Italian Social Republic

Was stumped by this little stamp, and was in the midst of scanning it when I found it in the 'back of book' section. Thought it was interesting enough to share anyway.




What was puzzling me was 'Sociale'. As Scott's explains it...
"On Sept. 15, 1944, Mussolini proclaimed the establishment of a Republican fascist party and a new fascist government. This government's authority covered only the Northern Italy area occupied by the Germans."

Great thing about this hobby, always teaching me a little more history.
Anyone else have any of these?

Stamps of Italian Socialist Republic:
www.stampcommunity.org/topic...OPIC_ID=22065

Italian stamps overprinted for Italian Socialist Republic:
www.stampcommunity.org/topic...OPIC_ID=26909

Italian Socialist Republic stamps overprinted for later use in Italy:
www.stampcommunity.org/topic...OPIC_ID=25444

Yes, they printed a good many definitives, and as you can see from the catalog values, they are quite common. Members of the U.S. military "liberated" a good many when Italy surrendered, then brought them home as souvenirs. Same thing happened in Germany, later.