"Road to freedom" on the stamps of Poczta Polska

The nine most important events in the history of Poland of the 20th century were in the special edition of the postage stamps "Road to Freedom". Among them are, among others The events of June 1956, celebration of the millennium of the baptism of Poland, protests of workers on the coast of 1970 and the first pilgrimage of John Paul II to their homeland.

The author of the latest series is Maciej Jędrysik. Postal stamps in subdued colors present photos from selected events. At the first, dedicated events of the Poznań June in 1956, a photograph of conductors marching in the march: Stanisława Sobańska and Helena Przybyłek and a photograph depicting a manifestation on ul. Red Army (now Saint Martin) in Poznań. The photo was taken by officers of the security authorities of the Polish People's Republic during operational activities, currently it is in the collections of the Institute of National Remembrance.

The second stamp included a photograph depicting a monastery in Jasna Góra and a crowd of the faithful, which gathered during the celebration of the millennium of Polish baptism in 1966 in Częstochowa. Next to the photo there is a fragment of "The act of giving Poland into the maternal captivity of Mary of the Church, for the freedom of the Church of Christ" and the inscription: Te Deum Laudamus.

The third stamp commemorates the March demonstrations of students in 1968. A photograph was published on it presenting the attack of MO and ORMO services on a crowd of demonstrators gathering around the University of Warsaw, on both sides of Krakowskie Przedmieście. The photo was taken by Tadeusz Zagoździński. In the corner of the photo was the poster of the National Theater from the performance "Dziady" by Adam Mickiewicz.

Protests of workers on the coast in 1970 - this is another event in the series. They are illustrated by the most dramatic event of those days, i.e. a procession of residents of Gdynia carrying the body of "Janek Wiśniewski". A crowd of demonstrators walking ul. Czerwone Kosynierów (currently Morska Street) was immortalized by officers of the security authorities of the Polish People's Republic during operational activities. Next to the photograph, the author of the stamp placed a photo showing the viaduct at the SKM Gdynia Stocznia station, which is an requisition material. Currently, it is in the collections of the Institute of National Remembrance.

The next stamp commemorates the workers' strikes in 1976. There was a photograph of demonstrators on ul. Żeromski and a photograph taken before the building of the PZPR KW by SB officers to identify demonstrators. In addition to the photos that come from the collections of the Institute of National Remembrance, a fragment of the press article entitled "Process in Radom".

Three years after those events, John Paul II held the first pilgrimage to his homeland. During the mass celebrated at pl. Victory (currently Piłsudski Square) in Warsaw said the memorable words: "I am calling, me, son of Polish soil, and at the same time I, John Paul II, pope. I call with all the depths of this millennium, I call on the eve of the feast of exile, I call with you all: let your spirit descend! Let your spirit descend and renew the face of the earth. This land! " These words became among others call to fight communism. A photo of the altar comes from the Andrzej Boczoń collection. Next to him there was a fragment of the MSW situational report No. 2 regarding the visit of John Paul II in Poland, which comes from the collections of the Institute of National Remembrance.

On the seventh stamp there is a photo of the crowd that was accumulated in front of the Gdańsk Shipyard Gate in 1980. Its author is Stanisław Zładanowski. Next to the photograph, there is a list of 21 postulates containing demands of striking crews, which comes from the collections of the Historical Archives of the National Commission NSZZ "Solidarność".

The eighth stamp resembles the victims of the pacification of the Wujek mine in 1981. Among the killed miners was: Józef Czekalski, Krzysztof Giza, Joachim Nagid, Ryszard Gzik, Bogusław Kopczak, Andrzej Pełka, Jan Stawisiński, Zbigniew Wilk and Zenon Zając. A photo of the pacification was taken by Marek Janicki.

The series is closed by the ninth stamp dedicated to the largest street manifestations in 1982, it was presented with a photograph of "Street Barricade" on ul. Copernicus, near the intersection with ul. Rebirth in Lubin and a crowd of demonstrators on the market (then Plac Wolności) and corner of ul. Rebirth in Lubin. Both photos were taken by Krzysztof Raczkowiak. Next to them, a fragment of a resolution on the anniversary celebration of August 31, 1980, originating from the collections of the Historical Archives of the National Committee of NSZZ "Solidarność".

In addition to the series of stamps, as part of the "Road to Freedom" edition, Poczta Polska will broadcast the occasional envelope on the first day of circulation (FDC).

This year, the post office will broadcast stamps commemorating the disaster in Smolensk, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Saint John Paul II, the beatification of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, the 500th anniversary of the birth of Zygmunt II August, the founder of the Polish post and a stamp commemorating this year's Chopin festival, as well as the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig Van Beethoven.

About the stamp:

Author of stamp designs: Maciej Jędrysik
Number of stamps: 9
Values: PLN 3.30 Each
circulation: 135,000 each
printing technique: Offset
format of stamps: 43 x 31.25 mm
Sales sheet: 9 stamps
Paper: Fluorescent
date of introduction into circulation: March 8, 2020.

All philatelic publications can be purchased at selected post offices and on the online store: www.filatelistyka.poczta-polska.pl .