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Map of Ruhleben camp
Ruhleben internment camp was a civilian detention camp in Germany during World War I.
It was located in Ruhleben, a former Vorwerk manor 10 km (6.2 mi) to the west of Berlin, now split between the districts of Spandau and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.
The camp was originally a harness racing track laid out north of the Berlin-Hamburg Railway line in 1908.
The camp detainees included male citizens of the Allied Powers living, studying, working or on holiday in Germany at the outbreak of World War I.
They also included the crews of several civilian ships stranded in German harbours or captured at sea.
As well, there were a number of fishermen captured from trawlers which had been sunk in the North Sea in the first days of the war: they were mainly men from Hull, Grimsby and Boston.
Numbers in the camp varied between 4,000 and 5,500 prisoners, most of them British.
Life in the camp was described in several books and essays subsequently written by detainees.
They included To Ruhleben – And Back (1916) by Geoffrey Pyke, who had successfully escaped from the camp in 1915, and Life in Ruhleben, 1914–1918 (1920) by Frederick Keel.
Quarters were cramped: the stable blocks averaged 27 stalls, each housing six men, and the stable block lofts each housed about 200 men.
The German authorities adhered to the Geneva Convention and allowed the camp detainees to administer their own internal affairs.
Gradually, a mini-society evolved. Letters, books, sports equipment and a printing press were all allowed into the camp, and the detainees organised their own police force, magazine, library and postal service.
The latter, known as the Ruhleben Express Delivery, was organised by Albert Kamps and began operating in July 1915.
Soon it was handling over 6,000 pieces of mail per month, and 16 different postage stamps were issued which have since become collectors items.
In April 1916, however, the German postal authorities declared the service illegal and it ceased operating.
Prisoners grew their own fruit and vegetables, especially because fresh produce was hard to come by.
That evolved into the Ruhleben Horticultural Society, which developed close links with the Royal Horticultural Society in London.
In addition, a number of independent businesses developed within the camp, including a casino.
The detainees arranged their own entertainment.
Among them were several musicians, including Ernest MacMillan, later to become a conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Other British musicians included Edgar Bainton, Edward Clark and the Australian-born Arthur Benjamin.
MacMillan was a prominent member of the Ruhleben Musical Society, formed in 1915, and directed performances of The Mikado (with orchestra and costumes) and a pantomime version of Cinderella.
MacMillan transcribed the music for the former from memory with the help of four other musicians, including Benjamin Dale.
Among those who attended these performances were James W. Gerard, the United States ambassador.
The detainees also presented Trial by Jury, The Pirates of Penzance, The Yeomen of the Guard and The Gondoliers.
MacMillan gave lectures on each of Beethoven's symphonies, which were followed by piano duet performances played by him together with Benjamin Dale.
MacMillan was also a member of the Ruhleben Drama Society and acted in productions of Othello, Twelfth Night, Lady Windermere's Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest.
Source : Wikipedia
Ruhleben camp magazine nr 6 and nr 9
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The stamps :
These postage stamps were sold in the prison camp in Ruhleben to support a private postal system inside the facility.
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Even postcards, replay postcard, lettercards, ticketorder exists :
Postcard
Reply postcard
lettercard
ticket order
Book exchange card
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There were also stamps for special situations :
In addition to regular postage stamps, the postal authorities issued a postage due stamp and an administration (on service) stamp.
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There were also overprints :
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The Reichspost ended the postage stamp service since it infringed on the German Post Office's mail monopoly and violated the law.
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Some used examples :
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12:13:17pm
Fantastic, thanks very much for sharing!
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Great Stuff HockeyNut !
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As always, your postings are just unbelievably great! Do you own all/some of the stamps/covers you show? If so, I am insanely jealous!
Cheers, Dave
P.S. If/when I get some spare time I will track down my hockey-themed stamps and send you some scans to pick out what you like. A small thank you...
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"As always, your postings are just unbelievably great! Do you own all/some of the stamps/covers you show? If so, I am insanely jealous!"
Well I own all the stamps and only one enveloppe.
The others I have found them on the internet (Also the map and the magazines of the ruhleben camp) to complete the story.
To write the stories I placed here on the forum is quite time consuming but a lot of fun.
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Thank you HockeyNut, for your many thoughtful, interesting and educational contributions to the StampoRama discussion board. It is things like this that I want to read, not the endless back and forth exchanges about non-stamp related topics that too often devolve into barely civil exchanges.
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For everyone here an update.
I found some more things in my collection.
The stamps are not mentioned in the Michel-catalog since 1985.
So if anyone has an old Michel-catalog before 1985 I love to have a screenprint of that catalog-page. (Thanks in advance!)
The next screenprint gives you the old Michel-numbers.
The text on the green paper reffers to the enveloppe on the bottom.
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this post
And...........
One more enveloppe :
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Map of Ruhleben camp
Ruhleben internment camp was a civilian detention camp in Germany during World War I.
It was located in Ruhleben, a former Vorwerk manor 10 km (6.2 mi) to the west of Berlin, now split between the districts of Spandau and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.
The camp was originally a harness racing track laid out north of the Berlin-Hamburg Railway line in 1908.
The camp detainees included male citizens of the Allied Powers living, studying, working or on holiday in Germany at the outbreak of World War I.
They also included the crews of several civilian ships stranded in German harbours or captured at sea.
As well, there were a number of fishermen captured from trawlers which had been sunk in the North Sea in the first days of the war: they were mainly men from Hull, Grimsby and Boston.
Numbers in the camp varied between 4,000 and 5,500 prisoners, most of them British.
Life in the camp was described in several books and essays subsequently written by detainees.
They included To Ruhleben – And Back (1916) by Geoffrey Pyke, who had successfully escaped from the camp in 1915, and Life in Ruhleben, 1914–1918 (1920) by Frederick Keel.
Quarters were cramped: the stable blocks averaged 27 stalls, each housing six men, and the stable block lofts each housed about 200 men.
The German authorities adhered to the Geneva Convention and allowed the camp detainees to administer their own internal affairs.
Gradually, a mini-society evolved. Letters, books, sports equipment and a printing press were all allowed into the camp, and the detainees organised their own police force, magazine, library and postal service.
The latter, known as the Ruhleben Express Delivery, was organised by Albert Kamps and began operating in July 1915.
Soon it was handling over 6,000 pieces of mail per month, and 16 different postage stamps were issued which have since become collectors items.
In April 1916, however, the German postal authorities declared the service illegal and it ceased operating.
Prisoners grew their own fruit and vegetables, especially because fresh produce was hard to come by.
That evolved into the Ruhleben Horticultural Society, which developed close links with the Royal Horticultural Society in London.
In addition, a number of independent businesses developed within the camp, including a casino.
The detainees arranged their own entertainment.
Among them were several musicians, including Ernest MacMillan, later to become a conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Other British musicians included Edgar Bainton, Edward Clark and the Australian-born Arthur Benjamin.
MacMillan was a prominent member of the Ruhleben Musical Society, formed in 1915, and directed performances of The Mikado (with orchestra and costumes) and a pantomime version of Cinderella.
MacMillan transcribed the music for the former from memory with the help of four other musicians, including Benjamin Dale.
Among those who attended these performances were James W. Gerard, the United States ambassador.
The detainees also presented Trial by Jury, The Pirates of Penzance, The Yeomen of the Guard and The Gondoliers.
MacMillan gave lectures on each of Beethoven's symphonies, which were followed by piano duet performances played by him together with Benjamin Dale.
MacMillan was also a member of the Ruhleben Drama Society and acted in productions of Othello, Twelfth Night, Lady Windermere's Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest.
Source : Wikipedia
Ruhleben camp magazine nr 6 and nr 9
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re: Civilian Detention Camp RUHLEBEN WW1
The stamps :
These postage stamps were sold in the prison camp in Ruhleben to support a private postal system inside the facility.
8 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Civilian Detention Camp RUHLEBEN WW1
Even postcards, replay postcard, lettercards, ticketorder exists :
Postcard
Reply postcard
lettercard
ticket order
Book exchange card
5 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Civilian Detention Camp RUHLEBEN WW1
There were also stamps for special situations :
In addition to regular postage stamps, the postal authorities issued a postage due stamp and an administration (on service) stamp.
6 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Civilian Detention Camp RUHLEBEN WW1
There were also overprints :
7 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Civilian Detention Camp RUHLEBEN WW1
The Reichspost ended the postage stamp service since it infringed on the German Post Office's mail monopoly and violated the law.
Login to Like
this post
re: Civilian Detention Camp RUHLEBEN WW1
Some used examples :
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Back when I had a bunch! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
18 Dec 2023
12:13:17pm
re: Civilian Detention Camp RUHLEBEN WW1
Fantastic, thanks very much for sharing!
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re: Civilian Detention Camp RUHLEBEN WW1
Great Stuff HockeyNut !
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06:59:45am
re: Civilian Detention Camp RUHLEBEN WW1
As always, your postings are just unbelievably great! Do you own all/some of the stamps/covers you show? If so, I am insanely jealous!
Cheers, Dave
P.S. If/when I get some spare time I will track down my hockey-themed stamps and send you some scans to pick out what you like. A small thank you...
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: Civilian Detention Camp RUHLEBEN WW1
"As always, your postings are just unbelievably great! Do you own all/some of the stamps/covers you show? If so, I am insanely jealous!"
Well I own all the stamps and only one enveloppe.
The others I have found them on the internet (Also the map and the magazines of the ruhleben camp) to complete the story.
To write the stories I placed here on the forum is quite time consuming but a lot of fun.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Civilian Detention Camp RUHLEBEN WW1
Thank you HockeyNut, for your many thoughtful, interesting and educational contributions to the StampoRama discussion board. It is things like this that I want to read, not the endless back and forth exchanges about non-stamp related topics that too often devolve into barely civil exchanges.
Login to Like
this post
re: Civilian Detention Camp RUHLEBEN WW1
For everyone here an update.
I found some more things in my collection.
The stamps are not mentioned in the Michel-catalog since 1985.
So if anyone has an old Michel-catalog before 1985 I love to have a screenprint of that catalog-page. (Thanks in advance!)
The next screenprint gives you the old Michel-numbers.
The text on the green paper reffers to the enveloppe on the bottom.
Login to Like
this post
re: Civilian Detention Camp RUHLEBEN WW1
And...........
One more enveloppe :
Login to Like
this post