Poland: Right You Are (if you think so)
Oct 17, 2021 20:39:43 GMT
Ryan, salentin, and 5 more like this
Post by ameis33 on Oct 17, 2021 20:39:43 GMT
Year 1989. To commemorate the 45th anniversary of the people's army, the Polish post prepared a postage stamp with the portrait of General Grzegorz Korczyński. The expected release date, which should have been in November 1989, was initially moved to December 29th. But in the end the stamp was not issued "because of the shameful facts of the past, disclosed after the printing of the entire issue".
The life of General Korczyński can easily be found on the internet. He fought in the partisan ranks during the war. After the war, he entered the internal security services during the communist regime (the internal security, in a communist regime, is the political police who controls subversives and lead the repression). Imprisoned and sentenced to life imprisonment, but then set free and rehabilitated, Korczyński re-entered the system and, in December 1970 he was in command of the troops of the Polish army during the suppression of workers' demonstrations and was one of the main responsibles for the massacre of workers in the events of the time. For this reason he has been removed from his duties and sent as ambassador to Algeria, where he died in 1971, officially for a food poisoning, but more likely for suicide or homicide.
So, who was Korczyński? An hero or a betrayer? The withdrawal of the issue could be right, but the controversial figure of Korczyński is emblematic of the historical period in which he lived and of the communist regime under which he served and this stamp more representative than many others. Maybe its status of "not issued" in 1989 underlines the end of a period (the People's Poland) and the beginning of a new one (the Republic of Poland) which will be officially born in 1990.
Korczyński's stamps, despite not having been issued, have nevertheless reached the philatelic market, giving life to a speculation (in the most classic tradition) that has caused their price to rise and some forgery to appear. The bubble has now deflated and such a stamp can be found at variable prices around 20-25 euros, even less. Although they have not been issued, some of them are known on letter passed by post.
The life of General Korczyński can easily be found on the internet. He fought in the partisan ranks during the war. After the war, he entered the internal security services during the communist regime (the internal security, in a communist regime, is the political police who controls subversives and lead the repression). Imprisoned and sentenced to life imprisonment, but then set free and rehabilitated, Korczyński re-entered the system and, in December 1970 he was in command of the troops of the Polish army during the suppression of workers' demonstrations and was one of the main responsibles for the massacre of workers in the events of the time. For this reason he has been removed from his duties and sent as ambassador to Algeria, where he died in 1971, officially for a food poisoning, but more likely for suicide or homicide.
So, who was Korczyński? An hero or a betrayer? The withdrawal of the issue could be right, but the controversial figure of Korczyński is emblematic of the historical period in which he lived and of the communist regime under which he served and this stamp more representative than many others. Maybe its status of "not issued" in 1989 underlines the end of a period (the People's Poland) and the beginning of a new one (the Republic of Poland) which will be officially born in 1990.
Korczyński's stamps, despite not having been issued, have nevertheless reached the philatelic market, giving life to a speculation (in the most classic tradition) that has caused their price to rise and some forgery to appear. The bubble has now deflated and such a stamp can be found at variable prices around 20-25 euros, even less. Although they have not been issued, some of them are known on letter passed by post.