Figure 7
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Another remnant of WWI and the regional conflicts that ensued are the plebiscites. By definition, a plebiscite, or referendum, is a direct vote of the people to decide a matter of national importance. In this case, the popular votes determined that a country’s territory was ceded to another or not. The four listed in Table 1 are examples of territories that were included within the boundaries of the 2nd Republic of Poland but with strong objection by the inhabitants, many of whom were inclined to remain loyal to their previous state.
As an example, take Allenstein (Polish: Olsztyn), an East Prussian area and a town in the Mazurian lake district, and Merienwerder (Polish: Kwidzyn), a West Prussian area, both with sizeable German inhabitants. In 1920, in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles, plebiscites were organized. The decision to hold a plebiscite provided the rationale to issue a special stamp instead of using the Polish stamps available. Therefore, in both Allenstein and Merienwerder special stamps were prepared.(see Figure 8 and 9) Both used German stamps with overprints, with the exception of Merienwerder who had two special plebiscite issues printed in Milan, Italy. In both cases the stamps promoted the plebiscite. The results of the plebiscite were heavily in favor of remaining with Prussia, hence Germany, instead of with Poland. This existed until 1945 and the end of WWII.
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Figure 9 |
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Of the specialty areas listed as Collecting Interests, (14) Plebiscites can be a fascinating and manageable adventure. The advantages are: (a) a limited number of stamps issued in a short period of time; (b) a challenging hunt for covers with plebiscite postage and cancellations; (c) reasonable market conditions and favorable for your philatelic budget; and (d) a great topic for philatelic history research and possibly exhibiting.
The German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 was the tripwire that set off World War II and on 17 September 1939 the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, once again dividing and occupying Poland. Following the German attack on the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, Poland was occupied by Germany alone and postal service was subjected to German administration or, as it was called “General Gouvernerment”. In May of 1945, Germany was defeated ending WWII, however, Poland had been abandoned by the Western Allies and was subjected to the communist system against the will of the Polish people. This was the beginning of the People’s Republic of Poland during which time Poczta Polska resumed postal servics.
By 1989 the rise of the Solidarity Union and its recognition by the communist government led to the first free election in over 50 years. With the Polish government now led by non-communists, the plan to transform the Polish economy repidly from centrally planned to free market was adopted and the country renamed the 3rd Republic of Poland. Through the political transition since the end of WWII, Poczta Polska continued with postal services, however the subjects featured on the postage stamps changed. Topics forbidden under communism can now be seen on new issue of Polish stamps. One example is shown in Figure 10 below. This stamp was issued in August 1990, marking the 50th anniversary of the Katyń massacre, which was a series of mas executions of Polish nationals carried out by the NKVD, the Soviet secret police in April and May 1940.
Figure 10
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Having completed the chronology of postal history for the past 450+ years, we can now review the outline for “Other Collecting Interests” that appear more generic for philatelists but including some unique areas, such as, (7) Military, (8) Polonica , and (15) Słania Engraved Stamps, etc.
In the category of Special Collecting Interests under Table 2, (7) Military is rather unique due to the wide displacement of Polish forces during the conflicts. One example is (i) Ander’s Army - 2nd Corps in Italy (Figure 11). The 2nd Polish Corps were formed on Soviet soil and was composed of Poles, who were exiled and imprisoned in various gulags and camps in Siberia and other parts of the USSR. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, the General Anders and his men were released from imprisonment, transferred to the British forces in 1942, trained in Iraq in 1943, and arrived to fight victoriously at the Battle of Monte Cassino later that year. The stamps were issued in Italy and the air mail cover was directed to the Polish Ambassador to the Vatican on the 10th anniversary of Monte Cassino.
Figure 11
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Another unique specialty area is (9) Polonica, which is described as collecting philatelic material from foreign postal authorities that contain a thematic reference to Poland. Examples are: Chopin, Copernicus, Madame Curie, Pope John Paul II, Kościuszko, Battle of Grunwald, et al.
Collecting interest (15) Słania Engraved Stamps (not to mention portraits and art) is a popular specialty area. Polish born and schooled engraver, Czesław Słania was the most prolific stamp engraver in history. He is credited with engraving over 1070 images of stamps for 32 countries. In 1972, he was appointed Court Engraver of Sweden and died on 17 March 2005. One of the most important works by Słania was his diploma engraving for graduation from the Academy of Fine Arts from Kraków in 1956. This engraving was of a painting by Jan Matejko of the Battle of Grunwald. A compressed version of this engraving was made into a postage stamp but never issued for use on postage. However, a few covers with the unissued stamp have been found and are very rare. Figure 12 is one such rare piece, a registered air mail cover mailed from Kraków to New Britain, Connecticut on 1 March 1956 with the 90 gr. diploma stamp.
Figure 12
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