1979 West German 'Postkrieg' Returned Envelope (Stettin/Szczecin Dispute)

Germany · 1979 ·

An envelope from 1979, part of the 'Postkrieg' (Postal War) during the Cold War. It was returned to the sender with a 'RETOUR' mark because the official German stamp depicted the Polish city of Szczecin (formerly Stettin) with its pre-WWII German name, which was unacceptable to the Eastern Bloc.

This envelope exemplifies the political tensions of the Cold War, where even postal services became a battleground for ideological and territorial disputes, particularly concerning post-WWII border changes and nomenclature.