The “Arge Danzig e.V.” is a community of collectors devoted to the philately of the Danzig area.
Arge Danzig History
On the 23rd of March in 1936, the Arge was founded in the restaurant “Ayckes Wein- und Bierstuben” in the town of Danzig. The driving force behind this gathering was an increasing number of well-done overprint forgeries offered as genuine in the 1930s. Collectors wanted to protect themselves from these products, so pooling and sharing their knowledge was required. An initial project of the Arge was a catalog of the stamps and cancels of the Free Town of Danzig, the cancels being a field that had not been tackled at all until 1936.
A credo was written down in one of the first circulars and is still kept up today:
“We want to serve the common cause, work and research together, share and increase our knowledge of Danzig stamps and cancels. We also want to fight against everything harmful, against scams, swindles and fakes, but also against the collector’s vice of self-deception.”
After German Colonies (1928), Memel (1929) and German Inflation (1931, today “Infla-Berlin”), the Arge was the fourth of its kind in Germany and was the second to pick up the name “Arbeitsgemeinschaft” which is still in use today. Under the presidency of Wilhelm Marx, monthly get-togethers were held in Danzig. Back in the day, most of the active Danzig collectors and stamp dealers were living in Danzig so these got quite lively. In 1940, the membership list was exceeding a count of 100. However, it declined over the following years due to the war. Until the end of the war (the last meeting in Danzig was on January 16, 1945) the Arge published 35 issues of their circular “Das Danziger Postwertzeichen” and numerous articles and reports.
Vice-President Fanz Prill, who was expelled from Danzig after the war, tried to locate surving members of the Arge in Germany and issued a first circular in 1947. Times were tough, however, and lack of funds in these years only made six circulars possible. Membership numbers also were down to 20 as many former members had died, were prisoners of war, or otherwise displaced and could not be located.
Starting in 1955, Gerhard Schüler, one of the surviving founding members of the Arge, revived the Arge and wrote three-monthly circulars. This was the second life of the Arge, only made possible by Schüler selflessly devoting time and resources to the cause. After finishing his studies at the University of Danzig, he had returned to his home town Hamburg in 1941. He headed the Arge until his death in 1981. At this time, the Arge had 90 members.
Karl Kniep, like Marx and Prill born in Danzig, took over the reins and led the Arge for another ten years. With a stronger focus on public exposure of the Arge’s activites and get-togethers all over Germany membership numbers increased rapidly, culminating at 240 in 1991 with 40 of these living abroad.
Exactly 55 years after the initial meeting in Danzig, the Arge was refounded as a publically registered society, complete with articles of association. This was neccessary to meet BDPh standards and ensure the Arge could continue as an entity independent from its respective presidents.
Local Arge Danzig gatherings
The first meeting after World War II was in Hamburg in 1980. Further gatherings took place in Braunschweig (1981) and Rückersdorf (near Nürnberg in 1982). These involved lots of talking, occasional lectures, members bringing part of their material both for exchanging knowledge and stamps or covers and were greeted with enthusiasm by both members and interested guests who are always welcome. Needless to say, the number of these events increased over the years. Currently, there is one official annual meeting, usually in Hamm-Pelkum with extra get-togethers in Berlin, Hamburg, Wiesbaden and Leipzig.
In 1992, the “house of philately” of the Polish Philatelic Associtaion hosted the first gathering in Danzig after the war. Since then, there have been further get-togethers in Danzig, organized by our Polish members and friends.
Arge Danzig Membership benefits
The members of the Arge are friends of the town of Danzig, freshmen and experts, collectors and stamp dealers – in other words: all the people who share the love of the stamps of Danzig. You neither need courage nor a big collection to join the Arge. The only requirement is an interest in Danzig philately. The big collections of some of our long-time members may be daunting, but they started from scratch, too. Your benefits:
– meet knowledgeable collectors loving near you, and receive answers for your questions. Open questions can be posted in the circulars and be addressed there
– four issues of our circular each year
– availability of back issues and reports through our library
– solid advice on building and expanding your collection or exhibit from experienced collectors

>> Georg Cassau: Danzig - Hafen und Schiffe
Dampfer ZIETEN
[NDL], Werft Schichau Danzig 1902, 8066 BRT, 2300 Passagiere; Atlantik- und Australien-Dienst. 5.8.1914 in Mozambique aufgelegt, 2.1916 von Portugal beschlagnahmt, 27.11.1917 von deutschein U-Boot 17 im Mittelmeer versenkt.
Die ZIETEN, das Typschiffder Feldherren-Klasse
Dampfer SEIDLITZ
[NDL], Werft Schichau Danzig 1903, 7942 BRT, 2200 Passagiere; Australien - Atlantik - Dienst. 3.8.1914 von Sydney ausgelaufen, nach Valparaiso getürmt, beim Geschwader Graf Spee, 18.12.1914 in San Antonio interniert, 1920 nach Bremen, umgebaut, 1922 Südamerika-Dienst, 1928 modernisiert, 1933 in Bremerhaven abgewrackt.
Dampfer YORK
[NDL], Werft Schichau Danzig 1906, 8976 BRT, 2150 Passagiere; Australien-Dienst, 8.1914 in Ostasien als Troßschiff Kaiserl. Marine, 28.10.1914 in Valparaiso interniert, 1920 zurück, umgebaut, Atlantik-Dienst und Nordland - Kreuzfahrten, 1933 in Danzig abgewrackt.
Dampfer KLEIST
[NDL], Werft Schichau Danzig 1907, 8959 BRT, 2120 Passagiere; Australien - Dienst. 8.1914 in Padang aufgelassen, 1920 Beute London, nach Japan verkauft, 1.7.1944 von US-U Boot Steelheed bei Luzon versenkt.
Dampfer DERFFLINGER
[NDL]; Werft Schichau Danzig 1908, 9144 BRT, 2160 Passagiere; Ostasien-Dienst. 3.8.1914 britische Kriegsbeute im Suez-Kanal, 1923 Rückkauf durch NDL, umgebaut und bis 1933 Atlantik-Dienst. 1933 in Bremerhaven abgewrackt.
Dampfer OREL, POLTAWA, SIMBIRSK, PEN-SA und RJÄSAN
für die „Freiwillige Flotte St. Petersburg" bei Werft Schichau 1908/09. Letzterer 1916 als KORMORAN Hilfskreuzer-Kaperschiff in der Südsee.
Dampfer CINCIN-NATI
[Hamburg - Amerika - Linie (Hapag)], Schichau Danzig 1909, 16340 BRT, 2700 Passagiere; Nordatlantik-Dienst. 8.8.1914 in Boston aufgelegt, 1917 von USA beschlagnahmt, als COVINGTON US - Navy - Transporter, 1.7.1918 von U-Boot 86 im Atlantik versenkt.
Dampfer SCHWARZWALD
[HAPAG], Werft Schichau Danzig 1912, 4892 BRT, 630 Passagiere; Mittelamerika - Cuba - Dienst. 16.8.1914 Kaiserliche - Marine - Sperrbrecher 9, 9.1.1917 vor Borkum Minentreffer, gesunken.
Dampfer COLUMBUS (der erste !)
1913 Baubeginn bei Werft Schichau Danzig (im Krieg stillgelegt), 1922 bei Schichau fertig als HOMERIC für White Star Line Liverpool, 2.1936 nach Inverkeithing zum Abwracket).
Die erste COLUMBUS als HOMERIC vor der Übergabe an die Engländer
Dampfer BURDIGALA
für Comp. de Navigation-Sud-Atlantique, Bordeaux - Südamerika-Linie, 17400 BRT. 1916 in der Aegaeis torpediert und gesunken.
Dampfer COLUMBUS (der zweite)
[NDW, Werft Schichau Danzig 1923, 32565 BRT, 2350 Passagiere. 1929 Umbau, Bremen-New York, Dez. 1939 Versuch nach Deutschland durchzubrechen, östlich Cap Ilatteras von britischem Zerstörer gestellt, durch Besatzung in Brand gesteckt und selbstversenkt.
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Rundschreiben 199, Literaturbeilage 842, 1. März 2003, Seite 2.
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