Are WW2 stamps with Swastika and Hammer-and-sickle overprints (and concentration camp names) fake?

BOHEMIA & MORAVIA B19 AUSCHWITZ OVERPRINT OG NH U/M F/VF BEAUTIFUL GUM was $25
$9.383 bids2 days, 7h
Bohemia & Moravia B19 Auschwitz Overprint OG NH U/M
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  • 145 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • Do you have a link or photo you can add?
  • edited September 2021 6 LikesVote Down
    Yes , those are creations and non postal overprints created to capitalize on the infamy of the camps . And many are nonsensical, like a communist symbolism on Third Reich material . This did not occur post war , but later . It’s really not valid philatelic material . because they never existed “ in the wild “, so to speak . Is it rather morbid to try to make $$ on the memory of those horrid places and people ? I’d say they are worth nothing
  • I'm no expert, and I really would prefer not to be an expert on this subject, but I have learned that there is so much fakery and deception on everything German from 1933 to just post-war that it is best to just not go there. Just my own tactical doctrine.
  • 100% of these Nazi symbols overprints are fantasy created in recent days in order to scam some novice collectors.
  • Hipstamp needs to be alerted.
  • I'm on high alert....really high alert....really....Plus, I need to get permission from the Capt. to use his phrase ..."tactical doctrine". Solid.
  • Unbelievable that people buy such a crap.
  • I notified HS, I looked and he has a lot of fake "nazified" overprint stamps . These are not listed in Michel either. For the record, the Nazi's never used a swastika overprint on stamps THEY printed, and further, since they thought they were 1000-year victors, produced their own quickly. Postage stamps were propaganda tools that they used effectively. I find disgust at the use of concentration camp overprints. That is a new low to me.
  • I guess it could be worse.
    They could be selling fake overprints with a Star of David and "juden" :
  • Greg, of course you can say tactical doctrine, but can you really mean it?

    I do not want to say that someone snookered into that Guernsey fake got what he deserved, but I just wish that folks trying to be serious about stamps could bother to do the basic legwork and educate themselves.

    Then there's also the issue of all the nazi fandom out there, folks so enamored of the crap that they'll gleefully buy anything with a swastika on it. I saw them in historical wargaming, I saw them in plastic modeling, here they are in stamps, and I won't get political but you know I could, what do you do with such folk?
  • Oh, and just by the way, don't believe any Free French or liberation overprints you see, either. The colonial overprints are generally ok, but I have collected 50 years without seeing any French stamps with liberation overprints. Now they are blooming like flowers in the spring. What rot.
  • If you look in that fellows store, the feedback section has buyers listed and items purchased and this man traffics in MOSTLY those fake items. It provides a significant portion of revenue. But there are also legitimate items in his store, so I will give him some benefit of the doubt, but serious collectors see this quickly as suspect. There is legitimate scholarship of Third Reich material out there, not as admirers of the Nazi's ( for me it's a historical fascination on how a nation can go so quickly in the wrong direction). By the end of 1945, Germany was pulverized. But this also attracts twisted minds. In my collection, I have a one page message preamble to my descendants about the Reich materiel so they understand that this is for study only. It is a reminder of the historical depth of human cruelty. But this is WHY we must especially stand up when we see fake nazi stuff created. This has a different meaning entirely ( it's not good to raise one's blood pressure before work! )
  • It is concerning though that the seller seems to have endless copies of these bogus fantasy German stamps.
  • I just have reported this seller (scammer) to HS,hope they can take any action against these bad practices that ruins our hobby.

    Only few Swastikas overprints were genuinely used by the German Post during Third Reich era: Sudetenland,some local stamps from Bohemia & Moravia and one set from Generalgouvernement (Poland).

    See some genuine stamps with Swastika ovpt.GG Poland
    Sudetenland stamps with genuine Swastika ovpt.
  • The overprint uses the Teutonic eagle imprint with the wreath/ haakencruz. Yes , that is authentic
  • How can Hipstamp tolerate all these fake/fantasy Nazi-era overprints on its website without proper disclaimers or certification? The seller should be barred from offering that stuff without either stating they are fantasy creations with no philatelic value or an independent third party certificate of authenticity from a reputable expertising house.
  • ...........It is concerning though that the seller seems to have endless copies of these bogus fantasy German stamps.......... yep, and another sold for a nice sum this morning / evening your time very sad .......... How can Hipstamp tolerate it you ask. ......... hey, money in the Bank..
  • I have reported it to HS and nothing happened. Perhaps if they have a LOT of reports, they will reply. Fake Nazi material glorifies the evil that it represented. There is a line, and using fake concentration camp names is the absolute detestable limit.
  • edited September 2021 3 LikesVote Down
    Here is my question are the stamp listed replicas, forgeries or counterfeits. I may have missed it on Hipstamps Terms, but I did not see any notation about fantasies, which I believe these stamp are and prays on stamp collector who have very limited knowledge of WW II stamps. Do I like it, No I don't, and should be taken down. The message it sends is definitely not a positive one for the Hipstamp community

  • Bonaparte, not listed as anything implying authenticity.
  • Reno, I agree with you 100%. I looked on Ebay for similar material and in the description I found this, "This item is a FANTASY / Reprint / Forgery / Souvenir item and has NO philatelic value." I think at a bare minimum this should apply here too. I am just wondering what is the policy of Hipstamp regarding this type of material since it has not been removed by now.
  • edited September 2021 3 LikesVote Down
    They should be at the very least listed as possible (probable) forged (fake) overprints. These fantasy stamps are mostly worthless just like the Hitler heads should be.
  • Much earlier on I wrote that I doubted the authenticity of French liberation overprints. This evening I read some information from a French collector and specialist, and I am very happy to stand corrected. Very specialized European catalogs show them, there are many and they take educated and discerning eyes to tell them from the fakes. Not something I'm ready to get into, but again, I am happy to correct myself.
  • It's healthy to be skeptical in this industry. Knowledge is power. These kinds of issues are where the real work, and real fascination (from my perspective) comes in. I love the "devil in the details". It's what appeals to me about Franklin-Washington issues in the US. :)
    But also why I want everyone to know how to identify the fakes from the genuine. My philatelic crusade is exactly that: give power to people to understand how not to get taken advantage of. There's nothing in the world I hate more than being taken advantage of...
  • With that last statement, Scott, you surely are not trying "to take advantage of us" with your "picture" are you??
  • Wayne Buza,LOL!!!!
    On a serious note, I asked the seller again to demonstrate where the overprint annotations are for this particular issue exist. Let's see.
    92b41c44f78c9c18b3a707189828aa3d
  • Hi Rene,the genuine "Wir Sind Frei" overprint was used only during the year 1938 and few local issues in 1939 and always printed over "Ceskoslovensko" stamps,never were used over Bohmen & Mahren stamps.

    In other side these 2 Hitler stamps were issued in 1943...5 years late of the genuine ovpts.

    As I have stated before half of the overprints from this seller are fantasy and the other half are fake created very recently.

    Nice day to all
    Carlos Santana
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