DFY Transatlantic Airmail Struggle

In the months following the end of World War II, international postal services faced severe disruptions. Transatlantic civilian mail regularly experienced significant delays due to a widespread shortage of transport resources, damaged infrastructure, and heavy backlogs across post-war Europe. 

This registered airmail cover from Belgrade perfectly illustrates the transport challenges of that era. What would normally be a routine route turned into a gruelling multiple-week journey across the Atlantic, further complicated by multiple forwarding attempts once the letter reached the United States.

Registered airmail cover sent from Belgrade (1 August 1945) to Washington, D.C., USA. It is franked at 13 Din (4 Din foreign letter rate, 5 Din registration fee, and 4 Din airmail fee). The cover was censored in Belgrade with "ЦЕНЗУРИСАНО БЕОГРАД Војни цензор A 1" (Censored Belgrade Military censor A 1) and in Italy with "CENSURA MILITARE POSTA CIVILE 0111". After 67 days in transit, it reached New York on 7 October 1945 and was sent to Washington, D.C. (8 October 1945), where it was forwarded to Poughkeepsie (9 October 1945), then routed back through New York (11 October 1945) to Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania (12 October 1945).

Earliest Foreign Mail from Liberated Dalmatia

Following the Italian capitulation in September 1943, Hvar remained under Partisan control until January 1944. While mail from this brief period is exceptionally scarce, foreign-bound items are of the utmost rarity.

Dispatched from Grablje, Hvar (1 Nov 1943) to Rialto, California, USA, this cover is the earliest known example of mail sent abroad from liberated Dalmatia. Its seven-month journey via Vis and Southern Italy reflects the extreme wartime disruption of postal routes. The item bears the “★ KOTARSKI NARODNO OSLOBODILAČKI ODBOR HVAR” (District National Liberation Committee Hvar) cachet and underwent multiple levels of inspection, featuring “CENZURIRANO VOCC CENSORED” and “DEPUTY CHIEF FIELD CENSOR” cachets.

Alpe Adria 2026 - Poreč

Today is the final day of a great philatelic exhibition in Poreč, Croatia. It was a true pleasure to see some remarkable exhibits and, of course, to catch up and talk philately with friends and colleagues. It was especially great to see those whom I do not have the chance to meet often, such as Mr. Maraković from Vienna and Mr. Novaković from London, who are among the greatest Croatian philatelists of all time.

Nino discussing the details of his "Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina" postal history exhibit, a world-class display awarded two Large Gold medals.

1943 SPLIT, Block of twelve

After Italy's capitulation, the Main Postal Directorate of the Independent State of Croatia overprinted Italian stamps with Ustasha and national emblems. The entire stock of Italian stamps found in Split was sent to Zagreb for overprinting, likely in late September or early October 1943. Of the seventeen different overprinted values, only ten were sent back to Split. The remaining seven values were retained in Zagreb due to their small quantities and speculative potential.

Postage due stamps are among these seven key values. Any units of the key values larger than a block of four are considered great rarities.

According to the literature, only 231 complete sets of the 1943 Split local issue for Dalmatia exist. 

1943 Split local issue for Dalmatia, 3.50 kn / 0.50 Lire, a block of twelve from positions 5-10/15-20. This is the largest known multiple of any of the key value stamps. Certificate Vilfan.

Ravna Gora - Partisan propaganda

During the Second World War, the Gorski Kotar region was a stronghold for the National Liberation Movement, with Italian and Ustaše garrisons facing constant insurgent attacks. On December 17, 1942, the 6th and 14th Brigades of the 5th Operational Zone of the Partisan Army liberated Ravna Gora, maintaining control for nearly a month. As was common in liberated territories, the Partisans sought to promote the national liberation struggle by establishing an administrative presence—using tools like the postal service to signal their authority and legitimacy.

Commercial postcard sent from Ogulin (January 8, 1943) to Zagreb, franked with a 3 Kn definitive stamp and featuring the cachets of three different Partisan units. The message was written by a sawmill owner from Ravna Gora, who informs his business partner in Zagreb that he is unable to fulfil an order because "the entire area is occupied by Partisans and my warehouse is blocked." This postcard probably never reached its destination; the Ustaše regime would never have permitted the delivery of mail that documented Partisan presence or served as unintended propaganda.

1945 SPLIT, Missing Fourth Line Variety

One of the 1945 Split provisional issue postal card type 1 varieties is the "Missing Fourth Line" variety. This is most likely a trial printing or an overprint from an early cliché, which was subsequently modified by adding a fourth bar after it was realised that three bars did not completely cover the previous country's name.

1945 Split Provisional Issue, Type 1 postal card. Overprint variety "Missing Fourth Line". Only this single item is recorded. Certificate Vilfan.

Bled Collectors' Days

I spent a very nice time at the Bled Collectors' Days yesterday. Plenty of material to sift through, but the highlight was catching up with fellow philatelists.

Stamp dealers from Slovenia and Croatia 

1945 MOSTAR - First Day of Issue

Covers franked with the Mostar Provisional Issue are exceedingly rare. While three distinct tariff periods exist, items from the first and second periods are significantly scarcer than those from the third. Of particular interest is the first period, where the rates aligned with the so-called 'Split Tariff': a 20 Kn basic letter rate and a 30 Kn registration fee. The cover shown below is the only known example used on the First Day of Issue...

1945 Mostar Provisional Issue: Registered commercial cover franked with 50 Kn using Mi. 7 (20 Kn basic letter rate + 30 Kn registration fee), sent from Mostar to Dubrovnik on April 28, 1945. Features a Trebinje transit postmark of May 3 and a Dubrovnik arrival postmark of May 6. Censored in Mostar with a single-line cachet "CENSURA". First Day of Issue!

1945 NDH - Storm Division Sheets

The 1st Croatian Storm Division (Udarna divizija) was an elite unit formed on October 9, 1944. To commemorate the unit, a special philatelic issue was released on January 9, 1945. Today, complete sheets of this issue are considered among the gems of NDH philately.

Mi. 170, 50 + 50, Soldiers of the Storm Division.

Mi. 171, 70 + 70, A battlefield at night.

Mi. 172, 100 + 100, The Storm Division insignia on top of the Croatia map.

1945 MOSTAR – Mystery Postal Card

A notable postal card sent from Široki Brijeg to Belgrade in June 1945 raises some questions. The card was broken in half at some point, but the exact circumstances of its severance and the identity of the repairer remain a mystery. While the exact moment of damage cannot be determined with absolute certainty, the presence of official "VOJNA CENZURA BEOGRAD" (Military Censorship Belgrade) tapes suggests that it is most likely that the card was severed during the censorship process. Whether it was damaged during the hurried opening of mail bags or rough handling during inspection, the fact that it was resealed with official adhesive tape points to an official intervention before it reached the addressee.

1945 Mostar Provisional Issue, Postal Card, sent from Široki Brijeg to Belgrade on June 14, 1945. Censored by Military Censor in Belgrade with a framed three-line cachet "ЦЕНЗУРИСАНО БЕОГРАД Војни цензор, бр. 10". Post offices tolerated late use of the Split Tariff for postal cards until their withdrawal from circulation. The postal card was broken in half and subsequently resealed with official censor tapes.

1945 SPLIT - Postal Card Overprint Varieties

The 1945 Split Provisional Type 1 postal card features a two-colour overprint in red and black. Because this process required two separate passes through the printing press, it resulted in the interesting varieties shown below...

1945 Split Provisional Issue, Postal Card Type 1.

Slanted black overprint.

Inverted red overprint.

Inverted black overprint.

Double black overprint.

1945 SPLIT - Curved Perforation

One accidental flaw in line perforation is irregular or wavy perforation. This type of anomaly is a specific risk of line perforation machinery; unlike comb perforation, where the grid is fixed, line perforation processes each line independently. This flaw occurs when the sheet of paper is not perfectly aligned or shifts slightly during feeding. If the paper moves while passing under the perforating needles, the needles strike in a curved or wavy path rather than a straight line, resulting in a structural dislocation.

1945 Split Provisional Issue, block of four showing a distinctive misplaced and curved perforation on the left margin. The upper part of the vertical perforation deviates by 2.3 mm from the true vertical line, resulting in a pronounced irregular curvature. An attractive and rarely seen perforation error.

1941 LJUBLJANA - Mail to Novi Sad

During the war, mail followed complex routes, as all items were redirected to central censorship offices before being forwarded to their destination. Correspondence from Ljubljana was sent deep into Italy to centres like Bologna for examination before being returned to the postal system for final delivery. As shown on the cover below, in occupied Vojvodina, the postal service was evidently managed by the Hungarian military post at that time.

Registered cover franked with 9.00 Din, sent from Ljubljana on May 31, 1941, to Novi Sad. "Hongrie" was added in manuscript as Novi Sad was under Hungarian occupation. The letter was censored by UFFICIO CENSURA POSTA ESTERA II in Bologna (censor mark 245/II) and handled by the Hungarian military post M.KIR.POSTA 335 on June 11, 1941.

1944 DB Laibach, Chemical Censorship

During World War II, German military censorship was applied to all mail in occupied territories. Censors scrutinised entire messages and redacted prohibited content. To bypass these measures, individuals sometimes used invisible ink—also known as sympathetic or covert ink. However, this was a risky endeavour, as the Auslandsbriefprüfstellen (ABP) subjected approximately 3% of all mail to chemical testing to detect hidden messages.

Registered cover, franked with 2.50 Lit., sent from Laibach (Ljubljana) on August 28, 1944, to Franz, Steiermark (Vransko, Styria), arriving September 20, 1944. Processed by the Foreign Mail Examination Office in Vienna. The front features several censorship markings, including a dark blue 'Y' (laboratory) and red 'W' (supervisor review), along with a green examiner's stamp '8635'. The reverse shows a chemical censorship swipe (test for invisible ink). The cover was resealed with censorship tape, marked with a red machine-applied censor mark.

Vienna censor codes:

1000 - 3000 Regular Mail

4000 - 6000 Registered and Express mail

8000+ Specialised departments (Chemical/Language specialists)

HNY 2026

1945 ZAGREB - Inverted Overprints in Multiples

Inverted overprints exist for only two denominations. It is believed that for No. 5, only two sheets were produced with this error (one on offset and one on pelure paper), while for No. 7, only a single sheet was invertedly overprinted. These stamps are scarce, especially No. 5 on pelure paper, which was discovered much later. Inverted overprints are exceptionally rare in multiples, with blocks of six being the largest known units.

1945 Zagreb Provisional Issue, Nos. 5 and 7 With Inverted Overprint. The Largest Known Multiples.

Late Provisional Use of NDH Registration Receipt

A rare and controversial use of an Independent State of Croatia (NDH) form, illustrating that even more than a year after the liberation of the region, post offices still suffered from a persistent shortage of new official stationery.

Registration Receipt for a shipment sent on December 28, 1945, from Petrovaradin, addressed to Josip Broz Tito, Marshal of Yugoslavia, Belgrade. Accepted by the Military Post on December 28, 1945, and transported to Belgrade, where it was received by an official of the Ministry of National Defence on January 3, 1946. Ultimately, the mail was not delivered to Tito but was returned to Petrovaradin.

1946 SARAJEVO - Surcharge

Preserved postal items bearing a special surcharge are usually rare. Most often, this is because the surcharge was in effect for only a short period, and also because people tended to postpone sending any non-essential mail until the surcharge period ended.

Stationery from the Sarajevo provisional issue, additionally franked with a 0.5 din stamp, in accordance with the 1.50 din domestic postal rate that came into effect on 15 January 1946, sent on 5 February 1946 from Drinovci to Koprivnica. The postcard bears a mandatory "Children’s Week" surcharge label, required on all mail during the week from 3 to 10 February 1946. A scarce item.

Military Censorship No. 5

This post continues one published almost exactly a year ago - see it here.

This time, I present a newly discovered cover bearing the censorship handstamp "★ VOJNA CENZURA 5" ("★ MILITARY CENSORSHIP 5"). The letter was sent at the end of 1944 from Petrčane, near Zadar, to Belgrade. Because of its destination, it most likely travelled by boat to Vis and from there by airplane to Zemun.

As with Military Censorship No. 7, the exact location of Censorship No. 5 cannot be determined with certainty. However, it probably belonged to Vis—not only because the later civil censorship on Vis used the number 5, but also because this particular letter was addressed to Belgrade, which strongly suggests that it passed through the Vis mail route.

Letter sent free of charge at the end of 1944 from Petrčane near Zadar to Belgrade, censored by military censor with the handstamp "★ VOJNA CENZURA 5" and an initial, most likely applied on the island of Vis. This is the only known example of this censorship mark.

Back to philately

For those who have noticed a slowdown in my philatelic posts, I owe you a small explanation. Over the past few years, I have been devoting much more of my time to sailing and boats. And I must admit that I enjoyed every moment of it. But that chapter has now come to an end, so I will likely have more time for philately again.

She was the reason my philately took a break.

1942 FOČA, First Partisan post

Between 20 January and 10 May 1942, the Partisans took control of Foča and the surrounding area, proclaiming the so-called Republic of Foča.

The Partisans established a postal service primarily for patriotic and promotional purposes rather than addressing practical postal needs. They used old Yugoslav stamps overprinted by the Ustasha with its coat of arms and the inscription "NEZAVISNA DRŽAVA HRVATSKA" ("INDEPENDENT STATE OF CROATIA"). These stamps were marked with a rubber cachet featuring a five-pointed star and the inscriptions "SMRT FAŠIZMU - SLOBODA NARODU" ("DEATH TO FASCISM - FREEDOM TO THE PEOPLE") and "Partizanska POŠTA" ("Partisan POST").

This is an interesting excerpt from Vladimir Dedijer's diary. It features two affixed stamps (Mi. 12 and 41), overprinted with a five-pointed star and cancelled with the "Foča 1.V.42" postmark, along with the mentioned inscriptions using provisional rubber cachets.

The 1942 Foča Partisan provisional issue includes two NDH stationery items: one with Mi. 12 and the other with Mi. P1, both bearing provisional rubber cachet overprints. Notably, the five-pointed star was deliberately overprinted to obscure the Ustasha symbols.

Military censorship No. 7

From time to time, previously unseen items could be discovered. In late 1944 and early 1945, before the civil censorship service in Dalmatia was established, mail was censored by military authorities. Until now, only the following military censors were known: No. 1 - Sinj, No. 3 - Split, No. 10 - Dubrovnik, and No. 13 - Knin. A new discovery adds No. 7, found on a letter sent from Trpanj...

Letter, free of charge for a military person, sent from Trpanj (1.XII.44) to Dubrovnik (5/12), censored by military censor "★ VOJNA / CENZURA 7" and initial. This is the only known example of this censorship cachet.

1945 SPLIT - Mail from Lika

Mail bearing the Split Provisional Issue stamps, posted in southern Lika, is rarely seen. The coastal and island post offices, where the newly issued stamps were mainly used, did not cover the Lika area. Censorship in Lika was also not part of the broader censorship system, so the unified censorship mark "CENZURIRANO / Br. N" was not applied there.

1945 Split Provisional Issue, registered letter, franked 50kn with No.4 and No.7 (2x) (20kn basic rate, 30kn registration fee), sent from Gospić Lika (24.VI.45) to Sesvete near Zagreb, censored my military censor in Gospič "★ / VOJNA CENZURA / GOSPIĆ / DANA 25 VI 1945" and initial.

Pre-overprinted parcel card for civilian internees

Preserved concentration camp mail is rare, but parcel cards are even rarer. I have encountered them only for a few parcels, all addressed to major camps in Italy. Most were returned to the sender because the addressee was unavailable—either transferred to another camp or deceased.

Recently, I discovered an intriguing parcel card pre-overprinted with the Italian Red Cross symbol and with some fields already prefilled in red. The field "Valore" (= Value) contains the inscription: "Pacco per prigioniero internato civile di guerra" (= Parcel for Interned Civilian Prisoner of War). The overprint was done using the letterpress technique, suggesting a large circulation. However, to date, I have only come across this single example.

Ljubljana Province, parcel card, pre-overprinted for Red Cross usage, for a 5kg parcel, sent from Ljubljana to Concentration Camp Arbe. The parcel was handed over to Ljubljana 2 Post Office on 9.11.42 and forwarded on 11.11.42. It passed through customs in Trieste on 13.11.42 and was delivered to the Arbe Post Office and the Concentration Camp on 17.11.42. However, because the addressee was unavailable, the parcel was marked for return to Ljubljana with the manuscript annotation "Al Mittente Retour Lubiana." The parcel returned to Ljubljana 2 Post Office on 26.12.42 and transferred to Ljubljana 1 Post Office on 28.12.42 with the label "Esente da diritti doganali / Prosto carine" (= Free of customs). On 29.12.42, a warehousing fee of 80 cents was applied before it was handed over to a representative of the Red Cross.

1943/44 ŠIBENIK - Mixed franking

In the spring of 1944, the Croatian Kuna was introduced as the regular currency. The postage was denominated in Kuna as follows: Postcard 2.00 Kn, Ordinary Letter 3.50 Kn, Registration Fee 9.00 Kn, and Express Delivery Fee 10.00 Kn. As all stamps were overprinted with the 3.50 Kn face value and in the absence of appropriate denominations, minor tariff divergences of one or two Kuna were tolerated. Mixed frankings with the First Šibenik Issue denominated in Italian Lira was calculated based on 1.00 Lira = 4.00 Kn.

Registered letter, franked with 10.50 kn and 80 cents, surcharged 2 kn with War Tax stamp, mixed franking of first and second Šibenik issue, sent from Šibenik (26.VII.44) to Osijek (4.VIII.44), censored in Osijek "CENZURA / 43 / OSIJEK". Since the addressee travelled away ("Otputovao / Parti"), the letter was returned (handwritten "Retur / Šibenik") via Split (21.VIII.44) to Šibenik. Certificate Zrinjšćak.

1943/44 ŠIBENIK, Unique item

Soon after the Italian capitulation and withdrawal, between September 13 and 16, Italian stamps and stationery postcards found in post offices and retail kiosks in Šibenik were overprinted with rubber cachets bearing the initials "N. D. / H." for Nezavisna Država Hrvatska (the Independent State of Croatia). Non-philatelic mail using these stamps and stationery is very rare, with only a few known items. Furthermore, until now, I have never seen an item from the second usage period, which lasted from November 17, 1943, to March 14, 1944.

First Šibenik local issue, Italian stationery, overprinted with "N. D. / H.", sent from Šibenik (29.II.44) to Slavonska Požega. Censured in Zagreb (CENZURA 51). Novak correspondence. Ex Kugel. To my knowledge, this is the only known instance of non-philatelic use during the second usage period.

Stationery were overprinted with the same rubber cachets used for overprinting stamps.

Political confinement - Pisticci

Political confinement was a specific form of repression used by the Italian authorities during WWII against Slovenes, particularly those who were considered politically dangerous or suspicious. Unlike internment, which involved the mass imprisonment of people in camps, confinement was an individual measure where individuals were forcibly relocated to remote towns or villages in Italy, where they were under constant police supervision. Confinees were not placed in camps, but their movements and communication with the outside world were strictly limited, with their mail being closely monitored and censored.

30 cent Stationery, sent from Bonifico di Pisticci, MA (5.3.42) to Ljubljana. Censored in Pisticci "CONFINO POLITICO PISTICCI / VERIFICATO PER CENSURA" and in Ljubljana "Commisione provinciale di censura / LUBIANA".

Pisticci is located in the far south of Italy, more than 1100 kilometers from Ljubljana.

1941 Banja Luka - $10,000 cover

The Cherrystone auction, featuring the Alfred F. Kugel collection, yielded excellent results for Croatian items. Eleven out of thirteen lots were sold, most fetching more than double their starting prices.

One item stands out in particular: a Banja Luka cover with both stamps in blocks of four addressed to the philatelic bureau in Zagreb. The starting price was $1,000, and the final realization was $7,500. Taking into account the buyer’s premium and, for EU buyers, potential customs duties, the total price approaches $10,000. This undoubtedly makes it one of this period's more expensive Croatian pieces.

1941 Banja Luka local issue, express registered letter, franked with 12 din (express delivery fee 4 din, registration fee 5 din, second weight letter 3 din), sent from Banja Luka (13.VI.41) to Zagreb (14.VI.41).

I also considered purchasing this item but ultimately decided against it because the odd placement of the Express sticker bothered me a lot. I can not shake the feeling that it was affixed later.

It seems the label was adjusted to avoid covering the cancellation. Or am I mistaken?

1945 MARIBOR, Largest multiple of Hindenburg

The rarest postage stamp among Slovenian provisional issues is a stamp with an overprint on Hindenburg 4pf. Only 20 sheets were overprinted. It appears on the market almost exclusively as a single piece. I only know two blocks of four and one block of six, which is also the largest known multiple...

1945 Maribor provisional issue, Mi. No. I, block of six with upper margin, position 3-5/13-15. The largest known multiple. Certificate Marinšek.

1941 MEĐIMURJE, CTO or fraudulent

When the German Army occupied Međimurje, they halted all postal traffic until the Hungarians assumed control on April 21, 1941. Despite this, approximately twenty letters franked with the Međimurje Issue have been recorded. These letters were processed through regular postal channels and successfully delivered to their addressees. Since all post offices in Čakovec and the entire Međimurje region were closed then, the mail was dispatched from the nearby city of Varaždin.

Two covers bear Međimurje stamps cancelled with Čakovec postmarks on April 12, 1941. After the closure of the Čakovec post office, its cancellers fell into private hands. Consequently, any items bearing these postmarks with dates after April 7, 1941, are considered cancelled to order or fraudulent.