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

6 4 • 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 yFigure 4. The first stamp in a series of three stamps that celebratethe return of northern Transylvania to Hungary portrays Hungariansoldiers past (in the background, on a horse) and present (foreground)with the date of the return of the territory in the upperleft- hand corner. From the collection of Robin Gates Elliott.region, as early as the thirteenth century and were entrustedwith guarding the border. If ever they were threatened, sothe legend went, Hungarian warriors from centuries pastwould arise from their graves and gallop to their rescue.The soldier in the background is doing precisely that. Thestars in the middle of the stamp represent the Milky Waywhich, according to the same legend, was the “Road of theArmies,” the path of the galloping warriors. The legendaryfigure serves two purposes. First, it is one of the optionalelements, justification for annexation by citing historicalprecedent (Transylvania had been part of Historic Hungaryfor centuries). Second, it represents the theme of aid, appropriatefor a stamp designed to raise funds. 16The design of the second stamp is reminiscent of thePieta. (Figure 5) Hungary, the occupying power, is representedby the Virgin Mary, the Patroness of Hungary (lestthere be any doubt, Patrona Hungariae is inscribed on herhalo). The man, a Szeklar from north- eastern Transylvania,represents the occupied territory; his crown of thornssymbolizes the sufferings endured (according to Budapest)by ethnic minorities at the hands of the Romanians. 17Szeklars are also portrayed on the third stamp in the series.A Szeklar mother is holding her child aloft, facingwest (towards Budapest), and offering him to the Fatherland.The sun is rising in the background, suggestive ofFigure 5. The design of the second stamp in the Transylvaniaseries is reminiscent of the Pieta. From the collection of Robin GatesElliott.the bright future that awaits the population now that itis once again part of Hungary. The iconic content of thesecond and third stamps in the series is highly emotional,more so than that of the Hungarian stamps issued to markthe return of territory from Czechoslovakia in 1938. Thedesigns suggest the importance of Transylvania in theHungarian national psyche—and the contempt in whichHungarians held the Romanians in general and those governingTransylvania in particular.Bulgaria, not to be outdone, also demanded Romanianterritory. Like Hungary, Bulgaria had been on thelosing side in World War I, and, like Hungary, it had lostterritory following the war. As a result of the Treaty ofNeuilly, concluded between the Entente Powers and Bulgaria,Bulgaria had lost about ten percent of its territoryto Romania, Greece, and Yugoslavia. When the terms ofthe treaty were publicized in Bulgaria, a national day ofmourning was declared. By World War II, Bulgaria wasallied with the Axis. With Axis support, it demanded thereturn from Romania of Southern Dobrudja, a highly developedand productive agricultural region bordering theBlack Sea, in which Bulgarians were the predominant ethnicgroup. 18 This was accomplished in 1940 by the Treatyof Craiova, and Bulgaria issued a series of four stampscelebrating the territory’s return.All four stamps include pictures of Bulgaria’s head ofstate, Tsar Boris, and the inscription “Dobrudja–1940.”