During World War I, the Kingdom of Belgium was annexed by German troops. Consequently, Germany’s Generalgouvernment Belgien issued occupation stamps in Belgium for the general public from 1914 until 1918. These occupation issues were German postage stamps with an overprint reading “Belgien” and a new face value.

On August 4, 1914, soon after the outbreak of World War I, Germany invaded Belgium, a country considered neutral since 1839. By September 1914, German troops had occupied major regions of Belgium and had established the General Government of Belgium, known in German as the Generalgouvernment Belgien.

The German occupational forces began to overprint and re-value definitive German issues for public use in the occupied territory. The first overprinted and surcharged stamps were released on October 1, 1914. The overprint “Belgien” was applied on nine denominations, from 3 pfennigs to 2 marks. This set spelled out re-valued denominations as “Centimes” on pfennig values and “Fr.” on mark denominations. A few values of this group were issued in 1916.

The second set of overprinted and surcharged stamps was sold from May 1916 until 1918. This final series is comprised of sixteen denominations ranging from 2 pfennigs to 5 marks. Unlike the previous issue, re-valued denominations of this set were labeled as “Cent.” or “F.” on pfennig and mark values, respectively.

Meanwhile, in December 1916, the German Western Military Command released an issue for sole use in the Western Command regions. The issue consisted of twelve definitive German stamps, re-valued in Belgian currency of centimes or francs. These were used simultaneously with the general occupation issues of Belgium.

Following the defeat of Germany in World War I, the Germans soldiers were forced to liberate Belgium in 1918. Belgium’s government was restored, and the German occupation stamps were withdrawn from circulation.

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All Belgian issues under German occupation were overprints on the German postage stamps of 1905 to 1913 on the Germania and Representative Subjects designs. The first overprint of 1914 to 1916 consists of seven Germania and two Representative Subjects stamps. The overprints read “Belgien” and “Centimes” or “Fr.” in German Fraktur typeface. Two different spacing styles for the overprints can be seen in this set. The second overprint used on 1916 to 1918 stamps consists of thirteen Germania and three Representative Subjects stamps. All overprints of this set read “Belgien” and “Cent.” or “F.” in German Fraktur typeface. Like the previous issue, this series features variations in overprint spacing and shades for pfennig values.

The 1916 Western Command issue is characterized by overprints reading “Cent.” or “F.” in German Fraktur typeface. Unlike the earlier issues, this particular set does not bear the name of the country. This set contains stamps featuring different color variations, overprint settings, and perforation gauges.

Find the Value of your Belgium (German Occupation) Stamps. WorthPoint is the largest resource online for identifying, researching and valuing antiques. Explore over 425 Million “sold for” prices with item details and images.

The stamps of Belgium under German occupation from 1914 to 1918 are identified by their characteristic overprints, designs, and surcharges. Collectors can best authenticate stamps using a detailed, trustworthy provenance.

Identify your Belgium (German Occupation) Stamps Marks.

Books and Periodicals

European Stamp Issues and the First World War: Fall of Empires, Rise of Nations by David Parker.

The Postage Stamp in War by Fred J. Melville.

Web Resources

German Occupation Belgium - 1914-1918 www.stamp-collecting-world.com.

German Occupation Western Command - 1916 www.stamp-collecting-world.com.

WWI Occupation - Belgium www.germanstamps.net.