Italian Social Republic Propaganda Stamps, 1944

Italy · 1944 · 25c & 50c

This pair of stamps was issued by the Italian Social Republic, a German puppet state in northern Italy during the final years of World War II. The 25c stamp depicts a warship at sea, while the 50c stamp shows a three-engine bomber in flight. Both designs are framed by fasces, the symbol of Italian Fascism, and were intended as propaganda to project military strength.

Issued under Mussolini's short-lived Italian Social Republic (1943-45), these were among the first stamps released by the regime after the Allied invasion of Italy. They were primarily used in German-occupied northern Italy.