Philatelic Remembrances: Stamps, National Identity, and Shifting Memories of WWII in Brazil

Abstract

PHILATELIC REMEMBRANCES: STAMPS, NATIONAL IDENTITY, AND SHIFTING MEMORIES OF WWII IN BRAZIL1 Uri Rosenheck Assistant Professor, History Coastal Carolina University Brazil’s contribution to the Allies’ victory in the Second World War is a source of national pride. Of all the ways Brazilians came together to win the war—such as the Navy’s patrolling of the South Atlantic, the tens of thousands of Soldados da Borracha (“Rubber Soldiers”) who tapped rubber in the Amazon, the hosting of North American airfields in the North East, and the diplomatic support—the twenty-five thousand strong Brazilian Expeditionary Force (Força expedicionária brasileira, henceforth FEB) that fought in Italy captured the masses’ imagination. The FEB was, and is, commemorated in numerous ways: from monuments and memoirs, through comic books and trade cards, to ceremonies and museums. This article analyzes another medium of FEB commemoration: stamps. As one of the most frequently commemorated historical events in Brazilian philately, the FEB emerges as a constant national symbol and a representation of the nation. At the same time, however, FEB stamps tell a story of changing narratives on Brazil’s participation in WWII, and with them, represent shifting national identities. Stamps as Memorials Stamps are useful memorials—objects used to inspire remembrance, prevent forgetting, honor the dead, and celebrate oneself at the same time—for the study of the commemoration of the FEB thanks to their versatile presence in the public and private spheres and for being governmental documents and objects of popular culture at the same time. Stamps are present in the public sphere as miniature works of art and propaganda circulating in millions of copies, as advertised and traded commodities, and as artifacts that are the subject of journals, associations, and exhibitions. At the same time—and especially before email replaced traditional mail—people intimately interact with stamps on almost a daily basis as they buy, keep, lick, send, and receive them to facilitate their personal correspondence. Moreover, stamps are popular collectible objects, and collectors study, classify and organize them.2 These practices provide collectors with sources for self-enjoyment, at times identity building, and often fulfills emotional needs. They can additionally allow collectors to withdraw from the complexities inherent in commemoration in the C 2016 Southeastern Council on Latin American Studies and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. DOI: 10.1111/tla.12066 115 The Latin Americanist, March 2016 public sphere, assert their personal values, and create a sense of self in a world of their own design that they mentally control without disconnecting themselves from the rest of society.3 This can be argued for in relation to collectors of FEB-related stamps, for whom stamps were a normative , affordable, attainable, serial, and manufactured alternative for the acquisition of unavailable or expensive authentic war memorabilia.4 Stamps are official governmental documents used to convey symbolic messages to their citizens and to the world.5 They celebrate the nation through representations of national characteristics, achievements, and history . In turn, every celebrated aspect of a country also stands for the country as a whole, thus symbolizing it.6 In spite of being seemingly invisible, Donald Reid argues, “[s]uccesful revolutionaries have never doubted the urgency of obliterating a deposed ruler’s portrait on the stamp and of following up quickly with new issues which exploit revolutionary symbols.”7 Carlos Stoetzer asserts that it is exactly the subtle and discreet nature of the stamp that—when combined with its wide circulation—enhances its effectiveness in carrying propagandistic messages and making it the “ideal propaganda.”8 At the same time, stamps are artifacts of popular culture due to their ubiquity, wide circulation, manner of consumption, and collectible quality. In his study of Latin American stamps, Jack Child notes that a narrow definition of popular culture as culture created by and for the people often excludes government-issued stamps. A broader definition of popular culture, such as Jean Franco’s, however, would consider stamps as part of popular culture as it includes all aspects of culture except those institutionalized as “High Culture.”9 Brazilian Stamps as a Historical Source Brazil enjoys a long and impressive philatelic history. It was the second country in the world—and the first...