We have prepared a philatelic issue of the "Ładosia Group"
The Polish Post Office has introduced a postage stamp commemorating the Year of the Ładoś Group, declared by the Polish Parliament. Between 1941 and 1943, an informal network rescued Jews from ghettos in occupied Poland.
Aleksander Ładoś was a Polish diplomat in Bern who, during World War II, headed a network of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists. Risking his own life, they clandestinely issued false Latin American passports to Jews in Poland. According to historians, this operation affected up to 10,000 people of Jewish nationality – citizens of Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, and a dozen other countries in occupied Europe. It is difficult to determine the number of people saved from the Holocaust as a result of these activities. The Polish Parliament declared 2021 the year of the Ładoś Group.
" During World War II, a group of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists set out to help save Jews. Members of the so-called Ładoś Group issued passports to South American countries, saving Jews – citizens of Poland and other countries. The diplomats were aware that at any moment, their actions could cost them their lives. The "Ładoś Group" postage stamp is a tribute our company pays to these heroic diplomats, " said Wiesław Włodek, vice president of Poczta Polska.
Designed by Agnieszka Sancewicz, the stamp features an artistically colored portrait of the group's leader, Aleksander Ładoś. The Polish national colors are displayed in the upper right corner, and the name of the issue appears along the right edge. The stamp also includes the names of the other members of this informal group's top leadership.
The FDC envelope features archival photos (PAP) and passport stamps courtesy of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim. The date stamp features an authentic stamp of the Consulate of the Republic of Paraguay, taken from the preserved passport of one of the survivors (passport scans from the so-called Eiss Archive).
About the stamp:
author of the design: Agnieszka Sancewicz
number of stamps: 1
value: PLN 4.00
circulation: 144,000 pcs
printing technique: offset
stamp format: 31.25 x 43 mm
paper: fluorescent
sales sheet: 9 stamps
date of introduction into circulation: October 23, 2021