Barbed Wire

Dear Members on this thread,
I'm new to the community, but found it because I was looking for this topic elsewhere and was amazed to see that other collectors also find it a fascinating subject. It is of special value this year because of the role that barbed wire played in the WWs and in the Iron Curtain. The next few years will be years of commemoration. I have a lot of pictures I'd like to share, but I don't know how to upload scanned material. Greetings from Kris

Dear Member Primoz, Thanks for the new stamp. I would also like to contribute, but I simply can't get the pictures uploaded. Can you recommend any member of the staff who is willing to help? Kris

Thank you, Member Primoz, for helping me with uploading an image! This US stamp commemorates the liberation of the NAZI concentration camps which began in 1944, 70 years ago. I'm not sure at which camp the photograph was taken, nor who took it, but it may have been Margaret Bourke-White, who traveled with the US troops at that time. K.

This official postcard, issued by the Museum of Verdun at Fleury, shows a drawing by Marcel Santi, himself a french veteran of that battle during the first world war. The soldiers, french on the left and german on the right, are no longer enemies. The barbed wire hangs almost like a wreath on the cross.

Commemoration of the Fall of the Iron Curtain (made mainly of barbed wire)Hungary, 2009 (20 years).
19.08.1989 Paneuropean Picnic. During summer vacations lake Balaton in Hungary was a popular meeting spot for people from East and West- Germany, as east-germans were allowed to travel to Hungary.
Here more about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-European_Picnic

In the meantime found an image of the 1989 stamp, commemorating the same event. Hungary, 1989:

This collectors cover shows that 3 countries shared the design of the opened 20 (see Wadmalatz' contribution). The small photographs were taken at the opening ceremonies. The first cutting of the wire was done by Hungarian border guards at the border to Austria (note maps in cancellations) on the second of May 1989, but East Germans couldn't leave Hungary until early September (note dates in cancellations). Finally, on the 9th of November the Berlin wall was opened. By the way, the red poppy reminds one of the poppies in Flanders fields - World War I.

Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941)was a Polish Franciscan friar most famous for volunteering to die in place of another prisoner at Auschwitz. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1982 and was called "The Patron Saint of our Difficult Century". You will find much more about him on the website of the Jewish Virtual Library. The huge barbed wire fences are visible in the background of the polish stamp (excuse the poor quality of the scan); on the German cover the wire has a more symbolic character.

A french FDC and a maxicard bearing the stamp and canellation designed by Claude Haley. It commemorates the 25th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps in 1945. The stamp itself has no barbed wire but the broken chain releasing the closed door as well as the emaciated hand are powerful symbols.

Thank you Primoz, for adding to M. Kolbe. He was an amazing human being. On my way home from market today I was struck by the title photo on a leading German newspaper; I'd like to share it with you. "Surrounded by war: What can be done?" The symbolism is powerful. A stamp to go with it is from Luxembourg (1985), part of a block of four dedicated to the heroes and martyrs of WWII. Indeed, what can be done?

Another Person remembered: Paul Schneider (1897-1939) was the first protestant minister killed in a concentration camp (Buchenwald). A veteran of WWI, he became pastor and soon realized that the new political powers in Germany must be opposed. Even from the window of his solitary cell he encouraged his fellow inmates not to lose faith. The FDC cites the memorial plaque on his cell. The photo-stamp was issued by west Germany 50 years after his death, the blue stamp was issued by east Germany in 1957, when he would have been 60.

A well-known resistance group called themselves "The White Rose". They were a group of students at the University of Munich who printed and distributed leaflets of protest against the Nazis. They had a wide circle of supporters and came from very diverse religious backgrounds. Their identity wasn't discovered until early 1943. Many were imprisoned and executed. The siblings Scholl - Hans and Sophie are remembered on the stamps from both east and west Germany.






Hans, Sophie and Christoph Probst