Last updated on January 24, 2026
I am sometimes asked about “generic” stamps that could be used on a variety of paperwork. Typically, the stamps used by every unit and office were very specific, unique to that unit and only valid on paperwork issued by that one unit. But this was not always the case. Here is a very well-used leave document from the collection of Spence Waldron. This dates to early 1945 and bears many stamps from when the soldier reported as ordered at various times during his leave.
Of interest here is this stamp that just says “Dienststelle.”
Probably, this stamp started off as a regular stamp with a full unit or Feldpost number designation. Perhaps this designation changed and the stamp was modified and used with no designation, maybe as a temporary measure. Or, maybe it was a unit that had never had a stamp, using a modified stamp from a unit that had been disbanded. In any case this stamp certainly was used this way and there is no way to know what Dienststelle this was from this stamp. I have reproduced this stamp and can supply it for $18 for just the rubber part or $23 on a wood handle.
Here is a similarly modified stamp used for an Ausweis issued by a Volkssturm unit. The unit designation on the stamp has simply been removed altogether. This is as generic as it gets.
Here is another generic stamp. It has a place where you would write in the number of the Kompanie and it says “in the absence of a stamp.” In this case this was probably when a unit designation had changed and this was used in the transitional period before the unit could get correct new stamps. The round stamps with the eagle were by regulation to be made of metal and had to be obtained through designated suppliers. This was probably a rubber stamp that could be quickly obtained locally. Sometimes a notation like this would be hand written, when no stamp was available.
