Gallery

Ronny van Waardhuizen, Luposta 1932, Free City Danzig.

LUPOSTA 1932 DANZIG.
The international Airpost Exhibition
from the 23rd thru the 31st July 1932
in the Free City of Danzig.

In the years of 1920 until 1939, when Danzig became an independent state as a result of the Treaty of Versaille, it was a profitable district for many philatelists, collectors and traders. So it wasn't surprising the after the end of the inflation era and the associated abundance from stamp publishing form 1924, the interested circle of the collecting areas were directed to Danzig. Stamp collector societies, traders and post and telegraph administraters interfered with advertising the stamps internally and abroad. Even at that time, the stamps were apprediated as currency profits.

Planning;
After the first international Philatelic Exhibition of 1929 seemed a big success, plans were made for an International Airpost Exhibition. The model was the well-known Paris Exhibition of 1931. Early in the planning stage, it appeared the stamp representation only was not enough. As a consequence of the difficult economicals circumstances at the beginning of the Thirties, international tourism in the Baltic Sea area near Danzig shrank. The promoters thought that an air-sports event together with an exhibition would bring the attention of the public back to Danzig.

The Aviator and Air-sports Association showed interest, as wll as the Danzig Senate und the postal administration, to operate the fair during the last week of July peak of the season. The idea to connect the stamp exhibition together with an air-sports promotion was born. World-famous air acrobats, such as Gerhard Fieseler, promised their participation.

The sensational and simultaneously culminating point for the people of Danzig, as well as for the spectators, would be the landing (Twice) of the Airship Graf Zeppelin. The importance of that fact was that, until then, the Zeppelin manufacturer had refused to accept all previous invitations from other German towns.