Barbed Wire

Hungary issued a stamp to commemorate the victims of the Russian forced labor camps: Gulag. There are uncounted remains of the Gulag still visible today. The symbolism of barbed wire, peace doves and snow is simply perfect, done by the famous illustrator/artist András Szunyoghy.

Cyprus commemorated 50 years since the liberation of WWII concentration camps in 1995. The Peace Dove is an important feature.

The Menorah on the Czechoslovakian stamp looks as if it is made of heavy barbed wire, in front of a list of concentration camps. The giant Menorah carrying scenes from Jewish history stands next to the Knesset building.

Several countries have erected memorials at the concentration camp Mauthausen, Austria. The DDR (east Germany, 1978) memorial consists of yards of massive barbed wire and a seated figure.

In 2006 Afghanistan issued a set of three stamps calling for an end to violence against women. The first shows a woman's face behind barbed wire and encircled by a padlocked chain. The hands have begun opening the lock.

An Austrian cover with the stamp and picture of the steps leading to the Mauthausen quarry, blood running down. It is called the Todesstiege, the path to death. Three different first day cancels.

Thousands of Jewish men, women and children were rounded up and deported from Paris to concentration camps in July 1942. The Vélodrome d'Hiver was the stadium for indoor cycling in which the captives had to stay for days under unbearable conditions before being deported. French police were involved in the roundup. The monument close to where the velodrome used to stand was created by the Polish sculptor Walter Spitzer.

Isaac Ellwood house. Ellwood invented and patented his own type of barbed wire. He changed horses at some point and invested in, manufactured and promoted a competitor's brand of barbed wire successfully.


POWs/MIAs still remembered

Sultanate of Oman
11th October 2009
Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Capital of Arab Culture 2009.

stamp


Close-up of inset showing barbed wire - this seems to be a symbol of the
commemoration as other GCC countries that marked this event also included
it in their designs.


MS shows better detail in border

Designs from other Gulf countries incorporating the same motif as shown above in the Sultanate of Oman example (with varying degrees of clarity)
Saudi Arabia
25th October 2009
Jerusalem - Arab Culture Capital 2009



United Arab Emirates
3rd August 2009
Jerusalem - Arab Culture Capital 2009

The Republic of Korea (South Korea) has featured wildlife in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) in two issues of stamps, in 2016 and 2017.
Two stamps show birds perched on strands of barbed wire.

http://stamp.epost.go.kr/k-stamp

then search for DMZ.

Belgium commemorated the liberation of concentration and prisoner of war camps in 1975 with a stamp showing a red triangle, the marking a political prisoner had to carry. Chart of different markings. KG = Kriegsgefangener = Prisoner of War.



(Hello Brasil and Outremer, Very interesting new contributions, especially the star made of interlocking squares! And I did find a scan of the South Korean Kingfisher, maybe I'll find one for real. The other two are on page nine. K.)

The stamp issued by France in 1995 celebrates the end of WWII, Freedom/Liberation! Maybe the greenery is a twig of blooming olive, and there is only a bit of broken wire left. The blue+grey stripes represent concentration camp clothing.

Imre Goth (1893-1982) was a Hungarian Jewish artist who found fame as a portraitist in Berlin. Goering commissioned the artist to paint a portrait of him. But Goering didn't like the result because he thought it made him look like the drug addict that he was. Goth fled to Britain. As a citizen of an enemy state, Goth was interned on the Isle of Man during the early years of WWII. This painting was done at Palace Camp, Douglas, 1941. Part of a set of 6 stamps issued in 2010 in honor of artists interned on Man.

Knockaloe was a place where "enemy aliens" were detained for the duration of the first world war, mostly Germans and Austrians. The 24,000 men were in effect inside a self-contained township which was originally envisioned for 5,000. It was built of wooden huts covering 23 acres. The overview on the left is of a colored steel engraving of the camp by the internees. (scans from the web on Knockaloe)