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

n u m b e r 5 5 • 6 5Maps of Southern Dobrudja, the annexed territory, are ontwo of the stamps. An ethnic Bulgarian couple, residents ofSouthern Dobrudja (identifiable as such by their nationalcostumes), are portrayed on a third. The woman holds asheaf of wheat, a reference to the agricultural characterand importance of the region. The reference to agricultureis repeated in the fourth stamp (Figure 6), which showsthe Bulgarian flag (an additional icon of the occupyingpower) being carried through a wheat field; the wheat isso tall that the soldiers carrying the flag are barely visible.On this stamp, Tsar Boris is portrayed wearing a Germanhelmet, possibly a reference to the alliance with the Axiswhich made the recovery of Southern Dobrudja possible. 19By 1941 Hitler was planning to invade the SovietUnion, the Nazi- Soviet Pact notwithstanding. In preparation,he invaded Greece and Yugoslavia in April to ensurethat the entire Balkan Peninsula was firmly under Axis control.The philatelic paper trail generated by the dismembermentof Yugoslavia and the fate of its various componentparts from 1941 to 1945 is a long and complicated one.Suffice it to say that Bulgaria, as an Axis ally, received covetedterritory from both Yugoslavia (most of Macedoniaplus some of Serbia) and Greece (territory in WesternThrace, which included access to the Aegean Sea). 20 It publicizedthese acquisitions with a series of five stamps. 21Tsar Boris plus a map of the territory obtained fromYugoslavia are on one of the stamps. (Figure 7) The iconiccontent of the remaining four stamps depicts the territoriesacquired. Two signify the occupation of Macedonia.A Macedonian woman (identified as such by her nationalcostume) plus the date of the occupation are on one,and the city of Ohrid, a culturally significant landmarkin Macedonia dating from the ninth century (shown onthe map of the territorial acquisitions from Yugoslavia), ison the second. Macedonia had been part of the medievalBulgarian state, and modern Bulgaria’s attempts to regainit had been a cause of Balkan instability since the BalkanWars of 1912 and 1913. The city of Ohrid had been acenter of learning in medieval Bulgaria and the seat of thePatriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. As a culturallysignificant landmark, the portrayal of Ohrid servesas a justification for annexation by citing historical precedent.The third stamp celebrates Bulgaria’s acquisition ofterritory from Greece. For economic and strategic reasonsmodern Bulgaria had constantly sought an outlet on theAegean Sea—and had been constantly frustrated in its attempts.Western Thrace, however, bordered the Aegean,thus fulfilling another of Bulgaria’s territorial goals. Appropriately,the iconic content of the stamp of WesternThrace is a view of the Aegean Sea from the Thraciancoastline, with the Island of Samos (another BulgarianFigure 6. In 1940, Bulgaria issued a series of four stamps celebratingthe return of Dobrudja. The fourth stamp references agricultureby showing the Bulgarian flag being carried through a wheat field;the wheat is so tall that the soldiers carrying the flag are barely visible.On this stamp, Tsar Boris is portrayed wearing a German helmet,possibly a reference to the alliance with the Axis which madethe recovery of Southern Dobrudja possible. From the collection ofRobin Gates Elliott.Figure 7. Bulgaria, as an Axis ally, received coveted territory fromboth Yugoslavia and Greece. It publicized these acquisitions with aseries of five stamps. Tsar Boris plus a map of the territory obtainedfrom Yugoslavia are on this stamp. From the collection of RobinGates Elliott.