21. Stamp collecting was one of the most popular hobbies
Philatelism – that’s stamp collecting to you and me – was all the rage in the GDR. The National Philatelist Association boasted 70,000 members: its replacement today has 60,000 throughout the whole country. Perhaps collecting stamps from around the world provided a rare window into places outside the GDR. The SED assumed everyone else loved stamps, and so printed 3,400 different designs before Germany reunified. These attractive stamps promoted East German achievements and key events, with an eye to stamp collectors outside the GDR. Some had deliberately limited runs to make them widely coveted by philatelists across the globe.