The first Passport of Federal Germany
As a committed researcher and collector of German passports, I am pleased to present one of the earliest passports issued by the Federal Republic of Germany.
In the aftermath of World War II, Germany was divided into four occupation zones under Allied control. For six years, the issuance of passports and travel permits lay solely with the Allied Travel Board. Sovereign authority over passport issuance did not return to the Federal Republic of Germany until 1 February 1951.
Berlin, however, remained an exception. There, the Allied powers continued to issue travel documents until 1970, fully twenty five years after the war had ended.
I was therefore especially excited to discover that a Federal German passport had already been issued by the German Consulate General in New York on 13 November 1950. First Passport Federal Germany
This document was issued to a business manager from Stuttgart, Germany, who was residing in New York. It includes two renewals, extending its validity until 1955. The passport contains several visas for travel to Germany, France, Belgium, and Switzerland. The passport number is 190/50, while the document serial number is 1000194, suggesting that by November 1950, only 190 passports had been issued. During my research on the reestablishment of German diplomatic relations, I found clear evidence of the Consulate General in London being active as of June 16, 1950. This leads me to believe that the beginning-1950s marked the earliest period when German consulates and embassies began to reopen.
I’m thrilled to have acquired this early document, which, to the best of my knowledge, is the very first issued Federal Germany passport still in physical existence. I wonder if there is an earlier issue in some archive.
During my research, I discovered that the US Consulate in Hamburg was among the earliest American diplomatic missions, being the 11th consulate established worldwide. Founded in 1790, it marked the beginning of US diplomatic relations with Germany, with John Parish serving as the first Vice-Consul. The very first US diplomatic mission abroad was established in Paris in 1781. First Passport Federal Germany
Furthermore, I contacted the archive of the Bundesdruckerei and they were astonished to see a print template from 5.50 (May 1950). Unfortunately, they could not provide any additional new facts.
Tom Topol | Passport History Expert & Author.
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