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Background history
“The Catalogue of stamps of the POW camp Post Office in Oflag II C Woldenberg” is a precious memento and – at the same time – a philatelic phenomenon, issued through efforts of the Philatelists’ Circle in March 1944. The creators of the stamps included in it were artistically gifted soldiers – prisoners-of-war who are known by name. The stamps were made with the use of the characteristic technique of wood engraving. Some of them formed series, others functioned as individual editions. Each of the series included in the catalogue followed a clear-cut idea. The revenues which came from the sales of the series entitled “The Widow” supported the Widows and Orphans Fund, established in order to aid the families of soldiers who had got killed in the September Campaign or those who had died in the captivity. It was followed by other series, like: “The Torch”, with the leading motif of a soldier and arms, “Copernicus” which was issued on the 400th anniversary of the death of the Polish astronomer, and “The Hetmans” – featuring busts of Polish commanders-in-chief of the armies of the 16th and the 17th century, such as Stefan Czarnecki, Karol Chodkiewicz, Stanisław Żółkiewski and Jan Zamoyski. The stamps strengthened the national pride and identity, were set in military, patriotic and commemorative contexts. There were also stamps of the mourning character, like that bearing the image of General Władysław Sikorski, the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Military Forces and the Prime Minister of the Polish Government in exile, issued in July 1943, following the air crash. The establishment of the Post Office in 1942 and its development on the premises of Oflag II C Woldenberg (Dobiegniew) was closely related to the organization of life in the camp. The oflag, covering the area of nearly 25 hectares and accommodating about 7 thousand soldiers, made the largest place of isolation of Polish POWs in the Third Reich. A lively social activity developed there, especially in the cultural and educational areas. Consequently, the service of the Post Office functioning within the POW camp, which was launched in the spring of 1942, was born out of the need for an efficient communication. It was used to a great extent by libraries, the infirmary, medical and dental centers, the chemist’s, canteen, cultural and educational organizations. The first edition of stamps was printed with the use of oil paints, the remainders of which were offered by painters. It was not until the further editions were prepared that they were printed with the use of printing ink brought over from Poland. The first edition was printed on paper which was collected in the camp, the next ones – with the use of German newspapers. Again, it was not until representatives of the International Red Cross and Young Men’s Christian Association engaged in supporting the case that the paper for the next editions could be made uniform, thus considerably raising the size of the circulation.
All the plates were made in wood and the stamps were printed by hand, but beginning with the spring of 1942 – with the use of a primitive manual press constructed on the spot. The stamps were printed individually on sheets, then cut with scissors to obtain the right dimensions. The catalogue being presented was elaborated on by the Cataloguing Commission of the Philatelists’ Circle and covers all the editions which had come out by March 1944. It was presented, among others, on the exhibition entitled “The cultural, educational and sports activity of Polish Prisoners-of-War in the German captivity in the years 1939-1945” which was organized by the Museum.
Prepared by: Sebastian Mikulec
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Catalogue of stamps of the camp Post Office
Source of acquisition
The Catalogue found its way into the Museum collections in 1971, donated by Second Lieutenant Teofil Żurek, a soldier of the 1939 September Campaign and a POW in Oflag II C Woldenberg.
Description of the item
The Catalogue of stamps of the POW camp Post Office in Oflag II C Woldenberg edited with a cardboard cover of 21cm x 15cm, contains 26 pages, 43 stamps with descriptions and technical data, as well as catalogued series and individual editions, which were included in the circulation in the camp in the years of World War II.
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