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

n u m b e r 5 5 • 6 3on September 17, 1939, and occupied the eastern halfof the interwar Polish state. The territory was ethnicallymixed and contained substantial numbers of Belorussiansin the north and Ukrainians in the south. 11A set of five stamps present the Party line justifyingthe invasion, utilizing both iconic content and textual messages.12 All five stamps portray the enthusiastic welcome ofthe Red Army (icon representing the occupying power) bythe local inhabitants (icons representing the occupied territory),identified on two of the stamps as Ukrainians andBelorussians by the details of the women’s clothing, specificallythe embroidery. The first stamp in the series (Figure3) shows a Red Army soldier holding a young boy who, inturn, is holding aloft a bouquet of flowers, presumably togive to the soldier. Adults stand in the background, and theembroidery on a woman’s blouse suggests that the scenetakes place in the Western Ukraine. (Figure 3) Additionalstamps in the series portray villagers welcoming a tankcrew (a soldier stands in front of his tank and shakes handswith villagers, while a little girl brings him a bouquet offlowers) and a soldier distributing newspapers (presumablyannouncing the “liberation”) to eager villagers enthusiasticallyreaching for them. The final stamp shows villagerswelcoming an approaching tank column (someone in thecrowd is even waving a Soviet flag); the embroidery on theblouse of a woman in the foreground suggests that the sceneis taking place in Western Belorussia. Everyone is all smiles.The textual message on all five stamps reads “The liberationof the fraternal peoples of Western Ukraine andFigure 3. The first stamp in a series of five that present the communistparty line justifying the invasion of Poland by the Soviet Union.It shows a Red Army soldier holding a young boy who, in turn, isholding aloft a bouquet of flowers, presumably to give to the soldier.From the collection of Robin Gates Elliott.Western Belorussia,” along with the date, which explainsand reinforces the iconic content of happiness, enthusiasm,and celebration created with smiles, flowers, and theSoviet flag. The message is that the fraternal Red Army hascome to liberate the “fraternal peoples of Western Ukraineand Western Belorussia” from Polish rule. There is nomention of Poland, let alone the fact that it has been invaded.The territory will be annexed to the Soviet SocialistRepublics of Ukraine and Belorussia, and the inhabitantswill at long last join their ethnic brethren and, by definition,live happily ever after.In June 1940 the Soviet Union occupied the Romanianprovince of Bessarabia. Bessarabia had been part of theold Russian empire since the nineteenth century but hadbeen annexed by Romania following World War I. Nowthe Soviet Union, in accordance with the Nazi- Soviet Pact,wanted it back. No stamps were issued to mark the Sovietoccupation of Bessarabia, but the Soviet move inspiredother countries that had lost territory to Romania followingthe war, Hungary and Bulgaria, to press their claims. 13Hungary demanded the return of Transylvania, thelost territory to the east. Of all of the territorial losses thatHungary had sustained following World War I, the lossof Transylvania was the most traumatic to the Hungariannational psyche. Transylvania had been an integral part ofthe Hungarian state since the eleventh century, held considerablehistorical significance for Hungarians, and constitutedabout half of the territory of Historic Hungary.The fact that the Hungarian population of Transylvaniawas now being governed by Romanians simply addedinsult to injury. Precisely how much territory Hungarywould gain was, once again, determined by German andItalian diplomats in Vienna; hence the decision was knownas the Second Vienna Award. Hungary received northernTransylvania, an area with significant concentrations ofnon- romanian ethnic minorities. They may not have allbeen Hungarian—they included Germans (known as theSaxons) and numerous Szeklars (a Bulgarian- Turkic tribewhich had migrated to Transylvania in the eleventh centuryand, over time, had adopted the Hungarian languageand customs)—but they were certainly not Romanians. 14To celebrate the return of northern Transylvania and itscitizens, Hungary issued a set of three stamps, semi- postalsto benefit the Pro- Transylvania Movement. 15 The firststamp in the series portrays Hungarian soldiers past (in thebackground, on a horse) and present (foreground) with thedate of the return of the territory in the upper left- hand corner.(Figure 4) The mounted soldier in the background, withhelmet and sword, is a reference to a Hungarian legend.Szeklars had settled in north- eastern Transylvania, a border