This is a commemorative stamp designed by the Shamir brothers to remember the Jewish parachutists during the Second World War. The stamp is dark in colour and the upper section is dominated by a parachutist suspended from a large parachute. The parachute is approaching the ground, where there is a large stretch of barbed wire fencing. The barbed wire could be symbolising the border between enemy countries or perhaps even the outer fence of a concentration camp.
The stamp is attached to a card on which the above text is printed and which is decorated with black and white images of parachutes. The Hebrew text on the left-hand side of the card reads “Festival of Eight Lights” and in English, Chanukah 1955. The postmark reads 27 Kislev, December 12, 1955 with the name of the town Petach Tikva where it was issued.
Between 1943 and 1945, a number of Jewish men and women from the Yishuv volunteered to join the British Army and to be parachuted into Nazi-occupied Europe. Their mission was to support resistance groups and to rescue captured personnel. Two hundred and fifty people volunteered for the dangerous missions, thirty-seven of whom, most originally from Europe, eventually infiltrated enemy lines. The volunteers landed in Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, France, and Austria. Twelve of these parachutists were captured by the Nazis, and seven were executed. The best known of them, Hannah Senesh, was captured in Hungary and executed in Budapest on November 7, 1944. She was a very talented poet, and many of her poems were set to music and are still sung in Israel today. After the war, the remains of the seven executed paratroopers were returned to Israel and buried in the National Military Cemetery at Mount Hertzl in Jerusalem.
This stamp was designed by the Shamir brothers. The two brothers were born in Latvia and studied graphics and design in Germany. They emigrated to Israel in 1935 and set up a design business in Tel Aviv. They are most famous for having designed the emblem of the State of Israel but also designed medals, stamps, and currency notes and created unique typefaces for Hebrew letters.
