National Independence Day (Narodowe Święto Niepodległości) is a national holiday in Poland celebrated on 11 November to commemorate the anniversary of the restoration of Poland's sovereignty as the Second Polish Republic in 1918, after 123 years of partition by the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Habsburg Empire.
The restoration of Poland's independence was gradual. The 11 November date chosen is the one on which Jozef Piłsudski assumed control of Poland. The holiday was constituted in 1937 and was celebrated only twice before World War II. After the war, the communist authorities of the People's Republic removed Independence Day from the calendar, though reclamation of independence continued to be celebrated informally on 11 November. The holiday was officially replaced by the National Day of Poland's Revival as Poland's National Day, celebrated on the 22 July anniversary of the communist PKWN Manifesto under Josef Stalin. As Poland emerged from Soviet-influenced communism in 1989, the original holiday (on its original 11 November date) was restored.
The date corresponds to the date of other countries' Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, or Veterans Day. All of these holidays and Polish Independence Day are indirectly related because they all emerged from the circumstances at the end of World War I. In other countries, holidays were established in the spirit of grief and horror at the enormous human cost of the war, and they mark the sacrifices of those who fought. For Poland, however, the tragedy of the war was tempered by what had been accomplished at its end: the restoration of a sovereign Polish state that had been lost entirely in the partitions of Poland, after 123 years of struggle. The Polish holiday is therefore simultaneously a celebration of the reemergence of a Polish state and a commemoration of those who fought for it.
IF YOU NEED INDIVIDUAL STAMPS RATHER THAN THE WHOLE SET PLEASE WRITE TO ME AND I WILL LIST THEM SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY.
SOLIDARITY STAMPS WERE PRINTED ON WHATEVER PAPER WAS AVAILABLE AS BETWEEN 1982 AND 1990 EVERYTHING WAS SCARCE IN POLAND. THIS GIVES RISE TO VARIETIES WHICH ARE DISTINGUISHED BETWEEN BY THE DISCERNING SPECIALIST.
AS FAR AS I AM AWARE, BASED ON THE MATERIAL I HAVE PERSONALLY SEEN, THIS ISSUE EXISTS ONLY ON ONE KIND OF PAPER - HOWEVER OTHER COLOURS EXIST NOT JUST RED
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE SCAN IS A STOCK SCAN. YOU WILL RECEIVE STAMPS OF A SIMILAR QUALITY
THIS PROPAGANDA STAMP SET WAS ISSUED BY THE POLISH UNDERGROUND SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT AS A DIVERSIFICATION STATEMENT AGAINST MARTIAL LAW WHICH HAD BEEN DECLARED BY THE COMMUNIST AUTHORITIES IN POLAND. IT IS A VERY RARE AND COLLECTABLE ITEM . THE UNDERGROUND MEMBERS WHO ISSUED THIS STAMP RISKED A LOT, BECAUSE IF CAUGHT THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPRISONED WITHOUT TRIAL.
THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO OWN A UNIQUE PIECE OF HISTORY. IT IS A MUST FOR EVERY SERIOUS HISTORIAN AND COLLECTOR OF THIS PERIOD AND WILL MAKE AN INTERESTING ADDITION TO YOUR COLLECTION.
General Wojciech Jaruzelski announced the introduction of martial law in a speech first broadcast on radio and television at 6:00 am on December 13, 1981. In order to isolate members of the opposition (from the Solidarity movement), 52 internment centers were created. A total of 10,132 internment orders were issued against 9,736 people during the period of martial law.
Discover the collectors' agenda!
Discover the agenda
