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Summer of 1939 was the last one before one of the greatest conflicts in the history – World War II. Today, we’ll take a look at stamps that were issued by the main protagonists of the war, on the eve of destruction. We’ll see stamps before the start of the war and immediately after the start.
The theatre for World War II was ready almost immediately after World War I has ended. Germany lost a lot and suffered additionally during the Great Depression in the early and mid-1930s. That was the perfect round for the emergence of the “strong leader” and we all know the result.
Germany 1939/08/25
Party Rally Inscription “REICHS PARTEITAG 1939”
Adolf Hitler had a plan to conquer Europe decades ago compared to when World War II truly started. When Nazi Germany started taking offensive actions, leaders of the USSR and West couldn’t agree on how to react. West feared communism and hoped that Nazi Germany would fight their battle, while the USSR planned to leave capitalist countries to fight their own war between them.
Germany 1939/09/15
Charity Stamps Local Motifs
The United Kingdom repeatedly rejected to sign a pact with USSR and that led to the pact between the USSR and Nazi Germany (the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact). While historians may argue, the idea behind signing this pact (for both sides) was to avoid having front opened with each other (at least for some time). Hitler knew he will invade the USSR and the USSR developed similar plans to push to the West. The pact itself was great for Nazi Germany and the USSR because they split their sphere of influence, or to be precise, they made a deal how to split other countries. Of course, that wasn’t so good for countries that were between Nazi Germany and the USSR.
USSR – 1939/08/01
The 50th Death Anniversary of M.E.Saltykov-Schedrin
On the other hand, the USA wanted to stay neutral and leave others fighting between themselves. The USA had a very developed industry, but the army wasn’t comparable in numbers, training, and equipment to armies fielded by major powers in Europe or even Japan.
USSR – 1939/08/01
All Union Agricultural Fair
So, the situation in 1939 on the international level was very complicated. The war was very close, and common people probably were aware of that, but somehow hoped that wouldn’t actually happen or that they’ll be able to avoid it somehow.
All that hesitation between (future) allies opened the way for Germany to make some offensive actions even prior to the war. So, before the war, Germany managed to annex the following:
The United Kingdom wanted to avoid total war at all costs and Nazi Germany used that. One of such events was signing the Munich Agreement ("Peace for our time") at Munich on 29 September 1938, by Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy. That document allowed Germany annexation of the German Sudeten territory and showed Germany how weak were other powers at that moment.
UK – 1939
King George VI
There is a well-known video showing prime minister Neville Chamberlain holding the document and giving the victory speech:
"The settlement of the Czechoslovakian problem, which has now been achieved is, in my view, only the prelude to a larger settlement in which all Europe may find peace. This morning I had another talk with the German Chancellor, Herr Hitler, and here is the paper which bears his name upon it as well as mine."
"My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honor. I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Go home and get a nice quiet sleep."
Germany tried to find the reason to attack Poland. One of the reasons was that Germany wanted to see the Free City of Danzig / Gdańsk, incorporated into the Reich. Danzig itself had almost 99% German inhabitants and they wanted to reunite with Germany, but that was not possible due to the peace treaty made after the World War I. That reason was more than enough for Germany to attack Poland and start the World War II.
Poland – 1939/08/01
The 25th Anniversary of the March of the Polish Legion
Germany staged a false-flag attack so it could formally say that actions taken were in self-defense. Of course, everything was prepared much earlier and the only questions were when the war will really start. The German battleship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire on the Westerplatte peninsula where the Polish military transport depot was located. That happened around 4:48 am on 1 September 1939 and these were the first shots fired during World War II.
France – 1939/06/23
23rd Anniversary of the Battle of Verdun
For the plan of their offensive action, Nazi Germany used the name “Fall Weiss” (“Plan White”). Poland itself had been surrounded from 3 sides Germany in the West, Nazi-aligned Slovakia to the South, and Prussia on the North and that gave Germany huge advantage. It’s not only easier to wage offensive war, but having your opponent spread in a thin line is one more big advantage.
Poland plan to defend against Germany (Plan Zachód - Plan West) was to endure as much as possible and to wait that France and the UK press Germany in the West. That would spread Nazi forces on two fronts – similarly to what happened in World War I. The Polish put up a great resistance, much better than most of the people think, and inflicted huge losses on German side even to much more technically advanced Luftwaffe (Poles lost 333 aircraft, destroying 285 and damaging 279 more Luftwaffe aircraft during the war). These were mostly forgotten because Germany hasn’t revealed these details in order to keep alive the picture of mighty and unstoppable military force. After 1 month and 5 days of the war, Poland surrendered on October 6, 1939.
World War II was a war without precedent in the history of modern warfare. Today we’ve tried to cover what led to the war. And more important, stamps that were issued in the summer of 1939.
