The Deutsche Reichspost (DRP) can trace its roots to 1880 when postal services were put under the authority of the Reichspostamt (Reichs Post Office) led by the Generalpostmeister (Postmaster General). The DRP, not surprisingly, has a long history. In regards to women, the DRP, when first formed, did not permit women as employees unless they were the widow of a postal worker or relatives of a male postal worker. The reasoning, at the time, was that women could not exercise the needed official authority nor protect the confidentiality of postal mail. In 1919, the Reichspostamt was superseded by the Reichspostministerium (Reich Ministry of Post) which remained in existence until May 1945. The Postminister for the majority of World War Two was Wilhelm Ohnesorge though Julius Dorpmüller served as the Postminister under the extremely brief Flensburger Regierung (Flensburg Government) which assumed power following the suicide of Reichschancellor Adolf Hitler and lasted from May 2, 1945 to May 23, 1945.
As noted above, women did find employ in the DRP and while their roles in it did grow over time, the DRP was still heavily weighted towards male employees. But as World War Two commenced and the German military was committed further and further, women soon found themselves with ample opportunity for employ not only in the DRP but other civil services such as the Reichsbahn (State Railways) and in the Zollgrenzschutz (Customs/Border Guards). The main reason for these opportunities was due to more and more men being called up for military service. Delivery of the mail was of vital importance, not only for government communication, but for civilians and the military. Postal mail was often the only way for soldiers to stay in touch with loved ones back home as well as receive letters and parcels from home while away on campaign. This was done through coordination with the Wehrmacht's Feldpost (Field Post) military mail service. In fact, on April 1, 1940, discounted postal rates, to include free postage for some mailings, were instituted for shipments to and from the military. To illustrate this, a Reichspostministerium report showed that in 1943 alone, approximately 7,652,000 pieces of mail (letters, parcels, etc.) transited to and from the Feldpost system.
The photograph depicts a female postal worker, specifically, a Postkraftwagenfahrer, or Post Truck Driver. That she is a full functionary DRP employee, and not an auxiliary, can be told by the fact she is wearing the DRP uniform with rank insignia. This consisted of a dark blue beret with orange piping, a dark blue jacket, black trousers, and black shoes. The sleeve patch reads Deutsche Reichspost in a Fraktur-like script and has a blue background with the lettering and the adler (eagle) in yellow thread. Her rank, that of Postjungbote (literally “Post Boy”), is denoted by the black collar tabs while her truck driver status is told by the metal postal truck centered and pinned through the tabs. Underneath the jacket is a dark colored blouse and a black tie. She is likely entering information into a log book though what vehicle she is driving cannot be readily identified. The DRP utilized numerous models of trucks and cars including the Phänomen Granit 25, Mercedes-Benz L2500 and 2750 series trucks, Hansa-Lloyd Merkur trucks, and Volkswagen Type 82 (Kübelwagen) and Type 83 (“Käfer“ or Beetle) cars modified into Kastenwagens (box trucks) among others.
