60^th anniversary of the evacuation of gen. Wladislaw Ander's army from USRR

According to the signed on the 30th of July 1941 Polish-Soviet agreement, Soviet Union agreed to the formation of a regular army from Polish citizens being in the Soviet territory. This army was supposed to be composed of, among other, prisoners, exiled, interned - all these that have suffered recently from the to-day ally. The command has been consigned to general Wladislaw Anders.

Around the places of stay of the Army have been assembling Polish people. They expected material assistance and help in leaving Soviet Union. Soviet authorities have been creating all possible kind of difficulties, political and military which have aggravated Polish-Soviet relations.

It has been decided according to an English-Polish agreement from 25th May 1942 that the Polish army would be transferred to the Middle East.

The evacuation has been carried on up to September 1942 in two stages. Altogether about 114 thousand people left Soviet Union, in this 30 thousand civilians.

To commemorate this anniversary Polish Post issues a stamp.

On the day of introduction of the stamp in circulation there will be delivered for sale an FDC, cancelled special issue in use of the Post Office Warszawa 1.

Mammals and their kittens

Dogs and cats are species which we know the best, while from centuries they live with us under the same roof. The friendship between the human being and the dog is going on already for about ten thousand years.

The presented on the stamp the Labrador Retriever is a race more and more popular in Poland. Their lovers appreciate them for their gentle and cheerful nature.

The first tame cats made appearance in Egypt about 3 thousands years B.C. From Egypt they came to Rome. In the XVIII century these beautiful and nice animals became the grace of the salons and favourite of the aristocrats. In the XIX century started to be organised first exhibitions of cats beauties.

Wolfs live in family groups and couple usually for the whole life. Kittens are under care of the whole pack. If in the pack is maintained a strict hierarchy then the kitten are being allowed to do almost everything. The young wolfs take part in the hunting and gradually enter the life of the pack.

The lynx inhabiting once the forests and the mountains of the whole Europe and Asia, because of his downy fur, has been in the countries of Western Europe, almost completely exterminated. In Poland the lynx is to be found in the mountains Bieszczady and in the primeval forest of Bialowieza. It is possible to mate young lynxes but usually they tolerate only their direct wardens.

On the day of introducing of the stamps in circulation there will be delivered for sale two types of FDC, cancelled special issue in use of the Post Office Warszawa 1.

EASTER

The Palm Sunday is bringing us in the mood of the events preceding the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This day the worshippers are participating in the mass, during which the priest bless the palms - symbol of the reviving life. This tradition has been brought into practice to the church liturgy in the XI century to celebrate the entry in triumph of Christ in Jerusalem , the Sunday preceding His death on the cross.

A symbol of a reviving life is also the egg, playing an important part in the tradition of Easter. The solemn Easter breakfast is preceded by the ceremony of sharing the blessed egg and wishing mutually all the best. The tradition of painting the Easter egg is very current. The oldest Polish Eastern eggs were already been known in the X century. They had a symbolic sense and the painting on the Eastern eggs geometric and floral patterns is one of the conditions of the existence of the World. This work was allowed only to women.

In the past centuries such a beautifully adorned eggs were used as gifts for children, family and friends. Another tradition is the Agnus Dei, Lamb of God and "dyngus" traditional custom of dousing womenfolk on Easter Monday.

On the day of introduction of the stamp in circulation there will be delivered for sale an FDC, cancelled special issue in use of the Post Office Warszawa 1.

Polish cities

• value 2 zloty - the Cathedral of Gniezno and the coffin with the relics of St. Adalberg. With the city of Gniezno are linked the early stages of the Polish state and the outset of Christianity in Poland. For the introduction of Christianity in Poland is admitted year 966 in which year prince Mieszko and his court have been babtized in the city of Gniezno. Gniezno remained the city of Poland up to the year 1038.
• value 2, 10 zloty - The Cathedral of Wawel and "Lajkonik" /rider riding a hobby-horse./. W first reference about Kraków was made by Ibrahim ibn Jacob, a Jewish voyager from Tortosa. In 1038 the Polish King Kasimir the Renovator moved the capital of the state to this town after the destruction of Gniezno by invadors.
  "Lajkonik" is one of the most typical figure of Cracow. It is with Mariacka Tower, the Wawel Hill and the Barbican one of the well known plastic motive of Kraków. Each year there is being held a Cracovian festivity, The Cracov Days, commemorating the repulse of the invading Tartars in the 13th century. The hero of this festivity is riding a hobby-horse in Tartar disguise/ by the project of the painter and writer Stanislav Wyspiański from 1904/ through the streets of the city.
• value 3, 20 zloty - The King Palace in Warsaw and the "Syrenka" - the Mermaid - the arms of the city. The first reference of the city originates from the year 1313 and from the year 1400 we have the oldest document sealed with the Mermaid. Warsaw became the capital of Poland in 1596. The king Zygmunt III Waza took this decision after the big fire of the castle of Wawel in Cracov.
  The oldest seal of Warsaw presents the emblem as a winged monster with a man's body, legs of a bull and lion's tail armed with a sword and a shield. Only in the latter part of the XVIII century with the classicistic influances the emblem took the shape of a neat, half naked figure of a woman. In this shape the emblem has been ratified in 1938.

On the day of introducing of the stamp in circulation there will be delivered for sale three FDC, cancelled special issue in use of the Post Offices: Warszawa 1, Kraków 1 and Gniezno 1.

POLES IN THE WORLD

Two big Polish explorers - Jan Czerski (1845 - 1892) and Bronisław Piłsudski (1866-1918) were carrying on their works being sent on exile. Czerski has been serving a sentence in Omsk, Siberia for participation in the January Uprising. For a young, frail man this was an unbearable sentence. During his military service he found protection by some compatriots living in Omsk. They were procuring him scientific books, which he has been studying carefully. It was an escape from the sufferings of everyday life. In the years 1871-1883 on instructions of the Russian Geographic Association he made many expeditions into the countryside. The most important of these expeditions aimed the study of the geological structure of the whole cost of the lake Baikal. The result of this work was a geological map of the costs of the lake Baikal for which work he had been awarded in Bologna. In the years 1877-1881 during four scientific expeditions Czerski has explored the valley of the river Selenga and he wrote a study concerning Baikal, explaining the origin of the lake and presenting the geological structure of East Siberia. He was decorated with the gold medal of the Russian Science Academy.

Bronisław Piłsudski, the elder brother of Józef, after the unsuccessful attempt to kill Car Alexander III, has been sentenced to death penalty as an accomplice of the attempt. The sentence has been change to the most serious sentence of exile, a 15-years galleys. He was sent in 1887 to Sachalin, "The devil Island " for the exiled prisoners. To escape the horrible galleys reality he approached the aboriginal inhabitants of this region whom he was considering as the only not demoralized people of the island and soon he became a specialist of their culture and language. Thanks to him is known nowadays the disappearing now culture and language of the Ajne nation. Piłsudski left thousands of pages of words and texts in the languages of Ajne, Niwchijsk and Orock nations and several hundreds of pictures, which he had shot during his exploration voyages. The most interesting material are the rubber and wax phonographic cylinders with the recorded by the explorer songs, prayers and legends of the nations of Sachalin. Up to now are kept preserved about 80 unique such cylinders, which only in 1983 have been reconstructed and read thanks to the laser technique at the University of Hokkaido in Sapporo. Based on the recorded by Piłsudski materials, which are a priceless document for the contemporary scientists, has been even originated a musical, and the Japanese children sing a song "about the extraordinary stories coming from the wax cylinders of uncle Piusutsuiki".

On the day of introduction of the stamps in circulation there will be for sale two types of FDC cancelled special issue in use of the Post Office Warszawa 1.

XIX Winter Olimpic Games Salt Lake 2002

XIX Winter Olimpic Games Salt Lake 2002

Olympic Games are not only a rivalry of the participants, a fight with their own weakness, emotions of the supporters, new achievements, tears of the elation of the winners, bitter taste of the defeat. One dreams also that these games should not be dominated by commercialization, but carried on the antique motto of the noble competition and brotherhood of all the nations.

During the XIXth Games in Salt Lake, which start already on the 8^th of February and will last up to the 24th of February current, we shall keep our fingers crossed for Polish competitors, maybe this gesture will help some to gain an Olympic medal.

On the presented post stamp you can see the competitors representing the following sports:

On the day of introducing of the stamp in circulation there will be for sale an FDC, cancelled special issue in use of the Post Office Warszawa 1.

I LOVE YOU

On the day of introduction of the stamp in circulation there will be for sale an FDC cancelled special issue in use of the Post Office Warszawa 1.