Postes France Liberation - Resistance - 1945

POSTES FRANCE at the end of WWII issued in 1945 a series of stamps dedicated to the Liberation of France, among those stamps released was one  honouring the French Resistance.

La Poste France Heroes of Resistance 1957-1961

LA PSOTE FRANCE from 1957 to 1961 issued a set of 23 stamps honouring "Heroes of the Resistance". The set commemorated 27 members of the French Resistance who died during the Occupation of France between 1940 and 1945 (apart from Edmond Debeaumarché, who died in 1959). Interestingly, of the 27, two were Catholic monks and nuns and three were women

Issued 18 May 1957 
- Jean Moulin (1899-1943)
- D'Estienne d'Orves (1901–1941)
- Robert Keller (1899–1945)
- Pierre Brossolette (1903–1944)
- Jean-Baptiste Lebas (1878–1944)

Issued 19 April 1958
- Jean Cavailles (1903–1944)
- Fred Scamaroni (1914–1943)
- Simone Michel-Levy (1906–1945)
- Jacques Bingen (1908–1944)

Issued 25 April 1959:
-  Five Martyrs of the lycée Buffon
        -Jean-Marie Arthus (1925–1943)
        -Jacques Baudry (1922–1943)
        -Pierre Benoit (1925–1943)
        -Pierre Grelot (1923–1943)
        -Lucien Legros (1924–1943)
- Yvonne Le Roux (1882–1945)
- Mederic Vedy (1902–1944)
- Louis Martin-Bret (1898–1944)
- Gaston Moutardier (1889–1944)

Issued 26 March 1960:
- Edmond Debeaumarché (1906–1959)
- Pierre Masse (1879–1942)
- Maurice Ripoche (1895–1944)
- Leonce Vieljeux (1865–1944)
- Rene Bonpain (1908–1943)

Issued 22 April 1961:
- Jacques Renouvin (1905–1944)
- Lionel Dubray (1923–1944)
- Paul Gateaud (1889–1944)
- Mother Elizabeth (1890–1945)

Postes France Secours National (POWs and Marshal Petain's Winter Relief) - 1941

POSTES FRANCE on 1 January 1941 issued  two surtaxed stamps intended to benefit French Prisoners of War oof. The two designs featured views of prisoners of war inside barbed wire enclosures.

POSTES FRANCE on  4 March 1941 issued  two surtaxed stamps  design to benefit the "Secours National / Marshal Petain's Winter Relief".

The surtaxed or "semi-postal" pictorial French stamps of this period were intended to raise money for national events and public charities.

Many of the later charity stamp issues are inscribed "Secours National" or "National Relief".  This national fund provided food and clothing for the poor and for needy children.

Source: Collecting Stamps. com/France

Postes France Massacre at the Village of Oradour-sur-Glane - 1945

POSTES FRANCE on 13 October 1945 issued a stamp commemorating the Destruction of Oradour-sur-Glane in June 1944.  This surtax stamp benefited the Entraide Française. The design showed the Burning of the Oradour Church. That said, the FDC (13 October 1945) date is correct while the postmark cancellation shown here refers to the postal relay system created by King Louis XI; it is not the FDC Oradour landmark that was used. Also, while this 1945 postcard depicts a prominent landmark in Ales, it should not be mistaken for the destroyed church in Oradour.

 

Historical background: On 10 June 1944, the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in Nazi occupied France was destroyed, its church was burned, and 642 of its inhabitants, including women and children, were massacred by soldiers of the German 2nd SS Panzer Division.

According to the Yvert-Tellier specialised catalog, many of these charity stamps were issued for the benefit of the Entraide Française or the "French Mutual Aid [Society]".  This was a public charity whose purpose was to provide assistance to the sick, the disabled, and the needy.  Following a bit of further research, it seems that one of their key focuses was the plight of French Jewish families (especially the children) that had either been displaced or deported by the Germans during the war.

Postes France Liberation of Alsace and Lorraine from Nazi Germany - 1945

POSTES FRANCE issued on 16 May 1945 a single stamp marking the Liberation of Alsace and Lorraine from Nazi Germany. On a background representing the cathedrals of Strasbourg, on the left, and Metz, on the right, an Alsatian and a Lorainne in traditional costumes of their regions celebrate, under the French flag, the Liberation of France. Designed by Paul-Pierre Lemagny and engraved by Raoul Serres. Postage was intended to be used on single letters to foreign countries. It was printed in Rotary Intaglio with 50 stamps per sheet, block or booklet on No. 5 press. This red-brown stamp featured 13 perforations and measured 40x26  mm   40 mm x  26 mm. A total of 4.95 million copies were printed.  

According to the Yvert-Tellier specialised catalog, many of these charity stamps were issued for the benefit of the Entraide Française or the "French Mutual Aid [Society]".  This was a public charity whose purpose was to provide assistance to the sick, the disabled, and the needy.  Following a bit of further research, it seems that one of their key focuses was the plight of French Jewish families (especially the children) that had either been displaced or deported by the Germans during the war.

Postes France Devastated French Cities - 1945

POSTES FRANCE on 5 November 1945 issued four surtaxed French pictorial stamps of four cities devastated by WWII.  The surtax benefited the Entraide Française, in particular, the suffering residents of the four cities depicted in the stamps.

The four designs depicted the post-war ruins of the following:

 - Dunkirk.
 - Rouen.
 - Caen.
 - Saint-Malo.

According to the Yvert-Tellier specialised catalog, many of these charity stamps were issued for the benefit of the Entraide Française or the "French Mutual Aid [Society]".  This was a public charity whose purpose was to provide assistance to the sick, the disabled, and the needy.  Following a bit of further research, it seems that one of their key focuses was the plight of French Jewish families (especially the children) that had either been displaced or deported by the Germans during the war.

Postes France 18th Century Regional Costumes - 1943

POSTES FRANCE on 27 December 1943 issued six surtaxed pictorial stamps, featuring 18th Century Regional Costumes (Headdresses).  The surtax benefited the Secours National or "National Relief".  This national fund provided food and clothing for the poor and for needy children during the Vichy government (1940-1944). After the Liberation of France, surtax postage continued under Entraide Française or the "French Mutual Aid [Society]".

The six designs, in the order that they appear above, are as follows:

   - Picardy.

   - Brittany.

   - Ile de France.

   - Burgundy.

   - Auvergne.

   - Provence.

USPS Famous Baseball Fields

USPS on 27 June  2001 issued a series stamps commemorating ten legendary baseball fields. Avery Dennison Security Printing printed a total of 125,000,000, using the  Photogravure method. These stamps featured a Serpentine Die Cut of 11.25 x 11.5. They were issued in various cities, depending on the stadium location.

 

The stadiums included: Ebbets Field (Brooklyn), Tiger Stadium (Detroit), Crosley Field (Cincinnati), Yankee Stadium (New York City), Polo Grounds (New York City), Forbes Field (Pittsburgh), Fenway Park (Boston), Comiskey Park (Chicago), Shibe Park (Philadelphia), Wrigley Field (Chicago).

Shown here are five of those stadiums:
- Fenway Park (Boston).

- Comiskey Park (Chicago).
- Shibe Park (Philadelphia)
- Polo Grounds (New York City).
- Tiger Stadium (Detroit).

Polynesie Francaise Poste 1958 Island Scenes

POLYNESIE FRANCAISE POSTE  on 3 November 1958 issued a stamp set of nine "Island Scenes"  denominated from 10 centimes to 20 francs. The designs depicted a Polynesian girl playing guitar, a Polynesian man in headdress, and a Polynesian girl collecting shells on the beach. Shown here are three of four stamps featuring the Polynesian girl playing guitar. All postage stamps of this set were engraved by famous French engraver Charles Mazelin and printed by the copperplate printing process known as intaglio.

Öesterreich Post "The Dawn of Peace"

ÖSTERREICH POST on 10 September  1945 issued a  surtaxed charity stamp of 1 Schilling + 10 Schillings denomination for public welfare. The design was an allegorical representation of "The Dawn of Peace", and it featured a dove of peace at the top, and an Austrian returning to his Alpine home.

 

When one considers the history of Austria from the moment of the Anschluss in 1938, the Austrians who served in the German Wehrmacht (many of whom ended up fighting on the Eastern front and were interned in Soviet gulags until the 1950s), the internees who died at or survived the Mauthausen and concentration camp elsewhere,  the destruction of Austrian cities, the occupation of the four Allied powers and the multitude of displaced people, this stamp is truly touching and reflects a nation looking forward to peace.

This stamp is also interesting in that the Soviet occupied eastern region of Austria initially used overprint stamps of Hitler, then  the Austrian coat of arms (an eagle) with hammer and sickle in its talons.

Deutsche Post Berlin 10th Anniversary of Assassination Attempt on Adolf Hitler

DEUTSCHE POST BERLIN on 20 July 1954 issued a single stamp marking the 10th anniversary of the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler. This 20 Pfennig stamp was designed by Gerhardt and released from the Allied occupied zone of West Berlin. This particular stamp is mint -- never postmarked. 

The figure of the man with his hands bound depicted in the stamp was based on a sculpture created by Professor Richard Scheibe. Since 1953, this naked and solitary bronze sculpture has stood in the very Bendlerblock (German Resistance Memorial - Berlin) courtyard were Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators were executed by firing squad.

On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The name "Operation Valkyrie"—originally referring to part of the conspiracy—has become associated with the entire event.

The plot was the culmination of efforts by several groups in the German resistance to overthrow the Nazi German government. The failure of the assassination attempt and the intended military coup d'état, or putsch, that was to follow led the Gestapo to arrest more than 7,000 people, 4,980 of whom were executed.

Although the German Resistance Memorial is primarily intended to commemorate those members of the German Army who tried to assassinate Hitler in 1944, it is also a memorial to the German resistance in the broader sense.

While historians agree that there was no united, national resistance movement in Nazi Germany at any time during Hitler's years in power (1933–45), the term German Resistance (Deutscher Widerstand) is now used to describe all elements of opposition and resistance to the Nazi Regime, including the underground networks of the Social Democrats and Communists, The White Rose, opposition activities of the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations such as the Confessing Church, along with the resistance groups based in the civil service, intelligence organs and armed forces.

For more information see this link

Deutsche Bundespost Hausfrau - 1990

 

DEUTSCHE BUNDESPOST on 19 April 1990 issued a commemorative stamp mark the "75 Jahre Deutscher Hausfrauen-Bund".

Deutsche Bundespost 100th Birth Anniversary of Chancellor Ludwig Erhard

DEUTSCHE BUNDESPOST on 4th February 1997 issued a commemorative stamp to mark the 100th birth anniversary of former Federal Republic of Germany Chancellor Ludwig Erhard. This 100 Pf postage stamp showed a portrait of Ludwig Erhard and the iconic federal eagle. Shown here is a maxicard, first day cover cachet and folder with the postage stamp affixed to each item. Postmark cancellation originated from Bonn.

Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard was a German economist and politician. He was born on 4th February 1897 and died on May 5th, 1977. He was Federal Minister of Economics from 1949 to 1963 and was considered the father of the "German economic miracle". From 1963 to 1966 he was the second Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.