Activities

The individual scores were as follows:

Overall: 9th place out of 21 participants in all 3 areas with 73.5 points out of a possible 100 (1st place = 78.5 points)

Print Media and Innovative Ideas: no separate placement, 35 out of a possible 50 points (1st place = 42.5 points)

Digital: 12th place out of 31 participants with 17.5 out of 30 possible points (1st place = 23.5 points)

Youth, youth development and public relations: 10th place out of 29 participants with 15 out of 20 possible points (1st place = 18 points)

You can find the detailed results on the web at https://www.cg-award.com/2022_en.php.

The cooperation of the ArGe Baltikum with other philatelic societies dealing with the Baltic States and the exchange of journals with them has now been extended to the Lithuanian Philetelic Society (LPS) based in Chicago/USA, after HBG and Rossica (since 2018) and the ArGe Deutsche Ostgebiete (since 2019).

Members of the ArGe Baltic receive access to the Journal of the LPS from No. 1 / 1946 onwards. The Bulletins have been bilingual Lithuanian / English since 1988 (No. 205) and offer a wealth of first-class information on Lithuanian philately from the pens of active members worldwide.

If you are also interested, please become a member of ArGe Baltikum!

In return, LPS members receive access to the latest issues of BALTIKUM (issues older than 1.5 years are freely available on this web anyway). By the way: Lithuanian philately is also the subject of a monthly video chat (in English) at the LPS, to which all interested parties are welcome at any time. Information on this can be found on the LPS website, lithuanianphilately.com.

Just have a look!

Vytautas Fugalevičius (baptismal name 1930) or Witold Fugalevich (Germanization of the name 1941) was a borderline man between worlds with a fate that befell not a few of his generation.

Fleeing twice, in 1941 and 1944 from the Soviets from his native Lithuania, it took him as a stateless via the Czech Republic, Thuringia, Berlin and Hamburg to Schleswig-Holstein, where he found a new home and he finally received in 1954 the German citizenship. His mother was a native of Memelland, his father a Lithuanian in government service as a surveyor. He described this story in the first issue of the magazine BALTIKUM, No. 1 (2016, p. 54–62).

After studying shipbuilding in Kiel, mainly employed as an engineer in the development department of the Kiel Howaldtswerft shipyard, he developed into one of the distinguished personalities of Baltic philately. In addition to his interest in Lithuanian stamps, he found his main field of activity in the 1960s in the postmarks on the territory of Lithuania, including the Memel area.

With his handbook "Poststempel in Litauen, Normstempel und provisorische Entwertungen 1918–1940/41 / Pašto Antspaudai Lietuvoje / Postal Markings in Lithuania", first published in 1985, he virtually launched the collecting field "Postmarks of Lithuania". Two editions followed, the last as a complete new edition in 2015. He created a standard work known among Lithuania collectors worldwide, which is also appreciated by Memel collectors in Germany.

In 1994 he co-founded the Research Community LITHUANIA , until 2004 he acted as editor-in-chief of the journal "LITUANIA – Mitteilungsblatt der Forschungsgemeinschaft Litauen im BDPh e.V.". In 2005 he received the silver pin of the BDPh for "Merits in research and literature".

As long as his health allowed it, Vitold Fugalevitsch (Lithuanization 2004) regularly participated in philatelist meetings, be it in Ehlershausen, be it in Hennef. He always participated actively in the discussions and contributed his immense expert knowledge generously. One always learned something from him; even those who did not collect Memel or Lithuania benefited from the dialogue.

Vitold Fugalevich passed away in July this year after a long life of self-determination in the last decades. With him we also lose one of the most distinguished publicists of Baltic philately. His extensive work will remain. His friends mourn the loss of a pleasant contemporary whom everyone was lucky to have met.

The BALTIKUM Zeitschrift für Philatelie und Postgeschichte (Journal for Philately and Postal History), the newsletter of the Baltic Working Group, will also be published in English from issue 13 / 2022! The first 12 issues will follow retroactively one after the other.

This continues the bilingual edition of this web (since 2021). The English edition of the BALTIKUM now enables non-German-speaking members and interested parties worldwide to better understand the research results of the ArGe in the BALTIKUM articles in addition to general information on the collection area, the ArGe Baltic States and linked media (in this web)!

The English edition does not contain any illustrations, but the texts, captions and references of the original articles, so that together with the German-language edition they represent an (almost) full-fledged substitute for a complete publication in English.

The English-language editions of the BALTIKUM are available in the same way as the German-language editions, but only as a PDF file: for ArGe members immediately and for non-members after the publication of 3 further issues (i.e. after 1.5 years). The table of contents and a sample can be found in German here, the English version here!

If you are immediately interested in either the complete German or the complete English edition: become a member of the ArGe and get both editions!

Lithuania – Handbook of Philately and Postal History Part 5 (German with English summary)

This handbook continues the established standard work. This handbook continues the established standard work "Postal Markings in Lithuania 1918–1940/41" by W. Fugalewitsch. However, not all postmarks since 1990 can be illustrated, their number has become too large. One of the main reasons is that the plastic stamps with rubber stamping plates were not always able to withstand the stresses and strains of everyday postal use and often had to be replaced, resulting in a large number of different stamps.

So far, there are several thousand rubber stamps recorded from 1994 onwards. These cannot possibly appear in a printed work. The digital age is expanding the possibilities:

The printed manual explains how the multitude of postmarks can be classified into seven different types so far, based on certain philatelic and technical characteristics. The description of each type contains

– Information on the material of the stamping equipment (metal or rubber))
– Design
– Diameter
– Font type and size
– Length of the country name LIETUVA
– Date lines
– Post towns and
– Distinguishing letters.

The treasurer Michael Haslau explained the finances of the association.

Thomas Löbbering reported on the activities of the association since the last meeting in Hennef in 2019.

Next to him Michael Wieneke, in the background Michael Haslau and the auditors Karl Lukas and Thomas Radzuweit.

The retiring board members received a small souvenir and a big thank you from the hands of the webmaster Friedhelm Doell.

The former chairman Thomas Löbbering presented the insignia of the first chairperson to the new chairman Torsten Berndt übering: the bell and the work of art with the title "Together we are strong!"

As always, specialist lectures enriched the meeting.

Thomas Löbbering reported on the journey around the Baltic Sea of the airship Graf Zeppelin LZ 127.

Hannes Westendorf showed "Destinations from Estonia to 1905".

Martin Bechstedt presented the handbook "Die Tagesstempel der unabhängigen Republik Litauen seit 1990" (The daily postmarks of the independent Republic of Lithuania since 1990) written by him and Bernhard 'Tony' Fels (who, like several other members, was unfortunately unable to come to Hennef for private reasons).

This handbook is the printed introduction to the stamp project of the same name by the two authors and other stamp collectors from Germany and Lithuania, which in addition to this text section includes an internet database with 6,500 stamps. This is linked via the ArGe web here.

Since February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation's attack on Ukraine has changed all our lives. Europe is reinventing itself as a federated community of free nations that can and must no longer take life and freedom for granted.

Vigilance as the price of freedom is something that the three Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania understand particularly well from their own experience. Solidarity with the attacked Ukraine is therefore exceptionally strong and unconditional among their populations. Thus, within a few weeks, the postal organisations of all three countries have emitted commemorative issues expressing their special solidarity with Ukraine:

Latvia issued a souvenir sheet at 3 x 1.44 € and a decorative field, combining the Ukrainian national colours blue and yellow with the colours of the Latvian national flag, with pictures and inscriptions of the freedom monuments in the main cities of Riga and Kiev, just two weeks after the start of the attack.

Next to the block's pictorial inscriptions Слава Украïнi, (spoken: Slawa Ukrajini, English: Glory to Ukraine / Long live Ukraine) and SLAVA UKRAINAI! in Latvian, the vignette field and each stamp reads Mēs ar jums! (English: We are with you!) in both languages.

The Estonian philatelist Ahto Tanner points out on his website that the stamp of PAIDE ПАЙДЕ -2 VIII 41 , which is often offered on the internet, is most probably a forgery.

According to this, the genuine stamp of the Soviet type, Hurt/Ojaste 19A2:1, was delivered to the Paide post office shortly before the occupation of Paide by German troops in August 1941. It was explicitly not intended for cancelling letters, but only for internal use by the post office.

According to Ahto Tanner's view, the left stamp impression is genuine and the right one a stamp forgery, as indicated by the details marked in red.

According to statement of BPP expert Thomas Löbbering the question of whether there are different stamps (genuine and false) or one and the same (misused) stamp still needs to be clarified, as a stamp could indeed change in the course of use as shown.

(← click to enlarge)

All the postmark data available so far has been misused on documents not used for postal purposes (blank sheets, envelopes not addressed or addressed later, souvenir envelopes with postmark data after the German occupation, etc.). The illustrations show some examples:

Postmark date 30 VII 41 on stamps of the issue Pärnu II, which were sold for the first time on September 14, 1941 and only for souvenir purposes without postal validity.

Postmark date -2 VIII 41, most frequent but at the same time most improbable postmark date, as the withdrawing Soviets blew up the Paide post office on this day.

Postmark data after the occupation of Paide by German troops, here a sample cancel on "made" (real used) Ostland letters of the dealer Walter Prell of -8 II 42 with previously cancelled Soviet postmark PAIDE ПАЙДЕ -2 VIII 41

Illustration credits and further information (unfortunately only in Estonian): https://postiajalugu.ee/voltsitud-postitempel-paide-petch/.

The frequently requested Auxiliary guide no. 3 "Postmarks in the Baltic States used from 1944/1945 onwards" is now available for download in version 1.0 (as of November 2020) for all interested parties.

Please note: The manual is a "work in progress", an ongoing construction site whose progress depends on the cooperation of all interested parties.

Please report your new finds to the ArGe!

You can find further information and the link to the download under Publications --> Auxiliary guides.

Logo of the PHILA NIPPON '21

Envelope with special postmarks for PHILA NIPPON '21 of "3. 8. 25", the 25.VIII.21 8-12", from Yokohama, Kanagawa

Stamp cover with i.a. Japanese special stamp for the "International Letter Writing Week, 2021" from "3. 12. 7", the "-7.XII.21 8-12", from Toshima, Tokyo

Dear visitors of our website,

After two years of the pandemic and the cancellation of most philatelic events until next year, there is only one thing left for us to do: to wish you a blessed Christmas with your loved ones and a good transition into the New Year!

In July 2021, a database application by ArGe members Martin Bechstedt and Bernhard 'Tony' Fels went online for everyone. All you need is a working internet connection and a browser programme like the one you are currently using to view this page.

You can view the tables or figures on the Internet or, if you are interested, download the entire content or only parts for your own use.

More information on this and a brief introduction to the topic 'The Daily Stamps of the Independent Republic of Lithuania since 1990 – Introduction and Systematisation' can be found on our Working aids page!

Web of the ArGe now bilingual German–English

The year 2021 marks the beginning of a new era for the Working Group:

The web of the Arge with a variety of infor­mation about the Baltic States, the philate­lic treasures of Estonia, Latvia and Lithua­nia and about the ArGe itself is now also available in English worldwide!

If you have acquaintances who are interested in the Baltic States but understand English better than German, invite them to look around here – whether they are philatelists, histori­cally or touristically interested or simp­ly curious about what this fascinating region in north-eastern Europe had and has to offer.

But you, as a visitor to the web, are also cordially invited to take a thorough glance around he­re! Come, have a look and enjoy the richness of what we ha­ve put together for you!

Web der ArGe jetzt bilingual Deutsch–Englisch

Mit dem Jahr 2021 beginnt eine neue Ära für die Arbeitsgemein­schaft:

Das Web der Arge mit vielfältigen Informa­tionen über das Baltikum, die philatelisti­schen Schätze Est­lands, Lettlands und Li­tauens und über die ArGe selbst ist ab so­fort weltweit auch auf Englisch verfügbar!

Wenn Sie Bekannte haben, die sich für das Baltikum interessieren, aber besser Englisch als Deutsch verstehen, laden Sie die ein, sich hier umzuse­hen – gleich ob sie Philatelisten, his­torisch oder touristisch Interessierte oder einfach neugierig sind, was diese faszinierende Region im Nordosten Europas zu bieten hatte und hat.

Aber auch Sie als Besucher des Webs sind herzlich eingeladen, sich hier gründlich umzuse­hen! Kommen Sie, schauen Sie und erfreuen Sie sich an der Fülle dessen, was wir für Sie zu­sammengetragen haben!

At the 2019 general meeting, the working group decided to take on the cancels that continued to be used in the Baltic States from 1944/45 onwards. The aim was to record all cancels that had been used
– in the previously independent states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania 1919–1940
– during the First Soviet Occupation 1940/41
– during the German occupation 1941–1944/45
and as such continued to be used or were used again during the second Soviet occupation from 1944/45 onwards..

The stamp reports were processed by our publication editors, Thomas Löbbering for Estonia, Ruud van Wijnen for Latvia and Martin Bechstedt for Lithuania. This resulted in the Auxiliary guide No.3 of the ArGe: Former cancels of the Baltics in use from 1944/45 onwards. On 80 A4 pages (many with mostly coloured illustrations) it contains a total of 372 re-used cancels from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania together with 18 coloured illustrations of covers.

The auxiliary guide is sent to ArGe members as a gift for the 5–th anniversary of ArGe Baltikum together with Baltikum No. 10. From mid-2022 it will be available as a PDF file on this web. You will then find it in the menu under publications.

Are you interested in the publishing beforehand? Become a member of the ArGe! See here!

With 83 points, our newsletter "BALTIKUM" reached Vermeil in the international literature class.

Our ArGe-Web "arge-baltikum.de" reached Large Vermeil in the international literature class with 87 points

We congratulate quite cordially and are pleased for the achieved success!

Our member Oliver Hanschmidt (Estonia) achieved 78 points with his postal history exhibit "Temporary, Periodic and Seasonal Post Offices in Estonia 1919–1940" and thus achieved Large Silver.

In the area of jury and invited exhibits, our member Hannes Westendorf (Luxembourg) took part outside the competition with an exhibition on "Special pieces of Estonian stamp issues and postal history".

Our ArGe chairman and Estonia examiner Thomas Löbbering and our webmaster and corporate designer Friedhelm Doell travelled to ESTONIA 2020.

The year 2020 brought many restrictions because of the corona virus, especially in the philatelic exhibition world, simply because people were not allowed to meet in large numbers.

However, after the first wave of infection subsided, the Estonian philatelic association REFS succeeded in obtaining permission for a competitive exhibition. The application deadlines were extended; some participants from countries with travel restrictions were not allowed to come, but there were still 36 competition entries from 14 countries!

The "Pegasus", on which the participants spent a pleasant Friday evening on a river cruise on the Emajõgi (Embach) with cultivated entertainment

On the obverse of this year's medal the historical town hall of Tartu and the inscription "Rahvusvaheline Filateelianäitus" (International Philatelic Exhibition) Tartu 2020

Altogether the jury could award the following medals:

6 x Gold
10 x Large Vermeil
7 x Vermeil
6 x Large Silver
6 x Silver
1 x Silver Bronze

The results can be read in detail here.

Special highlights are: the collection of cancelled postmarks of the Republic of Estonia (see picture above and some details), several printing and overprinting plates for stamps from 1918 to 2018 and a collection of covers from the geographical area of today's Estonia.

Letterpress plates for stamp printing

Bilingual R-postmarks

Rubber side stamps from 1991

The Corona crisis brings with it a lot of changes. One can no longer meet and club evenings, exchanges and exhibitions fall through. But the Corona crisis has also brought one thing with it: an enormous increase in digital communication. Skype, facetime phone calls, team meetings and whole club evenings with Zoom are being organized. Around the globe, whether in India, the USA or Great Britain, online seminar series on our hobby of philately have recently been launched. We don't want to be left behind and have recently launched the BDPh online seminar series. From now on, there will be an online seminar on a philatelic topic every Saturday or Wednesday from 16 to 17:30h (CET).

The seminars are conducted using the software platform "ZOOM", which requires only a small installation and is free of charge.

The Italian magazine "L' Arte del Francobollo" published an article by Riccardo Bodo about the city of Vilnius under the title A hard-fought capital in No. 101 of April 2020.

Stephan Jürgens of the ArGe Italien in the BDPh kindly pointed this out to us. This issue is exceptionally free of charge due to the Corona pandemic and can be downloaded here www.unificato.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/LArtedelFrancobollon101-Web-Aprile2020-1.pdf (Article and illustrations on pages 15 to 18).

For those who do not speak Italian, our webmaster, with the help of Stephan Jürgens, has prepared a translation into English, published here with the kind permission of the publisher Unificato, which publishes the magazine. (The translator does not work professionally in this field, so the text does not claim to be completely accurate. Improvements are welcome!)

The general meeting of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Baltikum e.V. planned for May 22nd and 24th, 2020 is cancelled without substitution.

The extensive restrictions on public life due to the corona pandemic do not allow for any other decision. The executive board of the ArGe Baltikum im BDPh e.V. unanimously follows the recommendation of the president of the BDPh, Alfred Schmidt.

ALL philatelic events until the end of June, including the HBG (Het Baltische Gebied) meeting in Geldermalsen, the annual meeting of the Bund Philatelistischer Prüfer e.V. (BPP) in April, Messe Essen in May and OSTROPA 2020 in June are cancelled. Our conference venue in Hennef is and remains closed for the foreseeable future.

The ESTONIA 2020 in Tartu on 10 –12 July is scheduled to take place as planned. About half a dozen members intend to visit the exhibition and meet personally with members from the Baltic and Scandinavia in Tartu. OSTROPA 2020 is to be held in autumn. Here, too, the opportunity for an informal meeting will be extended.

The board of the ArGe Baltikum wishes all members and visitors of our website: Stay healthy!

On 28 November, the award ceremony for applicants for the 7th Christoph Gärtner International Philatelic Promotion Award took place at the Monacophil.

A total of 44 working and research communities worldwide took part this time in the three categories print, digital and youth. Our Arbeitsgemeinschaft Baltikum e.V. im BDPh e.V. faced the competition and achieved the following ranking:

Print: Place 13 of 39 participants with 78,667 of 100 possible points.

Digital: place 9 of 44 participants with 25,333 of 30 possible points.

Youth: Rank 27 of 44 participants with 12.667 out of 20 possible points.

We have thus once again successfully placed ourselves in the top third of all participants worldwide. I would particularly like to highlight the 9th place out of 44 competitors for our website www.arge-baltikum.de. A special thanks therefore goes to our webmaster, Friedhelm Doell. My sincere thanks to all those who have contributed to this success through their active cooperation and continue to contribute!

The detailed results can be found on the web at https://www.cg-award.com/2019_en.php.

Pic: fundehitus.ee

The International Estonian Philatelic Society (REFS) organises the philatelic exhibition Estonia 2020 in the Estonian National Museum (ERM, Eesti Rahva Muuseum) in Tartu from Friday 10 July to Sunday 12 July 2020 (note changed date!).

The competition classes include:

2.1 Traditional Philately, 2.2 Postal History, 2.3 Aerophilately and Astrophilately, 2.4 Postal Stationery, 2.5 Thematic Philately, 2.6 Open Philately, 2.7 Modern Philately (with up to 50% non-philatelic content), 2.8 Fiscal Philately, 2. 9 Postcards, 2.10 Youth Philately (A. up to 15 years, B. 16–18 years, C. 19–21 years) and 2.11 Philatelic Literature (published in 2016 or later, philatelic magazines in the latest issue; class also includes electronic media). The inscription must be in English or German.

Participation in competition classes 2.1 to 2.9 requires a prior national show evaluation of at least 70 points (silver); in literature class 2.11 there are no such restrictions. Participation in the youth classes requires at least one bronze medal (60 points) in age group A and at least one silver medal (70 points) in age groups B and C.

The deadline for applications is 28.03.2020. Further information is available on the website of Estonia 2020, www.refs.ee. The exhibition and the evaluation will follow the rules of the FIP. The special rules for this exhibition are available in the downloadable PDF document on the left.

All ArGe-members and other persons who would like to deepen their philatelic contacts and cooperation around the Baltic Sea are invited to participate in the exhibition!

The ArGe Baltikum has expanded its cooperation with other philatelic associations. After HBG and ROSSICA (see the archive of this web from January 18, 2018) there is now a digital exchange of the circulars also with the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Deutschen Ostgebiete e.V., a study group of the "Poststempelgilde" in the BDPh e.V.

The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutsche Ostgebiete e.V. is an association of post-historical philatelists and homeland collectors of areas of the German Reich east of the Oder-Neisse line within the borders of 1914 including the areas of the Sudetenland and Austrian-Silesia. It is divided into the groups General, East and West Prussia, Memel, Pomerania/Border Mark, Posen and Poland, Silesia including Upper Silesia and Sudeten/Beskid.

Further information under www.arge-ost.de.

Since the circulars of the ArGe Deutsche Ostgebiete, which have been published since 2008, are stored and accessible on their website under Publikationen/Services -> Rundschreiben -> ArGe-Rundschreiben, there is no separate storage on servers of the ArGe Baltikum.

Only a few months after the publication of the first auxiliary guide of the ArGe Baltikum, the auxiliary guide No.2 on the subject Directory of the Postal, Telegraphic, Telephone and Radio Equipment of Estonia (1926 and 1929) is following.

It is a reprint of the 1926 and 1929 index with an introduction to the content and translation into German of all Estonian terms used by Friedhelm Doell. A4 format.

Introduction and translation of the table contents (29 pages)
Annex A: Posti telegraafi ja telefoni asutuste nimestik 1926 (137 pages)
Annex B: Posti telegraafi telefoni ja raadio-asutuste nimestik 1929 (148 pages).

The work aid is available as a PDF file on this web. You can find it in the menu under Publications.

The previous treasurer Tobias Huylmans was bid farewell with a small gift and a big thank you.

The participants enjoyed themselves at a barbecue party (here with the eager waiting for the barbecue).

Of course the shop talk was not neglected here either.

Thomas Löbbering and TALLINN N & S

Martin Bechstedt and the De-Jure edition

Hannes Westendorf and the 1862–1875 franked foreign letters

The first own publication of the ArGe Baltikum has been published as auxiliary guide No. 1 on the topic The administrative reform in Estonia 2017.

The author Friedelm Doell uses numerous evaluations of official documents to introduce the goals and measures of the administrative reform and describes the changes in territory associated with the reform, mergers of municipalities (with details of all post offices and post points as of 3.12.2018 and their changes since 6.3.2018) and changes in place names. The effects on the postmarks used are shown: so far, there are no postmark changes that can be traced back to the administrative reform of 2017!

A4 format. 30 pages. 5 tables. 4 colour illustrations. The auxiliary guide is available as a PDF file on this web. You will find it – like all future publications – in the menu under Publications.

The ArGe Baltikum has decided to collect information on the stamps used from 1944/45 onwards of the Socialist Soviet Republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The aim is to create an inventory of further used stamps, which can be published afterwards. The systematics offers the possibility to extend the period under consideration later on to other stamp types and periods of use, if necessary. The following stamps are searched for:

• postmarks of the independent republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania 1918–1940
• postmarks of the first Soviet occupation 1940/41
• postmarks of the German occupation of Ostland 1941-44/45

Examples are shown in the illustrations:

Figure 1: TALLINN N 15 XI 48, H/O (Hurt/Ojaste) 644:57 shows the stamp TALLINN *N* from the time of the independent republic Estonia 1918–40. It was used unchanged from 1944 until at least 21 XII 48.

Figure 2: Kretinga, Fu (Fugalewitsch) K245a shows the stamp Kretinga from the time of the first Soviet occupation of the Baltic States 1940/41, here Lithuania. It was used unchanged from ...1944 until at least 9.3.49.
The stamps to be examined for this period include both newly introduced stamps in Latin transcription and the respective national language and newly introduced bilingual stamps in Latin-Cyrillic or Cyrillic-Latin transcription.

Figure 3: Riga Meza Parks b, HvH (Harry von Hofmann) ... shows the bilingual stamp RIGA-KAISERWALD (RIGA–MEZA PARKS) b from the time of the German occupation of the Ostland 1941-44/45, here general district Latvia. The stamp was apted and used from August 1944 until at least 24.3.45.

Figure 4: Foreign postcard from Tallinn to Porvoo / Finland, 15 XI 48th The postmarks should be recorded as such on the one hand. On the other hand, they are to be examined for their changed use. An example is the postmark TALLINN N in Fig. 4, which was introduced in 1939/40 during the independent republic to devaluate postage stamps, but from 1944 onwards also served as a covert censorship stamp on foreign mail under Soviet occupation.

ArGe Baltic States members Hirotaka Araki and Yuki Itabashi organized the Baltic States stamp exhibition at the philatelic museum in Meijero, Tokyo on November 2 –4 on the occasion of their 100th anniversary.

A total of 848 sheets were shown in Tokyo = 35 frames equipped on both sides. Hirotaka Ataki alone, along with 6 other exhibits on Estonia, Latvia and Gdansk with a total of 432 sheets, contributed 4 frames of his own on Lithuania with a total of 208 sheets to the exhibition, among them his "The Postal History of Lithuania, Illustrated by Registered Mail 1989-1996", which was awarded gold at the 68th All-Japanese Exhibition in 2018 – the ArGe congratulates him warmly!

Remarkable are the dates of the exhibition in 3 different formats: The day stamp shows with "2.XI.18· 8 -12" the old UPU format, the impression on the cover the modern American format "2018.11.2-4".

The special postmark of the Japanese postal service used – as announced – a motif from the Estonian weaver/smith edition.

With "30. 11. 2" it shows a very special Japanese format: November 2 in the 30th year of the reign of the 125th Tennō (Emperor) Akihito (he will abdicate in favor of a son on April 30, 2019).The date of all official occasions in Japan, both governmental and business, is calculated according to the duration of the reign of the current emperor.

See the announcement of September 25, 2018.

At the International Stamp Fair Sindelfingen 2018 the Estonian Post – as in the last years often – presented a personalised self-adhesive stamp, with a nominal value of 1,40 € for a standard letter within Europe.

Nothing unusual so far – but this time new is the fact that the stamp bears the image of a jackal, which can already be seen in the same design (with a slightly different background) on the regular 65 cent issue of 18.10.2018 for an Estonian domestic standard letter!

Whether the whole thing has merely economic reasons (multiple use of the design) or something else is behind it – in any case, it draws attention to the postal use of motifs beyond collecting by catalogue. An interesting idea!

At the 2nd ArGe–Literaturausstellung Sindelfingen 2018 in 1st rank from 25 –27.10.2018 we competed as a working group with national competitors within the Bund Deutscher Philatelisten e.V. with our website www.arge-baltikum.de and the magazine BALTIKUM.

Among 34 working groups with 87 exhibits, both our website with 80 out of 100 points and our magazine with 83 out of 100 points achieved Large Vermeil.

Only one out of 15 presented websites was rated Gold and only six out of 23 magazines. This puts us in an excellent position as the "youngest" of the participating consortia, and gives us the incentive to become even better.

Volume 8 of the series of publications of the Bund Philatelistischer Prüfer e.V., Stempelhandbuch Postgebiet Oberbefehlshaber Ost, is a worthy addition to the seven previous volumes. Author and publisher Gerhard Dreher has created his opus magnum on 312 pages, DIN A4, multicoloured and linen-bound with the stuff of a standard work.

After a short post-historical and historical introduction, the book is divided into a total of nine chapters. In addition to the stamp editions, Chapter 1 includes instructions on the proper use of the manual, valuation guidelines and references. Chapter 2, with 141 pages the most comprehensive section, lists the postmarks from Alt-Auz to Wolmar. Chapter 3, with 71 pages, deals with the censorship stamps of the post offices in the Ob. Ost postal area as well as other censorship and information stamps on postal surveillance.

Chapters 4 to 9 cover the following individual aspects:
- Telegraphic cancellations
- Destinations
- Kowno fortress and garrison post
- Delivery services, in particular Riga City Post and Vilnius Citizen Post
- Railway postmarks
- Types of dispatch and usage.

The book concludes with a highly interesting statistical analysis of the postmark and item material available to the author, which allows both reliable conclusions to be drawn about the frequency of cancellations and mail items as well as their composition by type of dispatch. We can be curious about the supplementary volume announced for 2021!

Where there is light, there is shadow. The author's tendency to speculate, to use flippant language and sometimes imprecise terms is not good for the opus. A final editing by a third party could have remedied this. This applies to individual aspects of structure, layout and standards of scientifically correct citation.

Our two ArGe members Hirotaka Araki and Yuki Itabashi are organizing a conference from 2 –4 November 2018 in the Philatelic Museum Tokyo a stamp exhibition to mark the 100th anniversary of the independent Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

About 40 frames are planned.

The post office in the Tokyo district of Toshima will use a special postmark with the motif of the Estonian Weaver and Smith issues from 1922/1928.

EstEx 2018 was held on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, the issue of the first Estonian stamps and to deepen philatelic contacts around the Baltic Sea. It successfully continued the tradition of Baltica exhibitions known from past decades, now under the patronage of the Federation of European Philatelic Organizations (FEPA).

Within three days, the international jury of nine jurors from eight nations evaluated a total of 131 exhibits in almost 600 frames and eleven different exhibition classes: a gigantic achievement in itself, managed with a light touch under the leadership of its president Jonas Hällström from Sweden.

None of the six members of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Baltikum e.V. from Germany will therefore regret having taken the summer trip to the Baltic States and experiencing ESTEX 2018 as a philatelic highlight. Numerous friendships with Estonian and international collector friends could be refreshed and expert discussions with examiner colleagues from Scandinavia and the Baltic States could be held.

Picture credits: REFS

Collecting new Estonian postmarks is easy and actually a pure joy, as there are almost always very clean, legible postmarks, which are available in large numbers. With a little luck and knowledge you can also find rare pieces.

Since 1991 until today four time periods can be distinguished:

1. The initial period with re-used, adapted or reworked Soviet postmarks
2. From about mid-1994 the use of steel stamps of the Reiner company from Germany with the country designation EESTI
3. Following the privatisation of the Estonian Post Office on 1.1.2002, the use of similar steel stamps with the inscription AS EESTI POST and some provisional large-format rubber stamps, the shape of which deviates significantly from the norm
4. Since 2013, as part of the restructuring of the Estonian postal service, post offices have increasingly been relocated to shopping centres and postmarks with the words 'KANDEKESKUS', 'KANDEPUNKT' or 'CENTRUM' have been used, sometimes without any recognisable place names

This manual for the first time attempts to classify the postmarks according to 11 different postmark types and describes them with numerous illustrations. Extensive tables cover known postmarks by code letter since 1.10.1991 until now. A short table at the end of the book helps to identify the postmarks.

Size 20 x 27 cm. 213 pages. Numerous illustrations b/w and color, hardcover with thread stitching, Martin Bechstedt Verlag 2018, Price: 34,50 € plus postage. Source: Martin Bechstedt Verlag, Roggenkamp 80a, D-22941 Bargteheide, E-Mail: This e-mail address is protected against spambots! JavaScript must be activated in order to view it.

Already in 2017 the ArGe Baltikum started a cooperation with the Dutch Filatelistengroep Het baltische Gebied: the members of both associations will get access to the latest issues of the "Baltikum" or the magazine "HBG". The corresponding access information was sent to all members of the ArGe Baltikum with e-mail addresses via e-mail newsletter.

Since January 2018, there is now also a cooperation with the ROSSICA Society of Russian Philately: the digital editions of the "Baltikum" and the "Rossica" (in English, available from 2016) are mutually made available to members. Here too, members of the ArGe Baltikum receive an access link for downloading via e-mail newsletter. There you can first have a look at the cover pictures or tables of contents and then consider downloading the whole issue (download size between 18 and 72 MB).

The Rossica editions are for the personal use of the ArGe-Baltikum members only; all others must unfortunately purchase them from Rossica itself or become a member there. Maybe this would be one more reason to join the ArGe Baltikum as member?

For further ROSSICA publications please refer to their Bookshop, where many books and also the earlier ROSSICA editions can be purchased.

The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Baltikum e.V. achieved an excellent 5th place in the international competition for this year's C.G. Award.

In four categories – Print Media, Digital Media, Youth, Promotion of Young People and Public Relations and Innovative Ideas – our working group scored a total of 83.67 points, leaving the majority of competitors behind.

The 5th award ceremony of the International Sponsorship Award for Philately of the Auction House Christoph Gärtner took place on November 30, 2017 at the Monacophil 2017. The prize money in the amount of 600 € will be donated to the society's treasury.

For details see cg-award.com/2017_en.php.

The EstEx 2018 from 13.-15.07.2018 met with great interest in the BDPh area. Numerous interested parties have contacted me; some exhibitors have already handed over their registrations. Today I would like to compile everything "worth knowing" with a first information letter and give an outlook on the further planning. This will then be supplemented by subsequent information letters and the latest status will be passed on.

General and Homepage http://refs.ee/en

EstEx 2018 is an exhibition to which all countries bordering the Baltic Sea are invited. From the BDPh point of view, it is considered to be the number 1 exhibition and is recognised as such for exhibitors. The exhibition will have a total of about 500 frames. The homepage contains important data and information about the exhibition.

On September 12, 2017, the Siegburg District Court entered the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Baltikum as a registered association (e.V.) in the local register of associations. Thus, the legal merger process of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Estonia e.V. with the Forschungsgemeinschaft Lithuania e.V. and the Forschungsgemeinschaft Lettland im BDPh e.V. is successfully completed.

In order to promote the next generation of philatelists, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Baltikum e.V. offers pupils, trainees and students up to the age of 25 a free youth membership. It corresponds to the basic membership, i.e. the magazine "Baltikum" is delivered online. Prerequisite is the membership in the Deutsche Philatelistenjugend or in the BDPh. For more details see become a member.

Answers page, which you can access from the menu at the top under Collection Area - Questions + Answers.

In addition there is now a sitemap (="overview map") of the web. On the one hand, this is an XML file that makes it easier for search engines to find all the contents of the web, so that you can find them better via the search engines. But perhaps more interesting for you is that the contents of the sitemap are also available as a web page, which gives you a very quick overview of all displayable and downloadable contents of the web presence.

You will find the link to the sitemap at the very bottom, in the area with black background color, next to the imprint and the terms of use. So you can access the sitemap directly from every page via link.

We would be pleased if you give us a feedback (by e-mail), if something like this is useful for you or what we can still improve on the web!

The decision of the Higher Regional Court of Celle of 15 January 2017, according to which the merger of registered associations must be accompanied by a notary public at the general meeting and not at the law firm, resulted in the working group signing the merger documents of 31 October 2015 again with the same content at this year's general meeting by a local notary public.

Thanks to the expert preparation and execution, the signing procedure for the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Estonia e.V., the Forschungsgemeinschaft Lithuania e.V. and the election of the new board of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Baltikum e.V. took less than two hours.

Of course you can also download all issues individually. Please go to our media page!

The Bund Philatelistischer Prüfer (BPP) has appointed new examiners at its 2017 general meeting. Among them is ArGe member Michael Haslau, who is now also active in the Memel testing area alongside Tobias Huylmans. We congratulate them warmly!

His test areas are: Memelgebiet Mi.-Nr. 1- 237, local edition German Administration for the Memelland 1939 (Mi.-Nr. I-IV) and predecessor Mi.-Nr. V84 II - V115

Tobias Huylmans has expanded his testing areas. In the postal area Ober Ost, the emergency issues Libau, Mi. No. 1 - 6A + B, Ia/b and the issues of the 10th Army's national messenger post, Mi. No. 1 - 3

Thus now already 5 BPP examiners for the collection area Baltic States (4 active, see examiner pages and one no longer active examiner, Wilhelm van Loo for Kurland) are members of the ArGe!

The International Estonian Philatelic Society (REFS) ESTONIA organises the philatelic exhibition "Estonia 2017" from 14 –16 July 2017 in the recently opened new building of the National Museum in Tartu.

Information on the exhibition is available here in English.

The closing date for registration is 20 May 2017 - the registration form can be found with this link: .

The Estonian International Philatelic Society (REFS) ESTONIA has completed its preparations for the EstEx philatelic exhibition on 14 –16 July 2018 to mark the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Estonia in 2018 and has booked the exhibition venue in Tallinn.

Further information is now available on the website www.estex2018.eu both in Estonian and English.

The bulletin with the exhibition regulations is called up by clicking on the picture.

Numerous association, board and editorial members of the ArGe Baltikum met for a joint visit to the stamp fair in Sindelfingen from 27 to 30 October 2016. Friends from the Netherlands, Lithuania and of course Germany refreshed old contacts and made new ones. The successful hunt for treasures, the contact with friends and the common association work found themselves to a "round" meeting. The rooms for 2017 are already reserved.

LTR.: Ruud van Wijnen, Vygintas Bubnys, Torsten Berndt, Michael Wieneke, Martin Bechstedt, Karl Lukas, Thomas Löbbering

The photo was taken by our club member Wilhelm van Loo (who is therefore not on the picture).

Since 2004, i.e. for twelve years, the German Air Force has been involved in protecting the airspace over the Baltic States within the framework of NATO's integrated air defence. This is necessary because Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have armies and navies, but no air force.

For three months at a time, about 150 men and women, soldiers and civilian staff, from over 20 locations in Germany are currently deployed to and from the Ämari airbase in Estonia. "Enhanced Air Policing Baltic States" (VAPB) is what NATO and the Federal Ministry of Defence call this operational obligation. From September to December 2016, the tactical air force squadron 74 (LwG 74) from Neuburg on the Danube will perform this task.

German field post offices are not on site. However, members of the contingents have the opportunity to stamp their private letter post with a decorative postmark before delivering it franked to the civilian post office in the country of deployment. The decorative postmark of the LwG 74 has lost the "S" in "Verstärktes Air Policing Baltikum".

German troops are currently deployed in the following locations in the Baltic States:

The same general conditions apply to "Persistent Presence" in postal terms as to "Enhanced Air Policing Baltic States". The participating formations can use the same decorative stamp for their private mail, which is supplemented by the name and coat of arms of the association used. The location of the deployment site in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is roughly indicated by the black cross on a white background, the emblem of the German Armed Forces. There are no German field post offices on site.

What challenge can a collecting area with only five published stamps offer the philatelist? Is there any degree of difficulty that a collector, maybe even an examiner, can face? Such questions testify to an ignorance of the conditions of the field postal service as they actually existed in the Latvian Kurland in the period in question.

For the German Heeresgruppe Nord, later to become Heeresgruppe Kurland, resisted all Soviet attacks in six "Kurland Battles" from October 1944 to March 1945. The surviving documentations of the field post at that time tell of this. Wilhelm van Loo, who has been working on this subject for 40 years, not only describes the military situation at that time, the way the field post offices worked, identifies the troops and units that were actually there at certain times at certain places on land, at sea and in the air, he also takes into account the civilian mail and thus the use of the "Ostland" and "Kurland" stamps with overprint.

For more than 30 years he researched questions about the authenticity of every "Kurland Express Letter" he came across, i.e. the expensive stamp halves, which are in great demand among collectors and dealers alike and were often presented to him for examination. He was able to prove many forgeries, falsifications, especially forgeries of stamps and subsequent devaluations with real postmarks. The identification of addressees and senders, their locations and that of their units enabled Wilhelm van Loo to discover such manipulations. In this book, the seventh volume in the series of publications of the Bund Philatelistischer Prüfer, he not only summarizes his life's work as a specialist examiner of the association. He also opens up all his sources of contemporary and post-historical information and shares his knowledge with the reader.

Article in the 'Kawagoe Yushu' No. 294-20 of 1.9.2016

On 10 May 2016, the website of the ArGe Baltikum was opened to the public. Webmaster Friedhelm Doell wrote: "It is of course not perfect yet, many topics are still in work (e.g. presentation of some collection areas, literature, travel reports and more). But nevertheless we have decided to release what is already there for everyone - and that is quite a lot!". The travelogues have been added to the web in the meantime.

Comments on this were among others "Wonderful, great news", "Thank you for your work", "Thank you very much! Today I'll see what's up", "Congratulations on the new site!", "My highest respect and congratulations to the author of our website. It has exceeded all my expectations."

Only a few days later, on 15 May, Naltikum No. 1/2016 went to press.

There was also great praise for this: "Perfect in appearance and execution. My congratulations to the editorial team", "The presentation is good" and – in addition to a thematic review – "But I would like to expressly say that I very much admire your commitment and that of your comrades-in-arms over the past 18 and more months and can only view it with the highest respect! That was and is a lot of work – unfortunately, 'one' always has too few comrades-in-arms", "I have now read through this great work and have only to express my astonishment at what you have achieved.

Both publications were received with great approval in the countries from which our members come. Even a Japanese stamp newspaper reported in early September about them, which was reported by our member Hirotaka Araki!

My fellow examiners from Estonia and Norway, Kalev Kokk and Jaan Roots, informed me that their test marks had been counterfeited and were being sold on the Internet on Estonian stamps of the 1919 edition of the Eesti Post.

The fake test marks are significantly larger than the originals. They are affixed to the back of the marks in positions that do not comply with the regulations of the relevant testing organisation.

The illustration shows a selection of fake certification marks on – of course – also fake imprints of the 1919 edition of Eesti Post.