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The Frank Stamp - A British Propaganda Parody for the General Government, by W Baldus/M Schweizer. Published by Arge Generalgouvernement, 2008. S/B, 41pp. A history of the Frank stamp, a propaganda forgery produced in Great Britain during WWII for use in the General Government, German occupied Polish territory. The origin, purpose and distribution of the stamp are discussed, and examples are shown of covers and related propaganda, such as leaflets and newspapers. A chapter on the forgeries of the Frank stamp is also included. Fully illustrated in colour and black & white.
Philatelic Exporter review, courtesy of David Rennie (May 2008): The Frank stamp was produced by British propagandists in 1943, to be used by Polish resistance groups against the General Government then in occupation in parts of Poland. General Governor Hans Frank was notorious for his dissipated lifestyle and corrupt and brutal regime. His portrait was placed on the stamps in similar style to the Hitler issue, albeit full-face, rather than side-face, and was used alongside the genuine Hitler issue on hand addressed covers to selected individuals. There is speculation that by doing this, and putting a non-postal rate face value on the stamps, that they might pass un-noticed by the postal clerks. At the very least it would cause disruption to the mail and some embarrassment to the addressees. Significantly only two styles of handwriting were used, one on letters addressed to German addresses, the other on letters to Austria. Only 5000 stamps were produced, in sheets of 20, but not all were used. This 44pp A4 Paperback details the speculative and real origins of the Frank stamps, its distribution and use, and illustrates the 32 known genuine covers and nine single stamps, as well as some others, known to be forgeries. There is also a Bibliography, and a list of other Handbooks from this publisher which deal with other aspects, stamps and postal history of the Generalgouvernement . It is bilingual throughout in German and English. Fascinating.  |
