The Winton M. Blount Postal History Symposia - Smithsonian ...

6 0 • s m i t h s o n i a n c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o h i s t o ry a n d t e c h n o l o g yin a stamp design that is to carry a propaganda message.The old saying that one picture is worth a thousand wordsis particularly true for postage stamps, since they are sosmall; whatever message is to be conveyed has to fit intoa miniscule format. Pictures also can have an immediateemotional impact invaluable for effective propaganda. Abrief textual message, such as a slogan, can be used to reinforcethe message conveyed by the stamp’s iconic content. 2The first countries to appreciate and utilize the propagandapotential of postage stamps were the majorEuropean dictatorships of the 1930s: Hitler’s Germany,Mussolini’s Italy, and Stalin’s Soviet Union. Philatelic literaturehas noted the propaganda function of the stampdesigns of these three countries; the stamps of Nazi Germany,along with its cancellations and postal cards, havebeen studied in depth. In addition, David Scott has studiedthe history of stamp design in several western Europeancountries, including stamps issued during the 1930s andWorld War II. 3 The literature has had little, if anything, tosay about stamp design and its propaganda function in thecountries of eastern Europe during this period. Yet by the1930s, most of the countries of eastern Europe were dictatorships,and their governments felt the same need to influencepublic opinion (if not to the same degree) as thoseof Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union. The purpose hereis to study the stamp designs of a small subset of easternEuropean stamps: stamps issued by countries that hadannexed territory between 1938 (the Munich crisis) and1941 (the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union) and whichcelebrate (and seek to justify) their territorial acquisitions.From the Munich crisis in the fall of 1938 to V- EDay in May, 1945, the borders of all of the countries ineastern Europe underwent changes. Countries gained territoryfrom or lost territory to their neighbors. Severalcountries entirely disappeared—occupied, partitioned, ordismembered—and two new ones (Croatia and Slovakia)emerged. These changes had their roots in the peace settlementsfollowing World War I, which redrew the map ofcentral and eastern Europe. The old empires—German,Austro- Hungarian, Russian, and Ottoman—had collapsedand were replaced by successor states, and the previouslyexisting states in the area either gained or lost territory.Given the multitude of competing territorial claims basedon historic, cultural, ethnic, economic, and strategic arguments,no settlement could satisfy everyone, and resentmentof the results was widespread. 4Starting with Munich and continuing into WorldWar II, countries occupied neighboring territory that theyregarded as rightfully theirs at every opportunity. Fivecountries—Poland, Hungary, the Soviet Union, Bulgaria,and Romania—issued stamps honoring and justifyingtheir territorial acquisitions. Hungary and Bulgaria eachissued two sets, one for each of two separate territorialacquisitions. 5 These stamps are impressive miniature propagandaposters, and the purpose here is to explain theiriconic content (to deconstruct the iconography) in order toshow how they functioned as propaganda and to suggestthe messages that they might have sent. The meaning andsignificance of the iconic content of these stamps wouldhave been obvious and instantly recognizable to the citizensof the issuing countries, and probably to their foreigncontemporaries. Over half a century later, however, theyconstitute terra incognita for populations far removed intime, space, and culture.The iconic content of the seven stamps or sets ofstamps issued by five different countries, each with its ownunique history and culture, is surprisingly similar. A limitednumber of icons are used by all five countries to conveysimilar ideas. Such similarities suggest the existenceof a visual vocabulary common to the region and to theperiod, as well as shared ideas and emotions. They alsoprovide an analytical framework.For these stamps or sets of stamps to function aspropaganda posters, two types of icons must be presentin the stamp design. First, an icon representing the occupyingpower (the country issuing the stamp) is necessary,something above and beyond simply the country’sname on the stamp. A limited number of icons are usedto serve this purpose. A picture of the head of state appearsmost frequently. Other icons include pictures of thearmy or individual soldiers (annexation, after all, usuallyinvolved a military operation), appropriate religious andallegorical figures, and the state flag. The second requiredicon is one representing the occupied territory. Anotherlimited number of icons serve this purpose. They includepictures of ethnic co- nationals resident in the territorybeing occupied (since the justification for annexation wasfrequently based on ethnic claims), identifiable as such bytheir national costumes and broad smiles; a map of the occupiedterritory; or pictures of culturally significant landmarkslocated in the occupied territory. These two types oficons—occupying power and occupied territory—visuallyestablish the fact of occupation/territorial acquisition.The stamp designs also include optional iconic contentthat reinforces the message established by the requiredicons. One type is a depiction of the old borderbetween the occupying power and the occupied territorywhich, due to annexation, has now been rendered null andvoid. A second type of iconic content justifies annexationby citing historical precedent through the portrayal of a