German Commission De Gouvernement

attached file has me puzzled. unable to find.

In the lower ribbon:
Haute Silesie = Upper Silesia

Thank You

What are these, post WWI occupation stamps?

Don

These are the plebescite stamps of Upper Silesia, issued for use until the plebescite to determine whether Upper Silesia would join Germany or Poland.

Michael has some useful background information at http://www.dcstamps.com/?p=6912

Also note the ribbon on the left says "Ober-Schlesien" and on the right says "Gorny Slask", which are the German and Polish names, respectively, for Upper Silesia. The words in French were because the French administered/occupied the area prior to the Plebiscite, not because any of the residents spoke French. It was likely intended as a slap in the face to the Germans, much as if the Germans had occupied the US and issued stamps with the US country name listed as "vereinigte Staaten von Amerika". It likely would have rubbed people the wrong way.

1920
Steiner Page 3.

Thematic: Peace Doves on Stamps.

The French inscriptions on the stamps of German plebiscite territories raises the questions "why" and "how". There are French inscriptions on stamps of Allenstein, Marienwerder, Saar, and Schleswig, besides Upper Silesia. My first thought was that French was used because it is the official language of the UPU.

However, the Memel territory stamps were different. At first, they were German stamps overprinted in German. After the first issue, French stamps were used, overprinted in the German language.

The allied powers must have codified rules for commerce (including stamps) in their governance of the plebiscite territories. Perhaps an SCF member can shed a little light on this.