Are These The Most Mindless Stamps, Ever?

I was doing some work on my Swiss collection and I came across the three Olympic Jubilee stamps, Scott 290-292. And, for the first time in a long while I really looked at them.

The face of the stamps are dated 1944 and the first date of issue is March 21, 1944. The stamps commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Olympic movement, which is headquartered in Lausanne Switzerland. Good topic and with IOC offices in Lausanne, good reason to issue these.

But, in March of 1944, there was an absolute and total life and death struggle going on elsewhere, in Europe, the Pacific and on the Atlantic. There hadn't been an Olympics in 8 years and I can't imagine anything more remote than than that in the context of March 1944.

Has there ever been a set of stamps as disconnected from reality as these?

Perhaps the Swiss were trying to remind people that there was a world possible without conflict? Or as an alternate stamp to collect beyond the bad guys stamps? Or maybe just to distract from one's troubles at the time?

I remember seeing a movie years ago about a British officer and German officer meeting in the desert of Africa and comparing stamp knowledge and what they thought of certain issues. Totally devoid of side against side and cause against cause. Just two warriors meeting beyond the conflict raging.

From a google search


The 50th anniversary of the
Olympic Movement in 1944.
The Olympic Movement, under the
guidance of its chancellor and vicepresident,
decided to celebrate it in
Lausanne during the World War II, to
prove that in spite of the war, the
movement continued to exist and
was planning to restart its activities
after the cessation of hostilities. The
celebrations also included sports
events - with the participation of war
prisoners interned in Switzerland,
and were defined as the "small
Olympic Games".
Postally and philatelically, we are
presented with a first: the Swiss
postal administration issuing a set of
stamps for the occasion. This was a
first as Switzerland had never issued
Olympic stamps before, its policy
being that no postal recognition was
to be given to any event taking place
outside Switzerland (this policy was
changed for the first time on the
occasion of the Games of the XXVI
Olympiad, the Centennial Games in
1996 in Atlanta). The set included
three stamps, a special postmark,
maxi-cards and special covers. The
philatelist today is looking for varieties
and errors as well for the rare
proofs which have reached the public.
The original designs and proofs
are to be found in the Swiss postal
museum and postal archives, and
will be displayed in the Olympic
Museum on 23 June 2000.

Great info Bobgggg.




That's a pretty elitist attitude, or am I just being sensitive?

Actually, there is a Swiss stamp issue celebrating the end of WWI, which did not take place in Switzerland.

But, to be fair, there weren't much in the way, as we know them now, of commemoratives being issued prior to 1944. To this point, Switzerland only noted the 25th & 50th anniversaries of the UPU, a 1932 Disarmament Conference and the 50th anniversary of the St Gotthard Tunnel through the Alps. Plus some pictures of League of Nations buildings, a National Exposition, a 1939 Red Cross issue and a stamp honoring the city of Bern. Everything else is either Helvetia herself, William Tell, some crosses and some allegorical figures.

So, in my view, issuing an Olympics stamp is pretty unusual. And, as troops hit the shore at Normandy three months later, I'm sure they were suitably inspired by this stamp issue.

-Larry

Interesting thread I enjoy the pros and cons..one of my favorite sets is the Netherlands B25 to B32 1928 Olympic games set !!