1956 West Germany Pensioners Health Insurance Subsidy Document

1956 West German Landesversicherungsanstalt Hannover Pensioner Health Insurance Subsidy Document

Original postwar West German government social-insurance document issued by the Landesversicherungsanstalt Hannover (State Insurance Institution of Hanover) in 1956. This is an interesting piece of early Federal Republic of Germany administrative history documenting the country’s developing postwar pension and health-insurance system.

The document concerns a “Zuschußzahlung gem. §381 Abs. 4 der RVO” — a subsidy payment under Section 381, Paragraph 4 of the Reich Insurance Code — with specific reference to the Krankenversicherung der Rentner (KVdR), or Health Insurance for Pensioners, law dated June 12, 1956.

The document appears to have been issued to Frau Elise Oppermann, addressed at Holle 16 über Derneburg, and records her application for assistance with health-insurance contributions. According to the handwritten entries, the subsidy became effective August 1, 1956.

The Landesversicherungsanstalt Hannover initially authorized a monthly subsidy of 9 Deutsche Mark (DM). The document records:

• Application dated approximately July 30, 1956
• Subsidy beginning August 1, 1956
• Monthly payment of 9 DM
• Period from August 1 through December 31, 1956 — five months totaling 45 DM
• Continued monthly payment of 9 DM beginning January 1, 1957
• Administrative reference and pension-identification numbers
• Original handwritten administrative entries
• Period signatures/authorization
• Printed form designation K 381 A

The lower portion explains that the recipient was required to notify the insurance authority promptly of changes affecting her insurance status, including termination of voluntary insurance, beginning or ending employment subject to compulsory insurance, or changes in contribution levels.

It is signed/authorized on behalf of the administration, including the printed designation “Söchting, Landesrat,” and bears an additional handwritten certification beside “Für richtige Ausfertigung” (“Certified as correctly issued”).

This is not a WWII document. It dates from 1956, during the early years of West Germany, roughly eleven years after the end of WWII. Its interest lies primarily in postwar German social, economic and governmental history rather than military history. It provides a tangible example of how pensioners were being incorporated into the West German health-insurance system during the reconstruction era.

Condition is good overall for a roughly 70-year-old administrative document. It retains its original folds, handwritten blue-ink entries, signatures and typewritten/printed text. There is normal age toning, handling wear and minor creasing, but the document remains quite legible and presents well.