Kurt Gscheidle (16 December 1924 – 22 February 2003) was a German politician affiliated to the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SPD). Gscheidle trained as a mechanic with the

Deutsche Reichspost ''Reichspost'' (; "Imperial Mail") was the name of the postal service of Germany from 1866 to 1945. ''Deutsche Reichspost'' Upon the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the break-up of the German Confederation The German Co ...

until 1942, when he was called up by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

. In 1948 he returned from war captivity, began studies at the and graduated as an engineer. In 1953 Gscheidle became an official of the

Deutsche Bundespost The (, ) was a German state-run postal service and telecommunications business founded in 1947. It was initially the second largest federal employer during its time. After staff reductions in the 1980s, the staff was reduced to roughly 543,20 ...

labor union and was elected vice-chairman in 1957. He had joined the SPD in 1956, from 1961 until 1969 and again from 1976 to 1980 he was a member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

. In 1969 Gscheidle was a nominee for Chairman of the

German Confederation of Trade Unions The German Trade Union Confederation (; DGB) is an umbrella organisation (sometimes known as a national trade union center) for eight German trade unions, in total representing more than 6 million people (31 December 2011). It was founded ...

(DGB) but had to step down in favour of

Heinz Oskar Vetter Heinz Oskar Vetter (21 October 1917 – 18 October 1990) was a German trade union leader and politician. Born in Bochum, Vetter completed an apprenticeship as a locksmith, before becoming a machinist at a coal mine. He served in the Luftwaff ...

. He then served as a secretary of state at the

Federal Ministry of Post and Telecommunications The Federal Ministry of Post and Telecommunications () was established in 1949 under the name Federal Ministry of Telecommunications Affairs ( and renamed the Federal Ministry of Post and Telecommunications on April 1, 1950. It was subsequently mo ...

and from 1974 as Federal Minister of Transport (until 1980) and Federal Minister of Post and Telecommunications (until 1982) under

Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. He was the longest ...

in the latter's three terms as Federal Chancellor.

Gscheidle stamp

Gscheidle is known among

philatelists Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...

for a stamp designed on the occasion of the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. As

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

participated in the Olympics boycott the stamp was never issued, however Gscheidle, then Minister of Post had received some proofs which he kept after his incumbency. From 1982 to 1983 his wife erroneously used about 24 of these stamps for her private correspondence, which today realize peak prices at auctions. In October 2010, one of the Gscheidle stamps was sold for 26,000 euros in Düsseldorf, Germany.Auctioneers Felzmann
Top

hammer price In auctions, the buyer's premium is a charge in addition to the hammer price (i.e. the winning bid announced) of an auction item, or lot. The winning bidder is required to pay both the hammer price and the percentage of that price called for by t ...

for the Gscheidle stamp

References

External links

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Gscheidle stamp photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gscheidle, Kurt 1924 births 2003 deaths Politicians from Stuttgart Transport ministers of Germany Members of the Bundestag for Hesse Members of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia Members of the Bundestag 1976–1980 Members of the Bundestag 1969–1972 Members of the Bundestag 1965–1969 Members of the Bundestag 1961–1965 Technical University of Dortmund alumni Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany