Berlin - Time appears to have stood still in the 78-year-old stamp collecting shop on the Reinhardtstrasse in central Berlin. Surrounded by yellowing copies of magazines and stamp albums, 65-year-old shop owner Norbert Mankiewicz likes to reminisce about the "better" times when philately was a popular hobby. Most of his customers belong to the older generation. "They are between 45 and 90 years old," Mankiewicz says. Young people, he says, are less interested in stamps as
email has replaced the letter and "postcards" can be sent from almost any mobile phone. If you need a stamp in
Germany you can send a text message to the post office and then receive a code to write on your letter.
"Our numbers are falling continuously," says the chairman of the stamp collecting club in Berlin's Spandau district, Detlef Schade. His club has 65 members, twenty years ago it was 135, and Schade does not know who will take over his chairmanship when he decides to go.
The number of philatelists in Germany is falling. "People's attentions are too easily diverted," says 65-year-old Schade, whereas a stamp collector needs the patience of a saint. "There is no longer a broad group of collectors but there are growing numbers of specialised, thematic, philatelists." Shop owner Mankiewicz shares that view. "Practically all of today's philatelists are interested in the historical aspect of the hobby or are thematic collectors."
The end of the 1970s marked the highpoint of stamp collecting, according to Mankiewicz. "We got the best prices back then," he says. However, much has changed in the meantime.
Bernward Schubert helps organise philately fairs in Germany. He believes there are too many types of stamp on the market and that even experienced collectors no longer have the total overview. "A century ago a world stamp catalogue had about 100 pages. Today, such a catalogue would be three metres high." It is the rarity of a stamp that makes it so collectable.
There are three million philatelists in Germany, which makes it the second biggest stamp collecting nation in the world. The chairman of the country's philately association, Dieter Hartig, regrets that young Germans are more partial to
surfing the
internet or using a Playstation that collecting stamps. "Collecting stamps is very educational," he says. A stamp album is like an encyclopaedia. "A collector learns about geography, history and culture."
In order to encourage more youngsters to take up the hobby the philately association places advertisements in magazines, makes school visits and even has a department dedicated to teenagers. But even though there are 10,000 registered young people collecting stamps in Germany the numbers continue to fall steadily.
Guenter Latz, the 65-year-old treasurer of the German Association for Young Philatelists, does not believe modern
technology is at fault for the demise of stamp collecting. Latz collects stamps with images of bats and Christmas stamps even though he never writes a letter himself. "I do everything by email," he says.
He criticises older philatelists for not doing enough to encourage the hobby among the next generation. Latz' association is looking for a new chairman but cannot find anyone to fill the honorary post. "Why should kids get interested in stamp collecting when nobody is showing them what is so special about the hobby?"
Norbert Mankiewicz likes to talk about his hobby though often he is alone in his shop. He picks up a postcard, waves it in the air to remove the dust, and then carefully places it in a wooden box. He's been doing the same procedure for days. "You are never finished in stamp collecting," he says.
