 Eagles issues, and then domination by a single design series (Germanias) but with different perforations, watermarks, shades, typo and litho, especially during the 1914-18 War restrictions.

And there were complications. The integration of the postal system of Bavaria and Wurttemberg was not achieved until 1923 : for the stamps and postal history of those two states in this period, see our "German States" list.

The expansion of the German Navy was a feature of the arms race between Germany and Great Britain, but the growth of the German merchant navy was also a key factor in the short-lived acquisition and growth of the colonies, plus the adventure in China during the Boxer Rebellion.

German military advances in WWI on the Eastern Front are reflected in the Occupation stamps for Poland, Ob Ost (Russia and the Baltic) and Romania; a fore-runner of the identical action in WWII. History repeats itself.