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Germany 1943, U-boat wolfpacks bring the war across the sea

Here is another stamp where the lead times to produce a new stamp meant the story told by the stamp was out of date. Thus the early German optimism about the war is displayed just as Stalingrad had turned the tide. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

There were two series of this style of stamp from Germany. The early issue showed German forces victorious and on the march, including this U boat. They came out on Hero Memorial Day in 1943. For Hero Memorial Day in 1944 there was a new issue that was quite different. Gone was the blitzkrieg bluster replaced by determined, well armed soldiers clearly on the defense. In 1945 there was a stamp  honoring the Volksstrurm, a new army of children to resist the Russian advance from the East, as the situation went from bad to worse.

Todays stamp is issue SP189, a 3+2 Pfennig  semi-postal stamp issued by Germany on March 21, 1943. It was a 12 stamp issue in various denominations showing German war fighters from the various services. The surcharge benefited the families of the war dead. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.25 used.

Germany had great hopes that their Navy’s submarines would help insure a German victory in the war. Great Britain after all was an island and very dependent on supplies brought in by sea. The German war effort in World War I had been greatly damaged by the mainly British naval blockade. It was now time to return the favor. Unfortunately when the war broke out the navy only had 57 seaworthy U boats, and many were small coastal types. They all were not truly submarines in the modern sense, being able to stay under water for long periods. Instead they were more surface ships that could dive underwater for short periods with their engines off under battery power. Notice the cannon on the deck of the U-boat on the stamp. This was to attack a merchant ship on the surface without ever diving.

German production was gearing up fast. By 1943, Germany was able to field the 100 U boats concurrently at sea that German Admiral Donitz believed was key to success. U boats sank 3663 ships that added up 14 million tons of shipping. The cost however was 720 U-boats sunk. The surface journey in and out of base was becoming ever more treacherous. German ship builders were innovating new battery technology that would have kept the subs underwater longer where they were much less vulnerable. They required extra crew training and were only just coming into service at wars end.

At the beginning of May 1945, Admiral Donitz replaced Hitler as head of the Third Reich. One of his first orders  was that the U-boats and all other German ships except useful post war minesweepers be scuttled. On May 4th, in surrender talks that order was rescinded, but many ship Captains went ahead with the scuttling assuming the rescinding order was coerced. 238 of the 394 remaining U-boats were scuttled and 4 were turned over to Japan. This is indicative of both extremely high U-boat construction during the war and how around two thirds of them were lost.

Admiral Donitz surrenders to British soldiers on May 23, 1945. He was jailed till 1956 and lived till 1980. One of his aids had just killed himself rather than surrender.

The German technological progress with submarines was very influential post war. The West German, French and Soviet navies made submarines modeled on late war model U-boats. Even the USA started the GUPPY program that rebuilt World War II subs to incorporate German technology. Even as late as the 1980s, a Soviet Whiskey class sub was sneaking undetected into Swedish waters until underwater rocks found it rather than the Swedish Navy. The Whiskey class was a copy of the Type XXI U-boat.

Well my drink is empty. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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Taiwan 1956, General “Cash My Check” plans project national glory

Losing becomes self perpetuating. Kuomintang leader General Chiang Kai-shek had to flee to Taiwan after losing the Chinese civil war. His comrades were now in a strange land and many of the locals found the former Japanese administration more efficient. The General had an idea to return to national glory before the Americans got serious about not cashing his checks. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

I found it strange that this Taiwan stamp portrayed their leader in the guise of a General. Many if not most of the General Chiang’s battles had not gone well. Yet here he is, at nearly 70, presenting himself as a military leader ready to win back the China he had lost. To have survived so long Chiang had his fans, but this was not a convincing guise to convince anyone new.

Todays stamp is issue A124 a $2 stamp issued by the Republic of China on Taiwan on October 31st, 1956. It was a six stamp issue in various denominations displaying President Chiang Kai-shek as a military leader. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used. This was a bulk postage issue therefore unused versions are more valuable. A mint version of this stamp is up at $16.

At the end of World War II, Taiwan had been under Japanese occupation for over 50 years. Things had been peaceful and there had been economic progress. At suggestion of the Allies, Chinese Kuomintang(KMT) forces accepted the Japanese surrender.  The KMT administration proved much rougher than the Japanese. On February 28th, 1947 a local 40 year old widow lady was selling contraband cigarettes on the street when agents from the tax authority approached her. One of the agents hit her over her head with a pistol as an angry crowd formed. Soon the agents fled after shooting into the crowd. This lead to days of riots where over 5000 people were killed. Thus the KMT’s legitimacy was already suspect when their leaders arrived in defeat from the mainland.

The legitimacy of General Chiang was already under question. The KMT had been the recipient of massive amounts of American aid over many years to have nothing but Taiwan to show for it. He was still asking for and getting even more aid while making big promises. Thus the sneer in America of General Cash my Check. The Soviet Union was at the time having similar feelings about all the aid going to Red China while their great leap forward proved to be such a stumble.

Nevertheless, General Chiang had a plan to turn things around. It was modeled after Sun Yat-sen’s successful effort to bring down the Qing Dynasty in 1911. See https://the-philatelist.com/2019/04/26/china-1961-remembering-sun-tat-sen-for-trying-to-bring-peace-order-and-good-government-over-from-hong-kong/ . Small units of special forces would foment trouble while the Muslim opposition army funded from Taiwan acted as a warlord army. It sounds pretty fanciful that it could work, but Chiang had often been attracted to such schemes.

In late 1965, Project National Glory got under way when special forces were to be landed in the mainland. The Red Chinese navy caught the ships and two were sunk. Earlier a practice for an amphibious landing was botched when three landing craft overturned in high waves. General Chiang gave up on these fanciful schemes in the early 70s when many countries withdrew recognition from Taiwan as the spokesman for all of China.

Chiang Kai-shek died in 1976 at the age of 89. His son by his first wife succeeded him. His then current wife, number four and First Lady fled to the USA as she was on bad terms with the son from another mother. See https://the-philatelist.com/2018/03/06/madame-chaing-efforts-to-help-warphans/  .

Well my drink is empty and I am left wondering how much the USA and the Soviet Union squandered trying to influence what happens in China. Not money well spent. Come again soon for another story to be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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Barbuda 1979, think of how great it will be to be independant or at least dependant on Antiqua

Barbuda is a small island in the Caribbean. When Antigua achieved independence in 1981, Barbuda was declared a dependent. A well known writer from Antigua, who calls herself Jamaica Kincaid, writes that because of the nature of slavery, the descendants are not responsible for their current situation. Imagine having to rely on that. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

This stamp is sort of a fantasy of air travel to Barbuda. In real life Codrington  Airport has a very short runway and the most common plane serving it is the 9 passenger twin prop Islander. In fact even this capability is closed as the airport was damaged by Hurricane Irma in 2017. Yet here we have a four jet Convair 880 airliner ready to park. Is it the Lisa Marie, Elvis’s plane? Total fantasy. The fantasies get even larger elsewhere in the stamp issue, showing a British Airways 747. There was a theory that tourism was being held back by the British administration. So perhaps the stamp is a vision of how the future may be. If the British would just leave.

Todays stamp is issue B33, a $1.25  stamp issued by the West Indies British colony of Barbuda on May 24th, 1979. It was a four stamp issue celebrating the 30th year of the West Indies Civil Aviation organization. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 50 cents unused. Barbuda did a few stamps after independence but most now stated as Antigua and Barbuda

Barbuda was first spotted by Columbus but proved difficult to settle  because of the Caribe Indians were not welcoming. Eventually the British got established on the islands. With them they brought Irish indentured servents and many slaves from West Africa to work sugar cane plantations. The Irish often functioned as slave oversears and intermarried with them. As was typical in the British Empire, others from Portugal and Syria were attracted to the towns to function as merchants. They were again mostly male and intermarried with the slaves. This diversity went away after the plantation economy tanked and the island is now near 100% black.

Barbuda put off independence as long as possible. You weren’t still a colony in 1981 because it had not been offered to you. The economy had dried up after slavery and they came upon naming Barbuda a dependency of  the nearby slightly larger island of Antigua. In Antiqua a labour leader named Bvrd had been recruited to serve in the colonial administration and went on to serve as Prime Minister. So did his son. In fact the main political rivalry was between Byrd’s two sons. One was accused of corruption for being a silent partner in a new hotel. The other was accused of smuggling arms to a Columbian drug cartel. No doubt people from Antiqua and Barbuda rejoiced when daddy Byrd picked the hotel guy. The slightly bigger airport on Antigua was built by the Americans during World War II  but was recently renamed for daddy Byrd. This was in celebration of Byrd’s contribution to the islands, none greater than his two charming sons.

The writer who calls herself Jamaica Kinkaid is from Antiqua. At 16 her mother sent her to Scarsdale, NY as an au pair. She was supposed to send money home to help support her large family but didn’t. Her host family let her attend community college and then she was offered a full scholarship to a college in Vermont. She moved to New York City and began writing angry anti colonial Caribbean based youth fiction that some describe as half séance half ambush. When she began dating the Editors son, she began writing for the New Yorker magazine. She married him, converted to Judism, and moved to Vermont. She quit the New Yorker in 1996  when an issue was dedicated to Roseanne Barr, who Kinkaid felt was beneath her. Asked why an Antiquan and Barbudan would refashion herself Jamaica Kincaid, I come from nowhere and have no credentials. Well yea.

Well my drink is empty and so we are at an end. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

 

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Poland 1982, do Polish experts do better through adversity, or was it just easier when nobody knew anything?

This isn’t the first Polish scientist stamp I have covered. See https://the-philatelist.com/2018/10/17/poland-1983-remembers-an-astronomer-mathemacian-from-a-time-with-so-many-changes-that-it-was-hard-to-develop-the-polish-academic-tradition/  . They all seem to have faced dramatic obstacles related to the plight of the Poles at the time, yet still moved mankind’s knowledge forward. With relative peace and prosperity not just in Poland, am I the only one to notice that progress has slowed. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

This stamp issue from 1982 shows four prominent mathematicians. They are displayed on graph paper in a fun 80s Max Headroom style. Sierpinski died in 1969 making him the most modern figure on the stamp issue, although most of his important work was 50+ years before that. Could Poland have come up with 4 living mathematicians in 1982 or 2019 that were advancing the field enough to be worthy of being remembered? I wonder.

Todays stamp is issue A799, a 6 Zloty stamp issued by Poland on November 23rd, 1982. It was a four stamp issue displaying 4 Polish mathematicians. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether it is mint or used.

Waclaw Sierpinski was born in Warsaw in 1882. At the time the city was under Czarist Russian occupation. The city’s University taught in Russian and had a largely Russian staff. As such, it was sort of a colonial operation and Poles were reticent to attend and thereby support the Russian occupation. Sierpinski did not honor the boycott as he desired to learn from a prominent Russian mathematician on staff there. He did withhold his first major academic work from publication until it could be published in Polish instead of Russian. World War I saw him in Moscow working with Russians. Sierpinski was back in Poland for the 1919 war with the Soviet Union and worked for the Poles decoding Soviet cyphers. Bet the Soviets were glad the Czarists had invested so much in Sierpinski’s success.

Sierpinski main mathematical contribution was in the field or numbers theory and set theory. In numbers theory, Sierpinski built upon the work of Russian mathematician Vorony. His later set theory work was built on the work of German mathematician Cantor. Below is a fractal that is named for him. It is one of those visual distotions.

Sierpinski Square, a fractal where the dimensions of the individual are more than the whole

Sierpinski continued working at the University or Warsaw through 1967. Or course his later years were more about receiving rewards for work he had done many years before. In a way, I wonder if this is the most interesting part. Is the adversity faced by people like Sierpinski necessary to challenge him to be his best? An alternative theory is that of course the older fellows seem to do more than the moderns because people just did not know anything back then.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Poland. It is a short list of countries that could put together a list of prominent mathematicians and Poland is one of the smaller and newer countries on that list. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

 

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Lubeck 1859, a Hanseatic Free state submits to Prussia but keeps its independant streak

Along the Baltic and the North Sea there were a group of trading cities that formed a Hanseatic League to protect their interest. When Prussia united Germany there was a dance with cities like Lubeck as to how much of it’s traditional character could be retained. Some later leaders thought too much. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Well a German Eagle implies a state ready to join a greater Germany. Look closer and you will spot the eagle has two heads looking east and west. This is a symbol of the old Holy Roman Empire, which first granted Lubeck it’s status as a Imperial Free Hanseatic State. The looking east and west implies empire and also fits with a trading post city. With Austria being the successor to the Holy Romans, it also speaks to the natural sympathies in the rivalry between Austria and Prussia.

Todays stamp is issue A1, a 2 Shilling stamp that was the first stamp issue of the Hanseatic Free State of Lubeck in 1859. It was a five stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $27.50 unused. A variant of this stamp with the denomination written out as two and a half is worth $7200 used. Lubeck printed stamps for collectors up till 1872  so used copies of their stamps are the most valuable.

Lubeck was a trading post city on the Baltic. It had the additional advantage of being on the direct land route from the Baltic to the much larger Hamburg, thus avoiding the long sea journey around Denmark. As a trading post, the city had a much more international flavor than inland cities and the trade added to the wealth. The Hanseatic League had fallen apart many years before but many of the cities worked to preserve the unique character. The then large Holy Roman Empire granted Lubeck its free city status and the city was comfortable pledging allegiance to the far off Hapsburgs while running themselves under a Burgermeister. In the second half of the 19th century, Prussia had ambitions in the area and first worked with Austria against Denmark and then turned against her and fought a war that removed Austria from the area. Now came the direct pressure from Prussia to join the North German Confederation controlled by Prussia.

Prussia made the direct threat to occupy the city militarily. An alternative was offered that allowed some measure of self government but more Prussian control than Austrian Hapsburgs ever had. Under the military pressure, both heads of the Lubeck eagle looked south and joined with Prussia. The instruments of separateness stayed in place.

The independence of the area can be seen in two of it’s most famous citizens. Thomas Mann was a giant of German literature including ” A Death in Venice”. A closeted homosexual and leftist, he spent most of his life outside Germany in Switzerland and the USA. During the war, he hosted a propaganda show called “Listen Germany” where he decried the then German government for ending the cultural openness or decadence of the Weimar Republic, depending on your point of view. After the war Mann returned quickly to Switzerland rather than Germany after finding Truman’s USA too right wing for him. The politician known as Willi Brandt was a left wing activist who fled the Nazis to Norway and then resurfaced post war in Berlin, first as a Norwegian diplomat and then had a fairly miraculous rise in German politics becoming mayor of West Berlin and later Chancellor of West Germany. He was controversial on the right side of the political spectrum for living his life under an alias, having a mysterious gap as to what he did while abroad, and or course the sex and spy scandals that eventually brought him down. Things were perhaps done a little differently in the trading post cities.

Hitler resented Lubeck and removed the last vestiges of it’s special status in 1937. On this point, post war West Germany agreed and did not return it’s special status.

Well my drink is empty and so I will pour another to toast Lubeck Trading post cities often have interesting histories but it is often sad when they are brought into line, Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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Italy 1941, Hitler interviews Mussolini about his future role as a colonial governor

Even for Italian fascists, this stamp does not age well. At first Italy was an important ally of Germany and Mussolini’s rise to power was an inspiration to Hitler. Italians fortunes in the war went very badly and the King removed Mussolini and had him arrested. Only to have him “saved” by the Germans and named a figurehead of their occupied Italy. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

This stamp displays Hitler and Mussolini as equals. They were not even in early victorious days. Though he fashioned himself as the leader, il Duce, Mussolini was just a Prime Minister that the King could and did have him removed when things turned bad. There was a coup attempt against Hitler in 1944 as things went bad, but it failed because Hitler retained all his power. One wonders to what extent even Hitler realized the difference.

Todays stamp is issue A235, a 25 Centessimi stamp issued by the Kingdom of Italy in 1941. It was part of a five stamp issue in various denominations. There were additional denominations prepared but not actually issued. The post war Italian government auctioned them off to stamp dealers with the proceeds going to charity. According to the Scott catalog, this stamp is worth $2.25 used. The post war charity issue are worth $35 and of course are all mint.

Benito Mussolini was born the son of an active socialist. The name Benito was after a left wing Mexican President. As a young man, he himself was active in socialist politics especially when he emigrated to Switzerland to avoid Italian military service. He returned to Italy when there was an amnesty for draft dodgers but soon was working in the then Italian areas of Austria Hungary. Over time he became well read and multilingual and his politics became more right wing as a result of World War I. Like Peron in Argentina, his rise to power attempted to draw support from both the left and the right. As with Peron, in power he was a figure of the right. With him has Prime Minister, he signed alliances with Nazi Germany and  Japan.

The Italian army proved to be a big liability once the war started. Their equipment was not up to date and Italian industry had no ability to correct that. Italy’s attempts to invade Greece from Albania  and Egypt from Libya were failures. An even bigger mistake was sending over 200,000 troops to fight alongside the Germans in Russia. The force had little military capability and really fought alongside Romanian and Hungarian in what the Germans hoped would be quiet flanks near Stalingrad. They weren’t as this was where the Soviets counterattacked. The German client state troops folded like a cheap suit and the German position at Stalingrad was surrounded and the defeat was the turning point of the war. Barely half of the Italian troops made it back to Italy in early 1943. By then the Italian presence in Africa was at an end and the allies invaded Sicily.

Italian King Victor Emmanuel II removed Mussolini as Prime Minister and had him confined in a mountaintop hotel. In a daring raid, Germany landed commandos from gliders on the mountaintop recovering Mussolini and flying him off the mountain in a small Storch airplane. A haggard Mussolini was flown to Hitler and his new role as a colonial governor was explained to him. Germany had occupied the Italian boot and would contest the Allies in Italy for the rest of the war.

In April 1945 Mussolini attempted to again head for Switzerland where he hoped to fly to sanctuary in Franco’s Spain. He left his wife and children behind, perhaps as a continued presence in post war Italy. He was instead found by communist partisans, shot, hanged and his body desecrated publicly. His remains were later dug up by his supporters and Italy had a crazy corpse hunt on his hands. When the government finally found his remains they were at a loss as to what to do with them. Eventually in 1957, a right of center Italian government contacted Mussolini’s widow Rachele and turned over his remains for a Catholic burial in his hometown. By then, she was running a restaurant in her hometown. She was eventually granted a pension but for years was denied on the excuse that Mussolini had not taken a salary as Prime Minister. She died in 1979. This stamp equates Hitler with Mussolini, but the extent that he was part of the system allowed his family some normalcy eventually. Hitler had no descendants, but his henchman had no future in postwar Germany.

Rachele Mussolini

Well, my drink is empty. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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Switzerland 1882, Helvetia looks down on a Swiss economic miracle

Switzerland is the globalist ideal. A multi language, multi religion place that is a peaceful, prosperous model for the world. It was not always this. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

As I write these articles, I become more and more enamored by these female embodiments of a nation that were so common on 19th century. Here we have Helvetia, the female Latin embodiment of Switzerland. Switzerland had just transferred more authority from the canton to the federal government. Without the human frailties of an actual person and slightly short of religious heresy, these images provided a united ideal to strive toward. It seems a little silly now, but then us moderns have lost a little of the ability to strive.

Todays stamp is issue A20, a 50 Centimes stamp issued by Switzerland in 1882. There are many versions of this stamp issued over 20 years. The early printing was the worst and the least valuable which I believe this stamp displays. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $25 used.

The 19th century did not start out well for the Swiss. They were conquered by Napoleon. The many changes to the legal and business structure took years to undo. There was also discord between Catholic areas in the south and Lutheran areas in the north. Lutheran appropriation of Church land and a takeover of the educational system lead several Catholic Cantons to form a rival “Sonderbund” to the weak federal government. The Sonderbund counted on support from Catholic France and Austria but in 1848 they had there own issues. When the Federal army moved to bring the Sonderbund cantons back into line, the Sonderbund quickly folded. The Federal government was strengthened and the Jesuits banned.

The post 1848 government seemed to find just the right balance of enough autonomy for the different people in the different cantons and yet still with a national identity. It was the time of industrialization and of people moving to the cities. Even in this Switzerland was lucky. Many of the new factories were textile, that offered opportunities to women, and the paychecks did much to raise their lot. At the same time, high end watchmaking took off that offered great rewards for people who learned the intricate skills.

The working classes doing well coincided with a great deal of growth in finance. The tradition of neutrality meant that the Swiss Franc  was often left as the only readily convertible currency during a crisis/war. Large amounts of gold especially from Germany were transferred to Switzerland in exchange for Swiss Francs that could be used to fund needed imports. This is in addition to all the private wealth moved in for preservation. The fees collected for this safekeeping were quite high. All was not profiteering, the Red Cross was founded in Switzerland and the country took in wounded veterans and political dissidents from all sides during both World Wars.

While you still see her red cross shield regularly on Swiss stamps, Helvetia herself no longer appears. The newest I could find was 1922 on an overprint of an earlier issue. This Philatelist is ready to welcome her again on a stamp. Perhaps one of the Europa Cept issues were all the nations display once more their Latin female embodiments.

Well my drink is empty and the $25 value of todays stamp would cover a few more rounds. Decisions! Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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Libya 1977, Can Jamahiriyah be a direct enough party to avoid an Arab Spring hangover

Few people and lots of money. Does it lead to great achievement of just a big party and a big hangover. In Libya’s case the party was soon over and the hangover goes on and on. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

This stamp is from the party phase in Libya. A horse race in front of an ancient fort. Yet now the fort isn’t owned by a Ottoman Pasha or a colonial Italian outpost. The place was in local hands and it was time to party. Oil had been discovered in 1959 and average income went from 50 dollars a year in 1950 to over $10,000 in 1980, This was richer than former colonial power Italy. A reason to party sure, but with it comes over confidence and acting on stupid dangerous whims.

Todays stamp is issue A224, a 115 Dirhams issued on December 11th, 1978 by the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriyah. It was part of a three stamp issue that celebrated the Libyan study Center, a government office that promoted their version of local history. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.50.

Libya was an Italian colony through World War II. There were Italian colonists that were the center of economic activity and the vast bulk of the country was desert. After the war, an Ottoman era Emir was made King Idris. He was a figurehead who was elderly and spent about half the year abroad. In 1959 oil was discovered in great quantity but few royalties from it stayed in Libya and fewer still got to the average Libyan.

In 1969, a pan Arabist, Berber, Army lieutenant Muammar Gaddaffi lead a bloodless coup declaring an Arab Republic and himself Coronel. King Idris was sentenced to death in absentia and Italians and western military bases kicked out. This was all popular as was the partial nationalization of the oil fields. Partial being key, because the simple country had no way to operate the fields themselves. Food prices were cut, rent was cut, and educational opportunities were expanded. Money was also squandered on more arms than the country had soldiers to operate and failed attempts at unions with other Arab and African countries. This generally involved the signing of a deal, and a large wealth transfer from Libya followed by nothing. As late as 2010, the newly reorganized and recapitalized by Libya African Union declared white man Gaddaffi, King of Kings. Not their finest hour.

Gaddaffi in 1973

With plenty of money, grudges and not much education, things got a little weird. Deciding in the mid 70s for his revolution to take on more of a third way politically. the Arab Republic became a Jamahiriyah, which was alleged to be direct democracy without elections but closely following Gaddaffi’s teaching as put forth in his Green Book, red book was already done by Mao remember. There were purges and a reduction in oil revenue and increasing sanctions as countries got revenge for Libyan support for violent radicals worldwide. American bombing in 1986 mostly ended that and by the 2000s Libya was trying to keep the party going by selling foreign concessions and that old standby of demanding reparations from old colonial power Italy. Italy paid in hopes of Libyan help in curbing sub Saharan migration into Italy.

One interesting Libyan project was man made rivers leading from the desert to the main cities of Tripoli and Bengazi. The water was coming from deep aquifers left over from the last ice age that Libya believed contained enough water to let the desert turn green for 2000 years. Gaddaffi called it the ninth wonder of the world. I can find no mention of it  post revolution so I assume it stopped working. Otherwise the nineth wonder of the world would rate some mention in the last 6 years.

In 2011, Arab Spring came big time to Libya. At first, Libya was able to use it’s large air force to keep at least Tripoli under control, but the Arab League and Nato who were both long tired of Gaddaffi. Nato  initiated a no fly zone and bombing on behalf of the rebels. Gaddaffi’s Bosnian Croat wife and blond daughter were able to escape to Algeria by armored Mercedes, but Gaddaffi, one of his sons and one of his fellow officers from 1969 fought on in Sirte near his childhood home. The pro Gaddaffi force was immobilized by a Nato airstrike on the convoy. Gaddaffi was killed slowly while he pleaded for his life and before and after death was repeatedly sodomized. The naked body was then put in a meat locker to allow for goulish tourism. What a shithole, and shame on Nato for flying over it as if their new favorites had any moral superiority. Some of the rebels took to using the old Royal Libyan flag but the horrors that have come since have somewhat turned the tide. In 2016 Gaddaffi’s Bosnian Croat widow was allowed to move back to Libya and take residence in one of their old palaces. She must be either brave of foolhardy.

Well my drink is empty and I am glad that modern methods  are being found to extract oil without having to dirty yourself with involvement in places like Libya. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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USA 1943, Korea is listed as a country to be liberated

The USA issued a series of stamps that listed 13 countries overrun by the Axis during World War II. This implicitly promised USA help in the liberation. Quite a task. It is perhaps a surprise that Korea was included on the list. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Initially neutral, the USA was brought in to World War II by the Pearl Harbor attack and the subsequent German war declaration. A few years of tough fighting later, this stamp issue sets out the liberation of 13 countries as a requirement for peace. A direct manifestation of the principle of unconditional surrender the Allies agreed to. In a democracy, it is quite surprising that such a government decree received no push back. It shows what a different time it was and the kind of sacrifices countries were demanding of their people.

Todays stamp is issue A368, a five cent stamp of the USA issued in 1943-44. The thirteen stamps of the issue each had a separate country flag and all were 5 cent. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether it is mint or used.

Korea had been annexed by Japan in 1910. This was the last step of a process over the previous 60 years that had weaned the Korean Empire from being in the Chinese sphere to the sphere of Japan. At first the Korean monarchy agreed to the forced upon them Japanese concessions but over time Japan wanted more direct control and less say by China. The final annexation was agreed by the Korean Prime Minister but not the last Korean Emperor, who refused to sign and was banished.

In general terms, the Japanese treated Koreans better than they treated occupied Chinese but it was not a friendly situation. There was no draft of Koreans to serve in the Japanese forces till near the end of the war but many volunteered. The was also much movement throughout the empire of laborers, some conscripted. There was no fighting in the area during the war, and as stated above, only volunteers fought for Japan.

As such, it is surprising that Korea was listed as a place to be liberated by the USA. Japan was to be punished. This was to prove very costly for the USA. The Soviets shared a border with Korea and although they had not fought Japan till the month before, they were available to take the surrender of Japanese forces in northern Korea. Rushing to be a part of the “liberation”, the Americans rushed forces in southern Korea in late 1945. A division of Korea was agreed at the 38th parallel between the Soviets and Americans.

The Soviet puppets in North Korea sought to unite Korea by invasion in 1950. Another war and 58,000 Americans died over the next three years to prevent a united Soviet puppet Korea. We see today what a horror show North Korea turned out to be, but I wonder if the USA realized the sacrifice necessary. I wonder how much thought was given to including Korea on the list to be liberated. Perhaps not enough?

Well my drink is empty and I may poor a few more to toast the sacrifice of the USA in regards to Korea. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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Soviet Union 1966, When showing off a minority People’s Poet goes wrong

The Soviet Union had within it many middle eastern types as a leftover from Czar time conquests, When life hands you lemons make lemonaide. So dutifully  the Soviets are talking up the literary geniuses from the hinterland. Here we get to meet Akop Akopian, a maybe Armenian poet. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Several of the literary figures on this Soviet stamp issue have later stamp issues after their region became independant. That helps confirm that the people thought the man worth remembering. That is not the case with Akop here, though Armenia has had nearly 30 years to get to this official Soviet “People’s Poet”.

Todays stamp is issue A1518, a 4 Kopek stamp issued by the Soviet Union in 1966. It was an eight stamp issue all in the same denomination. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 30 cents used.

There seems to be many name variations attached to this man. For the purposes of this offering I will use his Soviet name Akop Akopian, this has the advantage of being spellable and demonstrates the fungibility of tribe in Soviet times. Akop was born in Elisabethpol, Russia in 1867. The area had been conquered from the Persians 40 years before. The city is now called Ganja and is the second largest city in independent Azerbaijan and no longer contains the volatile soup of Armenians, Russians, or Jews. The Azeris have it to themselves now after a pogrom in the last days of the Soviet Union.

Akop published his first book of poetry in 1899 five years  before he switched to the Communist Party. He mainly worked out of Tiblisi in modern day Georgia. Into the area, Akop concentrating on bringing the Socialist Realism literary method as put forth by the Soviet Maksim Gorky. The Soviets themselves seem to be a little confused about who this guy was as at different times they bestowed the title People’s Poet of Armenia SSR, People’s Poet of Georgia SSR, and People’s Poet of the Transcaucasian Federation, SSR. Notice nothing from where he was really from.

Akop’s titles include Revolution, Red Waves, Died but didn’t Disappear, and One More Cut. That last one about blood sucking, probably really got to the heart of the matter.

Even in the Soviet Union, where the arts were so lavishly supported, Akop was forced to have a day job. He was the Chief Commissar of the Soviet Georgia State Bank. Wonder if he ever won the People’s Banker title?

Well my drink is empty. Come again soon when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2021.