the overrun countries stamps of

[29J Wartime Issues of Commemorative Postage Stamps

MODERNCOMMENTAR~2

The Overrun Countries Stamps of 1943 and 1944

by Ken Lawrence

FOR BEGINNING STAMP collectors,the thirteen-stamp Overrun Countriesset of 1943 and 1944, Scott 909-21, is

often among their first prized acquisitions.Youngsters are drawn to the multicolordesigns that stand out on an album page,especially when they are mounted in sequencealongside the more pedestrian single-colorstamps that typified U.S. postal issues of thatera.

Twenty million each of the first sevenOverrun Countries stamps were printed, andfifteen million of the last six. After 354 ofeachhad been reserved as specimens, all the restwere sold. A substantial percentage of eachwas sold to stamp collectors and dealers.Quantities issued were small in comparison tonormal commemorative press runs, andminuscule when compared to the issuedquantities of most definitive and air mailstamps.

The Overrun Countries' 5-cent face valuemet only one frequently used postal rate, forletters sent by surface mail to foreigncountries.

Spreading the Word

The Overrun Countries issue waschronologically the third group ofWorld War

II propaganda stamps issued by the UnitedStates. First came the set of three NationalDefense stamps of 1940, urging the Americanpeople to prepare for war. Second came the1942-43 group of I-cent Four Freedoms,2-cent Allied Nations, 3-cent Win the War,and 5-cent Chinese Resistance issues. TheOverrun Countries issue followed those.Finally, after the tide of war increasinglyfavored the Allies, came the 1944 Philippinesand 1945 Iwo lima 3-cent commemoratives.

All thirteen stamps in the OverrunCountries series share a common design - asteel-engraved intaglio frame that depicts akneeling female figure breaking the shackles ofoppression on the right, and the phoenix, amythological bird symbolizing the renewal oflife, at the left, in blue violet ink, sometimescalled steel blue color, around a central designof each country's flag in its natural colors,printed by the indirect reliefprocess. PresidentFranklin Roosevelt himself is credited withhaving chosen the design concept in 1942, andparticularly with having preferred an allegoryofliberation and redemption rather than one ofmartial gallantry. The proposal to use nationalflags as the main subjects came from the StateDepartment.

The upper illustration in Figure 29-7shows the wash drawing by the design staffof

THE OVERRUN COUNTRIES STAMPS OF 1943 AND 1944 275

American Bank Note Company (ABN) as firstsubmitted to the Post Office Department(POD) for approval. The firm was instructed todelete the years" 1776" and" 1942" from thetop inscription tablet, and the Latin motto "NEPEREAT" ("Let it not perish!") above thephoenix. A black die essay of the revised framedesign is shown in the lower illustration ofFigure 29-7.

In the March 1944 American Philatelist,Marty Berg wrote, "The series of a dozenadhesives the United States Governmentissued between June 22nd and December 7th,1943, commemorating 'the heroic andcontinuing resistance to the Axis powers bythe peoples of the overrun and occupiedcountries of Europe' (borrowing the languageof the Pos t Office Departmen t' sannouncement), played a significant part in theall-important political warfare effort of theUnited Nations. . .. "As the use of the fivecenters in ordinary postage here is not great,and as a relatively limited number of each inthe series was issued, it is entirely likely thatthe commemoratives served to betteradvantages as messages of good will, faith andpromise from this country (and the UnitedNations) to the courageous people opposingtheir oppressors in each of the nationshonored."

When the first announcement of the seriesappeared, Berg called the Office of WarInformation (OWl), "charged with the hugepropaganda task of the country," to urge thatthe stamps be publicized in Europe.Encouraged by OWl officials, Bergradio-photographed the designs across theAtlantic. "From reports received, the photoswere not only reproduced widely in neutraland allied countries, with appropriate stories,but also found their way into the overrun andoccupied countries, so that the people in theselatter saw that the United States was doingeverything in addition to actual participation inthe war against the Axis powers."

Figure 29-7. (Upper) Preliminary wash drawing ofPresident Roosevelt's concept for the Overrun Countriesissue, produced by the staff of the American Bank NoteCompany. In the approved version "1776" and "1942"were deleted from the top inscription tablet, as was theLatin motto "Ne Pereat" above the phoenix. (Lower) Blackdie essay of the Overrun Countries frame design by A.E.Foringer, engraved by Arthur C. Vogel.

Berg's commendable enthusiasm for hisself-appointed duty exaggerated the degree towhich announcements of these stamps wereable to cross effectively into enemy territory.For the stamps themselves, the difficulty wasgreater still, because Axis censors routinelyturned back mail bearing stamps or postalmarkings that promoted the Allied war effort.The cover illustrated in Figure 29-8 is anoutstanding exception, which carried the flagsof occupied France and Belgium, and theirmessage of liberation, into the heart of theThird Reich.

German internee Paul Rositzka mailed this

276 WARTIME ISSUES OF COMMEMORATIVE POSTAGE STAMPS

Combination MulticoJorPrinting

canceled on the days of Paris'sliberation, are characteristic ofthe way that hobbyists putthese stamps to use in serviceof the war effort.

Overrun Countries were thefirst United States postagestamps to be printed in morethan two colors of ink (but theU.S. did issue multicolorhigh-value revenue stamps in

the 19th century). The Bureau of Engravingand Printing (BEP), which had printed all ofthis country's stamps since 1894, did not havethe practical capability to produce such aproduct in the 1940s, so the contract wasawarded to American Bank Note Company,whose previous U.S. stamp contract had beenfor the 1893 Columbian series.

The Overrun Countries stamps wereprinted in the size of then-current specialdelivery stamps, in horizontal format, 200subjects per plate, on pre-gummedunwatermarked paper. Their gum appearssmoother than gum on Bureau-printed stampsof that era, and has a slightly different taste.Gauge 12 perforations, last used on U.S.stamps from the BEP in 1914, were appliedfirst in one direction, then in the other.

The stamps were issued in rectangularpanes offifty subjects, ten high and five across,with marginal selvage on all four sides.Although no plate numbers appear, the nameof the designated country appears in the topmargin, always adjacent to the upper rightcorner stamp regardless of the pane's platelayout position. Inverted T -shaped registrationmarkings appear in the top margin, centerposition, of upper left and upper right plate

cover from an alien detention station atKenedy, Texas, to Frau Gertraud Rositzka atBerneck, Germany, on November 4, 1943.Berneck is a small town in Western Germany,less than 40 miles east of Strasbourg, France.Combined with 4-cent Presidential series and10-cent Transport air mail stamps on a 6-centAir Mail stamped envelope, the two 5-centOverrun Countries stamps met the 30-cent airmail rate to Europe.

Although mail service to Germany had beensuspended since the United States declaredwar on Germany in December of 1941,exceptions were made for mail sent by civilianand military internees, and prisoners of warfrom enemy countries. U.S. censors examinedRositzka's letter before it left this country.After crossing the Atlantic by air, it wasrouted through neutral Portugal en route toGerman censors in Berlin, before finally beingdelivered to Frau Rositzka at Berneck.

Although few Overrun Countries stampspenetrated the enemy's heartland, they becamefavorites ofphilatelic warriors, who used themfrequently on commemorative patriotic as wellas first day covers. The covers illustrated inFigure 29-9, showing French flag stamps onStaehle and Teixeira cacheted patriotic covers

Figure 29-8. Overrun Countries stamps on a 1943 cover tpat actually reachedNazi Germany, mailed by a German internee in Texas t6 his wife.


releases. Collectors became aware ofthem aftera specialist in Czechoslovakia complained tothe Philatelic Agency in Washington that hecould not find bottom position registrymarkings on Czechoslovakia flag panes. ThePhilatelic Agent's reply, published in TheCzechoslovak Specialist for September 1943,explained that only the upper position exists,corresponding to Norway, on which only thebottom position exists.

Figure 29-9. Cachet makers often combined appropriate Overrun Countriesstamps with patriotic cachets on covers commemorating events ofthe war. Onesuch event, the liberation of Paris, August 23-25,1944, was celebrated by anoutpouring of patriotic covers. (Upper) Cover by Ludwig W. Staehle, NewYork City, postmarked August 23 in Paris, New York. Staehle proudly addedhis signature, "LW Staehle/Designer," between cachet and postmark. (Lower)Patriotic cover by Capt. Frank L. Teixeira, 18th Infantry Regiment, 15t InfantryDivision, featuring different stamps canceled on different days. The firstAPO 1 cancel was struck in Bagnoles de l'Ome, France, on the FranceOverrun Countries stamp on August 25. The second was struck in Hof,Germany, on the Win the War stamp, May 8, 1945 (VE Day).

The first flag of the series,Poland, was laid out in all 200

positions of the central designplates, so four pane positionsexist as shown in the diagram.The next ten flags werecombined, two countries perplate set, with one in the uppertwo positions, the other in thelower two. Czechoslovakia, inthe upper positions, wascombined with Norway in thelower; Luxembourg, upper,with Netherlands, lower;Belgium, upper, with France,lower; Greece, upper, withYugoslavia, lower; and Albania, upper, withAustria lower. Announcement of thecombination printing method was made publicjust four days before the Czechoslovakia flagstamp was issued.

Like other aspects of Overrun Countriesproduction, philatelic consequences of thisnovelty had not been elaborated by themanufacturer nor included in POD publicity

Pairing the Designs

positIOns, and uprightT -shaped markings in thebottom margin, centerposition, of lower left andlower right plate positions. Aright-reading plate layoutdiagram is shown in Figure29-10. Because the multicolorflag images were printed by asingle pass of the blanket, theT and inverted T registermarks required only twocolors, first the intaglio blueviolet ofthe frame, followed byjust one offset color printed asclose as possible to the sameposition.


European Overrun Countriesand their Flags

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All European flag designs of the serieswere copied from Bulletin No. 89, Flags ofthe U.S. and Other Countries, published in1938 by the Hydrographic Office, U.S.Navy Department, Washington D.C. Froman assortment of flags shown for eachcountry, the set's designers chose the onethat seemed most appropriate. Each wasdrawn as though flying from a pole, withthe pole and shading lines printed in blackor gray ink, and the flag in one, two, orthree colors. The name of the country wasinscribed just beneath the flag, printed inone of the flag colors.

"A series ofeleven new postage stamps,commemorating the heroic and continuingresistance to the Axis powers by thepeoples ofover-run and occupied countriesof Europe, will be issued at intervalsduring the next several months,Postmaster General Frank C. Walker

Th•••• n.r""In"'. announced last night." So began the firstFigure 29-10. Plate layout for the Overrun Countries stamps, public notice of the series, a May 11, 1943,showing the positions of the marginal markings. On bottom POD news release.positions ofDenmark and Korea, theTregistermarkswereplaced "The countries to be honored arelower; they were trimmed offand do not appear on finished plates. Po la nd Czec h 0 sI0 vaki a Norw ay, "

The final two countries, Denmark and Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, France,Korea, had not been included in the original Greece, Yugoslavia, Albania and Austria. Theplan, and Korea had not been added by the stamps will all be of the five-centtime Denmark was announced. Each of these denomination, and the same size as the presentgot full 2oo-subject plate sets. special-delivery stamp.

Because ofthese layout position differences, "The first of the stamps, honoring theit is possible to collect marginal register people of Poland, will be placed on first-daymarkings in either top or bottom positions of sale June 22 at the post office in Washington,Poland flag sheets, but for the next ten, only D.C., and on general sale at post officesone position or the other depending on its throughout the country on the next day, or asplate placement. For Denmark and Korea, only soon thereafter as supplies can be madetop register mark positions are collectible available. Dispatch of mail to destinations inbecause the bottom register marks were placed Poland is now under suspension."below the trim line, and were cut of[ Bottom The announcement brought two quickpanes of those two stamps have no register responses from stamp collectors. Myron E.marks at all. Steczynski, president of the Polonus Philatelic


Society, addressed an open letter to ThirdAssistant Postmaster General Ramsey Black,urging him to "consider adding Chicago as afocal point for the first day of issue. Chicago isthe largest 'Polish' city in the world not nowsubjugated. It is the home of the largest Polishfraternal and civic organizations in the world.It is the national headquarters of the PolishCouncil, Polish Relief, and others. Each andeveryone of these organizations would bevitally interested in appropriate ceremonies atthe Chicago Post Office....

"We heartily believe that if you accept oursuggestion to add Chicago as a city for the firstday of issue, such an arrangement wouldgreatly promote the spirit and objectives forwhich the stamp is being issued."

Steczynski's proposal was quickly adopted.A POD news release dated June 1, 1943,

announced that the Poland stamp would beissued at both Washington and Chicago onJune 22.

A second appeal came from stamp dealerA.E. Pade of Denver. He complained to thePostmaster General that Denmark had beenslighted, and urged that a stamp showing theDanish flag be added to the set. A June 17reply to Pade from the office of the ThirdAssistant Postmaster General temporized."The Department has this matter underadvisement and it may be possible to makeprovisions for a Denmark stamp before theseries is completed, which, at best, will not beuntil later this year." A June 28 news releasemade it official -- a Denmark stamp would beadded to the list, bringing the total to twelve.

Poland - Scott 909

The Poland stamp, which shows Poland'snational flag in the central design area, wasissued at Washington, D.C., and Chicago onJune 22, 1943. In Washington, Roy North,Deputy Third Assistant Postmaster General,presented the first sheet to Poland'sambassador to the United States, Jan

Ciechanowski, in a small ceremony at the mainpost office.

At Chicago, a huge crowd gathered to heardedication speeches by Postmaster GeneralWalker and Dr. Karol Ripa, consul general ofPoland, in the lobby of the main post office. Anaspect of the ceremony that disturbed me as Istudied the historical record was an absence ofcontext and sensitivity. Although the officiallystated purpose of the stamp was to honor "thepeople ofPoland," no one paid tribute to PolishJews, who as a group suffered and lost morethan the rest of their countrymen at the handsof Nazi tormentors.

On April 19, 1943, Jews of the Warsawghetto rose up in arms. Against impossibleodds they battled the German army for nearlya month. Finally, on May 16, the Germanssnuffed out the last pockets of resistance,transported survivors to the Treblinka deathcamp, and obliterated the buildings thatremained in that sector ofPoland's capital. Onemonth afterward, at the Chicago ceremonydedicated to anti-Nazi resistance in Poland,Postmaster General Walker said, "There is aworld of symbolism in the stamp we dedicatetoday," but he paid no homage to Poland'sJewish martyrs.

Max Johl wrote, "After the first day of saleat Chicago it was reported in the PhilatelicPress that petty politics among various groupsin Chicago had almost ruined the first daycelebration. It is believed that this fact causedthe Department to limit the first day sale ofallother of the 'flag' stamps to Washington."Perhaps petty politics was the reason, butperhaps it was the potential for seriouspolitical embarrassment (because some Polishnationalists had a more expansive definition ofPoland's territory than did the Alliedgovernments), and by the conspicuous absenceof European Jews from the commemorations.

One million Poland stamps had beenshipped to Chicago. They proved to be sopopular that a second million had to be sent


soon after the stamp was dedicated. A total of224,172 first day covers were canceled,136,002 at Washington, and 88,170 at Chicago.By the time they were removed from philatelicsale on April 10, 1944, 2,545,000 Poland flagstamps had been sold through the PhilatelicAgency, 12.5 percent of the total issue.

Czechoslovakia - Scott 910

The Czechoslovakia stamp, which showsCzechoslovakia's national and merchant flag inthe central design area, was issued inWashington, D.C., on July 12, 1943. In adedication ceremony at the White House,Postmaster General Walker sold the first sheetto President Roosevelt. The Czechoslovakianambassador to the United States, VladimirHurban, also was present.

This was the stamp for which the seriesoriginally had been conceived. The engravedfemale figure breaking her shackles in the rightframe design of the flag stamps had appearedon Czechoslovakia's definitive series of 1920.

The issue date was the first anniversary ofthe founding ofLidice, Illinois, named in honorof the martyred Czech village whose peoplehad been slaughtered by the Nazis in reprisalfor the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich byCzech resistance fighters. The decision not tohold public dedication ceremonies for laterOverrun Countries stamps, after politicalproblems emerged at the Poland celebration inChicago, deprived that town of its promisedday in the sun.

A total of 145,112 first day covers werecanceled. By the time they were removed fromphilatelic sale on April 10, 1944, 2,103,000

Czechoslovakia flag stamps had been soldthrough the Philatelic Agency, 10.5 percent ofthe total issue.

Norway - Scott 911

The Norway stamp, which shows Norway'smerchant flag in the central design area, wasissued at Washington, D.C., on July 27, 1943.

In a dedication ceremony at the White House,Deputy Third Assistant Postmaster GeneralNorth sold the first sheet to PresidentRoosevelt. The Norwegian ambassador to theUnited States, Wilhelm M. de Morgan, alsowas present.

A total of 155,054 first day covers werecanceled. Max Johl wrote, "It had at first beenannounced that the total offirst day covers was130,054 but this figure was corrected to thehigher total shown above." The incorrectnumber refuses to die. It has been publishedrecently by the Postal Service, and is the figurelisted in the current Scott Catalogue. By thetime they were removed from philatelic sale onDecember 2, 1944, 3,469,000 Norway flagstamps had been sold through the PhilatelicAgency, 17.3 percent of the total issue.

Luxembourg - Scott 91~The Luxembourg stamp, which shows

Luxembourg's ensign, national, and merchantflag in the central design area, was issued atWashington, D.C., on August 10, 1943. In adedication ceremony at the White House,Deputy Third Assistant Postmaster GeneralNorth sold the first sheet to PresidentRoosevelt. The Luxembourg Minister to theUnited States, Hughes LeGallais, also waspresent.

A total of 166,367 first day covers werecanceled. By the time they were removed fromphilatelic sale on January 3, 1945, 4,665,000Luxembourg flag stamps had been soldthrough the Philatelic Agency, 23.3 percent ofthe total issue.

Netherlands - Scott 91S

The Netherlands stamp, which shows theNetherlands' ensign, national, and merchantflag in the central design area, was issued inWashington, D.C., on August 24, 1943. Adedication ceremony was held in the office ofWashington Postmaster Vincent Burke.Deputy Third Assistant Postmaster General


North sold the first sheet to Dr. AlexanderLondon, Ambassador ofthe Netherlands to theUnited States.

A total of 148,763 first day covers werecanceled. By the time they were removed fromphilatelic sale on February 3, 1945, 5,088,000Netherlands flag stamps had been sold throughthe Philatelic Agency, 25.4 percent of the totalIssue.

Belgium - Scott 914The Belgium stamp, which shows Belgium's

ensign, national, and merchant flag in thecentral design area [Figure 29-8J, was issuedin Washington, D.C., on September 14, 1943.In a dedication ceremony at the White House,Postmaster General Walker sold the first sheetto President Roosevelt. The BelgianAmbassador to the United States, Count Vonder Straten Ponthoz, also was present. TheAmbassador purchased the second sheet, whichwas autographed by President Roosevelt andPostmaster General Walker.

A total of 154,220 first day covers werecanceled. By the time they were removed fromphilatelic sale on February 3, 1945,5,545,000Belgium flag stamps had been sold through thePhilatelic Agency, 27.7 percent of the totalIssue.

France - Scott 915

The France stamp, which shows France'sensign and merchant flag in the central designarea [Figure 29-9J, was issued inWashington, D.C., on September 28, 1943. Ina dedication ceremony at the city post office,Washington Postmaster Vincent Burke soldthe first sheet to Postmaster General Walker.Deputy Third Assistant Postmaster GeneralNorth also was present.

A total of 163,478 first day covers werecanceled. By the time they were removed fromphilatelic sale on December 2, 1944,6,049,000France flag stamps had been sold through thePhilatelic Agency, 30.2 percent of the total

Issue.

Greece - Scott 916

The Greece stamp, which shows Greece'sensign and merchant flag in the central designarea, was issued in Washington, D.C., onOctober 12, 1943, in a dedication ceremony atthe White House. Postmaster General Walkersold the first sheet to President Roosevelt.Also present were Deputy Third AssistantPostmaster General North, and CimonDiamantopoulos, Ambassador ofGreece to theUnited States.

The press run for the Greece flag stamp andall subsequent Overrun Countries stamps wasreduced from twenty million to fifteen million.By this time, post offices throughout thecountry were well supplied with 5-cent stamps.In a normal year, from 150 million to 185million 5-cent stamps were distributed; if theorder had remained at twenty million for eachflag issue, by the end of the year 240 millionOverrun Countries stamps would have been incirculation, greatly exceeding postal needs andpotential philatelic sales.

A total of 166,553 first day covers werecanceled. By the time they were removed fromphilatelic sale on June 17, 1944, 3,135,000Greece flag stamps had been sold through thePhilatelic Agency, 20.9 percent of the totalIssue.

Yugoslavia - Scott 917

The Yugoslavia stamp, which showsYugOSlavia's national and merchant flag in thecentral design area, was issued in Washington,D.C., on October 26, 1943. At a dedicationceremony in the Postmaster General's office,General Walker sold the first sheet toConstantin Fotich, the YugoslavianAmbassador to the United States.

A total of 161,835 first day covers werecanceled. By the time they were removed fromphilatelic sale on August 2, 1944, 3,195,000Yugoslavia flag stamps had been sold through


the Philatelic Agency, 21.3 percent of the totalissue. (Johl reported an incorrect figure of3,135,000.)

Albania - Scott 918

The Albania stamp, which shows Albania'snational flag in the central design area, wasissued in Washington, D.C., on November 9,1943. At the dedication ceremony, DeputyThird Assistant Postmaster General Northsold the first sheet to Postmaster GeneralWalker, who forwarded it to PresidentRoosevelt for his collection.

A total of 162,275 first day covers werecanceled. By the time they were removed fromphilatelic sale on August 2, 1944, 3,154,000Albania flag stamps had been sold through thePhilatelic Agency, 21.0 percent of the totalissue. (Johl again reported an incorrect figureof3,135,000.)

Austria - Scott 919

The Austria stamp, which shows theAustrian flag in the central design area, wasissued in Washington, D.C., on November 23,1943. At a dedication ceremony that receivedscant public notice, Third AssistantPostmaster General Black sold the first sheetto Postmaster General Walker. The firstshipments ofAustria flag stamps were to postoffices in Puerto Rico and Hawaii, as if to keepthem out of sight on the mainland.

This issue had evoked controversy as soonas the announcement of its issue date wasmailed. In a letter to The New York Times andthe New York World Telegram, reprinted inthe philatelic media, K.H. Schwarz wrote,"Austria is not a member of the UnitedNations. This has been authoritatively clarifiedby the United States as well as by the BritishGovernment.

"Unlike Poland, Czechoslovakia, Norway,etc., Austria has not been overrun orconquered by Germany against her will, whichis a widely recognized fact. Anyone who

happened to be in Austria when in March,1938, she went 'back into the Greater Reich'knows that the great majority of the Austrianpopulace undoubtedly even called for theGermans and greeted them as 'liberators.'Recognition of this fact may be one of thereasons why the United States, as well as theBritish Government, never recognized anyAustrian Government in exile.

"If, therefore, the postal authorities issue astamp in honor of Austria it is with just asmuch justification that a stamp could be issuedin honor of Bavaria, Thuringia, or Saxonia."

A total of 172,285 first day covers werecanceled. By the time they were removed fromphilatelic sale on August 21, 1944, 3,344,000Austria flag stamps had been sold through thePhilatelic Agency, 22.3 percent of the totalIssue.

Denmark - Scott 9120

The Denmark stamp, which showsDenmark's merchant flag in the central designarea, was issued in Washington, D.C., onDecember 7, 1943, the second anniversary ofthe Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor thatbrought the United States into the war. At adedication ceremony in the PostmasterGeneral's office, Third Assistant PostmasterGeneral Black sold the first sheet to Henrik deKauffmann, Envoy Extraordinary and MinisterPlenipotentiary of Denmark to the UnitedStates. Also present were J. Rechendorff,Secretary of the Danish Legation, and RobertFellers, Superintendent of the POD StampsDivision.

The Wisconsin Federation of Stamp Clubshad sought to have a first day dedicationceremony at Racine, with "the largest pro-rataDanish American population of any Americancity." Holding firm to the policy decision thatfollowed the Poland flag ceremony at Chicago,this request was denied.

A total of 173,784 first day covers werecanceled. By the time they were removed from


philatelic sale on June 17, 1944, 3,159,000Denmark flag stamps had been sold throughthe Philatelic Agency, 21.0 percent of the totalissue.

The POD's press notice about the Denmarkstamp called it "the last in the series of twelvestamps issued by this country as a tribute tothe overrun countries of Europe." At the time,no one had reason to expect that the series

would get another stamp. More than eightmonths after the Denmark flag stamp wasissued, Postmaster General Walker announced"special postage stamps commemorating thePhilippines and Korea in continuation of theOverrun Countries Series oflast year."

The Asian Overrun Country and its Flag

President Roosevelt was gratified by thetwelve European Overrun Countries flagstamps, which he regarded as a popularsuccess. Early in 1944 he urged the POD todevelop a similar set honoring countriesoverrun by Japan. The POD sent FDR's list ofproposed Asian and Pacific countries to theState Department, which vetoed all but two ofthem, mostly in deference to the imperial andcolonial powers allied with the United States.Only Korea and the Philippines were approved.

Of the president's other recommendations,Thailand was unacceptable because itsgovernment had declared war on the UnitedStates; Manchuria was legitimately an integralpart of China, not an independent state;Formosa, a tougher case to call, was"predominantly Chinese in race, language, andperhaps spirit." Hong Kong could not behonored without consulting Great Britain.Timor had been occupied by Japan with theconsent ofPortugal, and the Japanese presencein Macao was inconsequential.

Burma, Malaya, New Guinea, North

Borneo, "and other British and Australianpossessions and mandates" would need "theconcurrence of the British and AustralianGovernments." Similarly, Indochina wouldrequire French approval, and the NetherlandsIndies, Dutch approval. Only Korea and thePhilippines were added to the list, and stampswere issued for them. Although the POD

regarded the 3-cent Corregidor stamp for thePhilippines as a member of the OverrunCountries series, neither its design nor itsdenomination matched the others, so it hasnever been included by stamp collectors. TheKorea flag stamp came as a late surprise, but itdid match the others.

Korea - Scott 9£1 (formerly Scott 9£6)

The Korea stamp was issued inWashington, D.C., on November 2,1944. The1938 Navy Department manual used as thesource for European flag designs did notinclude any flags of Korea, so the POD reliedon an earlier publication - the 1899 Edition ofthe Navy Department's Flags of MaritimeNations. Critics claimed that the design wasinaccurate, but disagreed among themselves asto the true Korean flag design. In an articletitled " 'Tah Gook' " in the May 1953American Philatelist, Frank Morse wrote,"This flag was originally the Korean merchantensign but when adopted as the nationalensign four diagrams in blue were added to thered and blue symbol on the white background."

At a dedication ceremony in the ThirdAssistant Postmaster General's office,Postmaster General Walker sold the first sheetofKorea stamps to "Misses Marian and LillianLee, twins from Korea. The Misses Lee wereattired in their native costumes of blue andpink which just tipped the ground," accordingto a POD circular distributed afterward. A


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philatelic sale on December 30,

1944 - less than two monthsafter their date of issue 4,020,000 Korea flag stampshad been sold through thePhilatelic Agency, 26.8 percentof the total issue. Because thestamps sold out in record time,calls were heard to issue moreof them.

On January 20, 1945, theKorean American Councilurged that the design bereprinted as a souvenir sheet offour: "March 1, the date onwhich Korea declared herindependence from Japan in

1919, might be a good occasion to bring outsuch a second edition. It will electrify theKorean people and hearten their leaders athome and abroad, especially now that theAmerican forces are fast approaching theshores of Asia."

The POD ignored these blandishments. ByJuly, the collecting community realized that

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Figure 29-12. The air mail letter rate to Mexico in 1944 was ten cents per halfounce, paid by two Overrun Countries stamps on this cover.

Figure 29-11. Three Overrun Countries flags and a I-cent National Defensestamp paid air mail and special delivery rates to Canada in 1943, the same asU.S. domestic rates. Patriotic cover by Jacques Minkus, New York City.

delegation of twelve men and women,including the Lee sisters, represented Korea.The Korean representatives autographed afirst day cover bearing a block of four Koreaflag stamps, addressed to President Roosevelt.

Dr. lK. Dunn, a member of the delegation,presented General Walker with a scroll thattold the story of Korea'sstruggle for freedom, anothergift for the President. EarlDickover and G.M. McCunerepresented the StateDepartment.

Editors of the ScottCatalogue had not reserved anumber with the previousOverrun Countries group, soKorea became No. 926 in the1944 chronology. The 1948

edition of the Specializedcatalogue renumbered the1944 issues placing the Koreaflag with the others as No.921.

A total of 192,860 first daycovers were canceled. By thetime they were removed from


Figure 29-14.Six flag stamps met the air mail rate to Europe and to Iceland in1944.

Figure 29-13. A Norway flag stamp paid surface postage from Arlington,New Jersey, to Donegal, Ireland, on Leap Year Day 1944. Both Britishand Irish censors examined it en route.

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smaller ones, had no need foradditional supplies, and did not getany. Poland and Czechoslovakiaalso were the first two stamps ofthe series to be taken off sale at thePhilatelic Agency, as supplies inWashington were depleted. Thefirst delivery of Luxembourg flagstamps was to Wailuku, Hawaii.Large quantities ofthe Albania flagstamp were shipped to post officesin California, Oregon, andWashington state. Hawaii andPuerto Rico received the maindistribution of Austria stampsmentioned earlier. No doubt other

, ~_: :<0'.,,-,':"...., ,~,!.shipping anomalies wentunreported, but being aware ofthese may be useful in trying toassemble a representative showingof usages.

As post offices became overstocked withflag stamps, the press order for later issues wasreduced, lowering the number of stampsavailable to mailers. After that the proportionof each issue sold through the PhilatelicAgency increased dramatically. That was truealso of the Korea flag stamp, even though itwas removed from philatelic sale less than two

Overrun Countries Stamps on Cover

Despite relative uniformity of production,distribution of OverrunCountries stamps was unevento the point of being lopsided.An exception was theWashington, D.C., post office,which received ample suppliesof each. Most large citiesreceived at least tokenquantities of every flag stamp.

Besides the extraordinaryshipment ofPoland flag stampsto Chicago, that issue and theCzechoslovakia flag stampwere shipped to post officesthroughout the country. Manyof those offices, especially

abundant quantities of all Overrun Countriesstamps were available, including the Koreaissue. Speculators dumped their hoards, andthe market returned to normal.


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Figure 29-15.This November 20, 1944, cover from Detroit to Paris wasan early example bearing a France flag stamp that carried a letter toFrance. Letter mail service to Paris had been restored on November 3.

three Overrun Countries flagstamps on the cover shown inFigure 29-11, sent from BoothbayHarbor, Maine, to Montreal,Canada, on July 31, 1943, paid thesame rates (six cents air mail andten cents special delivery) as theywould have if the letter had notcrossed the border. Theflags-Poland, Czechoslovakia, andNorway-included one ofeach thathad been issued by that date.

Air mail to Mexico wassomewhat more expensive--tencents per half ounce until June 11,

1945, when the rate was reduced tomonths after it had been issued.But by the time the Korea stampappeared, mail service was openingup to countries that had disallowedcorrespondence fromthe United States for the previousthree years. In relative terms, a runon that issue occurred, but notbefore collectors and dealers hadfulfilled their needs.

In my experience, the Austriaflag stamp seems somewhatscarcer than the others onnon-philatelic mail. I attribute thatto public antipathy, becauseAmericans tended to view Austriaas an enemy country.

Sampling Mail to ForeignDestinations

Our country's nearestneighbors have enjoyed morefavorable postal rates than mostother foreign destinations. DuringWorld War II, both air mail andspecial delivery rates to Canadaequaled the U.S. domestic rates.One I-cent National Defense and

Figure 29-16. A full set of twelve European Overrun Countries flagstamps on the back, plus two other 5-cent commemoratives on the front,paid the correct 70-cent air mail rate to India in 1944. For some reason thecover did not go by air and took three months to arrive.


Figure 29-17. Twelve Overrun Countries flag stamps paid the double air mail rate toSurinam in 1943.

,. I

eight cents. Thecensored covershown in Figure29-12 fromKalamazoo,Michigan, toMexico City onDecember 13, 1943,reflectsthe ten-cent rate,paid by France andGreece flag stamps.

Transa tlan ticmail from theUnited States toEuropean destinations typically was censoredby British examiners at Bermuda. The cover inFigure 29-13, mailed on February 29, 1944,Leap Year Day, from Arlington, New Jersey,to Donegal, Ireland, has both a British censor'stape and an Irish censor's maroon handstamp.Again, the Norway flag stamp paid the surfaceletter rate.

The air mail rate to Europe was thirtycents per half ounce. On March 10, 1944, sixflag stamps-France, Greece, Luxembourg,Czechoslovakia, and a Denmark pair-on thecover shown in Figure 29-14 paid the same airmail rate from New York City to Reykjavik,Iceland. In this case, the cover was censoredtwice; once by the United States, once byBritain.

The Figure 29-15 cover, censored by theUnited States, is exceptionally nice for a coupleof reasons. It has a France flag stamp payingthe surface rate to France, from Detroit toParis, mailed on November 20, 1944. Limitedmail service hadjust been restored to liberatedFrance. At first only "non-illustrated" postcards of a personal nature were permitted tocertain parts of France, starting September 4,and gradually extended to all departments asGerman forces retreated. Surface letters up toone ounce were allowed beginning November3, but no air mail, special delivery, money

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order, or registry services were available, andenclosures of money or financial instrumentswere forbidden. Normal mail service was notfully restored until 1945, in stages from Marchto June. Details of this evolving mail service toFrance may be found in Chapter S 1,"Resumption of Postal Service to LiberatedCountries."

The cover shown in Figure 29-16, mailedon August 21, 1944, at Allentown,Pennsylvania, was supposed to go by air mailto Fatehgarh, India. A straight-line magenta"Not in Air Mail" handstamp shows that it didnot. Perhaps someone at the post office failedto take note of the twelve Overrun Countriesflag stamps on the back, a full set except forthe Korea stamp, which had not yet beenannounced. Together with two other 5-centcommemorative, they combined to meet theseventy-cent air mail rate to India.

The cover was censored before it left theUnited States, and again by British censors atCalcutta. An arrival date stamp shows that ittook three months to reach its destination.Mail to India was sent by both transatlantic(Africa route) and transpacific (Orient route)routes; this letter might have gone either way.

Twelve Overrun Countries flagstamps-two Austria and one each of all theothers except Luxembourg and Korea (which


had not yet been issued-paid double thethirty-cent half-ounce air mail rate to Surinam(Netherlands Guiana) on the cover shown inFigure 29-17. It was posted at New York onDecember 20, 1943, passed by a U.S. censor,received at Paramaribo on December 28, andpassed by a Dutch censor.

Air mail rates to countries of SouthAmerica were reduced across the board on

April 1, 1945, but they did not become uniform(at ten cents per half ounce) until November1,1946.

This essay is a condensation if'U.S. Stamps thatWent to War: The Overrun Countries Stampsof 1943 and 1944," which originally appeared inthe January 1998 issue of American Philatelist,pp.48-74.

the overrun countries stamps of

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