WW2 Nazi German 1939-40 Third Reich Insurance Card 41 Swastika Stamps Bielefeld

Original 1939 Third Reich German Invalidenversicherung Quittungskarte A from Bielefeld, Westfalen, remarkable for retaining 41 original insurance contribution stamps, nearly all individually canceled with dates spanning 1939–1940.

The document is headed:

“Invalidenversicherung. Quittungskarte A für Pflichtversicherung und Weiterversicherung.”

Translation: “Invalidity Insurance – Receipt Card A for Compulsory Insurance and Continued Insurance.”

It was issued on 2 October 1939, just one month after the beginning of WWII in Europe, through the Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse für den Stadtkreis Bielefeld under the Landesversicherungsanstalt Westfalen.

The card is made out to August Pöpping, residing in Bielefeld, with occupation recorded as Gärtner-Lehrling — gardener’s apprentice. His birth date appears to be 21 December 1920.

The front bears a large official Dienstsiegel incorporating the Third Reich eagle and swastika.

The fold-out interior is particularly impressive, retaining 41 original Invalidenversicherung contribution stamps. The stamps themselves display the German eagle and swastika and include several different contribution classes and denominations, including:

30 Pfennig – Class I
60 Pfennig – Class II
90 Pfennig – Class III
150 Pfennig – Class V
210 Pfennig – higher contribution class

Most are individually date-canceled, beginning in October 1939 and continuing through 1940, creating an unusually complete visual record of the owner’s insurance contributions.

These were not postage stamps. They were social-insurance contribution/revenue stamps placed into an individual’s Quittungskarte as proof that the required insurance contribution had been paid. German insurance law specifically provided for contributions to be documented by attaching the appropriate contribution stamps to the insured person’s Quittungskarte.

The Bielefeld connection is also well documented historically. Municipal records describe the city’s Quittungskarten-Ausgabestelle issuing and exchanging thousands of Invalidenversicherung cards and specifically discuss the administration of the Landesversicherungsanstalt Westfalen.

Collector references also document surviving 1939 Invalidenversicherung Quittungskarten with their original contribution stamps, noting that the colors, designs and denominations of these insurance stamps varied.

The lower section includes additional handwritten entries for qualifying periods, including Wehrpflicht and Reichsarbeitsdienst, adding further wartime-era interest.

Condition: Good original used condition with age toning, handling and edge/corner wear as shown. The contribution stamps remain attached and present extremely well, with strong colors, clearly visible eagle/swastika designs and numerous legible dated cancellations. Please see all photographs for exact condition.

A very attractive and unusually complete piece for a collection of Third Reich documents, German revenue/fiscal stamps, Invalidenversicherung, social insurance, Bielefeld history, Westfalen, WWII home front, Reichsarbeitsdienst, German bureaucracy or eagle/swastika stamp material.

YB8 series