The first Passport of Federal Germany

First Passport Federal Germany
As a dedicated researcher and collector of German passports, I am thrilled to present one of the earliest “Federal Republic of Germany” passports. After World War II, Germany was divided into four sectors and occupied by the Allied Forces. For six years, passports and travel permits were exclusively issued by the Allied Travel Board. It wasn’t until February 1, 1951, that the authority to issue passports was restored to the Federal Republic of Germany. However, in Berlin, the Allied Forces continued to issue travel documents until 1968, 23 years after the end of the war.

Now I was excited to find out that a Federal German passport was issued at the German Consulate General in New York, already on Nov 13, 1950(!) First Passport Federal Germany

The passport 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

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