среда, 21 октября 2009 г.

FDC from Poland





On the 19-th of October after 16 days of travelling I got these 2 letters with FDC devoted to the Defensive War in Poland which was a part of WW II. That was one of the most terrible event in the human history and it should never happens again. We should remember about all the horrors it brought to the world and I hope the stamps will help it.


1 September 2009 marks the seventieth anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, the greatest military conflict of the 20 th century not only in relation to utilized forces and means but also suffered material and human losses. This cruel war lasted for six years and came to an end on 2 September 1945 with the capitulation of Japan. In Europe, Germany signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender on 8 May 1945. 

The first day of September of the year to remember. 

It is commonly believed that the war broke out with gunfire shot from the battleship Schleswig-Holstein at the Polish military transit depot in the Westerplatte peninsula at the Gulf of Gdańsk, which was fiercely defended by a handful of soldiers led by major Henryk Sucharski. The German gunfire was backed up by a torpedo-boat, planes, SS battalion and front-line troops. Westerplatte surrendered on 7 September and its heroic defense took on the symbolic meaning. The September Campaign, also known as the Defensive War ended on 5 October 1939. Poland became shrouded by a dark night of occupation. 

Wieluń - first casualty of war 

Wieluń became the first target of attack by the Germans during World War II. It was bombarded at daybreak at 4.40. As a result of bombardment, 75 percentage of the town infrastructure was devastated. The city centre was almost razed to the ground. Two thousand people died. The hospital was first to be hit and destroyed in spite of the red cross on its roof. For two days did the soldiers of 28. Division of Infantry of Army "Łódź" heroically and ferociously defend the town. 

Westerplatte of the South 

This name was given to Węgierska Górka - a village in Żywiec County located at the foot of Barania Góra mountain - due to unyielding, fearless defense of fronts. Węgierska Górka was attacked by German 7. Division of Infantry that earlier seized Czadca, Koniaków, Skalite, Zwardoń, Szare, Kamiesznica and Milówek. The enemy encountered ferocious defense on the part of the Border Protection Corps units (Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza KOP) and troops of Army "Kraków". On 2 September the German soldiers took control of Babia Góra mountain and after numerous unsuccessful attempts, under cover of night, they broke through to the Polish positions. The brave defense of the region of Węgierska Górka taking place on 1-3 September slowed down the advancement of the enemy and put paid to the disintegration of the southern wing of Army "Kraków".

...enemy attacked Poland from a neighbouring country... 

When Poles wrestled with one enemy coming from the west border, they were attacked by their eastern neighbor. On 17 September 1939 it was invaded by the Red Army which numbered over 800 thousand soldiers, pulverizing and plundering the country. In this situation Polish Army did not stand chance of winning: heroically defended Warsaw surrendered on 28 September, the Modlin Fortress surrendered on 29 September, the Hel Peninsula capitulated on 2 October. The last battle of the September Campaign was fought by the Independent Operational Group "Polesie" under command of general Franciszek Kleeberg, which opposed Germans in the battle of Kock from 2 to 5 October, earlier the Border Protection Corps fighting Russians in the battle of Szack on 29-30 September and 1 October the battle of Wytyczno.

New postage stamps and First Day Covers 

In tribute to the participants of the September Campaign, Poczta Polska introduced two stamps. The first one presents a German archival photograph of the bombarded Wieluń. The town is seen from the cabin of a bomber, the perspective of the aggressor. The bottom of the photograph shows the zero hour. The cover includes a map of the destructed districts of the town. The issue is accompanied by an occasional date stamp with the view of a saved church standing surrounded by the ruins, in use in Wieluń 1 Post Office. The second stamp is devoted to Węgierska Górka. This time the fighting is presented from the defenders' perspective, from the bunker, as seen with a Polish soldier's eyes. The First Day Cover shows a plan of location of fortifications along with the direction of attacks of the German Army. An occasional date stamp with a military eagle has been displayed by the Węgierska Górka Post Office.

Thank you, Anrzej!

Also you can see additions stamps - Euro cept collection (yay!) - now I have Europa 2009 stamp from Poland! 

Комментариев нет:

Отправить комментарий