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Show POSTAGE STAMPS AS WAR WEAPONS Nazis, Japs Use Forgeries For Propaganda; Russia Leads United Nations. WASHINGTON. Postage stamps are weapons of war for both the Allies and the enemy. Whether or not the letter writer realizes it, most of the stamps he sticks on letters represent war propaganda of some description. Most of the propaganda, both allied al-lied and enemy, has been ligitimate pictorial presentation of the nation's na-tion's war effort, but the Germans,:. Fascist Italians, and Japanese have often gone a step farther. Germany has turned out forgeries for-geries of British stamps for circulation circu-lation among Swedish collectors, according ac-cording to reports from Stockholm., Apparently seeking to spread the idea that Britain sold out to Russia, Rus-sia, the Nazis substituted Stalin'sf picture for that of Queen Elizabeth and added the words "SSSR Britannia" Britan-nia" and "Teheran 28.11-1943" on a 1937 British stamp originally issued is-sued to commemorate the corona-, tion of Britain's present rulers. i Another Nazi forgery altered & 1935 British stamp by substituting Stalin's portrait for that of King-. George V and added a hammer and' sickle, star of David, and the in- scription "This Is a Jewish War,"; says the Chicago Tribune. j Other Forgeries. Another reported set of Nazi "in-! spirations" were current British stamps which had been overprinted? with the words "liquidation of the' empire" and one of the following names: Singapore, Bahamas, Trini-f dad, Santa Lucia, Jamaica. Appar-; ently the Nazis were referring to . British colonies lost to the enemy: or those where naval air bases have been established by this country, j The forgeries, even though they were cleverly mixed in with genu-', ine -British stamps, failed to fool' Swedish collectors. Fascist Italy's contribution to' stamp propaganda includes a stamp picturing the Basilica of San Lor-! enzo Fuori le Mura in Rome with; a Latin inscription reading "the' fury of the enemy destroys" an ob-'' vious attempt to blame allied air, men for bombing the ancient? ' church. Japan didn't go to the trouble ot printing many new postage stamps' to propagandize its conquest of the' Philippines. Instead the Nippo-'. nese simply confiscated Philippine.: stamps, blacked out the words "United States of America" and printed new money values on several sev-eral issues. On one stamp the Eng-. lish inscription "Congratulations Fall of Bataan and Corregidor 1942,"; was added. On another the Japanese Japa-nese added the slogan "First Anni-' versary of Great Asiatic War" and the date "12-8-42." Japs Show Manila. One new Japanese stamp, issued for homeland circulation, pictured a map of Manila bay, with Manila,! Bataan peninsula, and Corregidor labeled. A Japanese soldier stands at one side and a Japanese flag, warship, and plane are on the other side. On the first anniversary of the start of the war, the Japanese turned out a stamp for use in the homeland which pictured the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, showing Hickam field under attack and a warship burning in the harbor. Even the United States has utilized uti-lized postage stamps to publicize its war effort. One, two and three cent stamps were issued in 1940 to call attention to the prewar national defense program and soon after our entry into the war came the three cent "Win the War" stamp, the two cent "United Nations" issue, and the one cent "Four Freedoms" stamp, which still are in circulation. Thirteen five cent stamps, each picturing the flag of an occupied or-now or-now liberated European or Asiatic nation, were issued in 1943-'44 to pay tribute to enemy overrun countries. Long one of the most prolific of stamp producing countries, Soviet Russia has led all of the United Nations in using postage stamps to publicize its part in the war and its ties with the United States and Great Britain. |
