During World War II, the Polish Government in Exile was granted the right to issue stamps that depicted the efforts of Poles in fighting the German occupier. A total of four issues of these took place. The most important were two series, each of which issued eight stamps. They were known as the “London issues”. The first was issued on 15 December 1941, and depicted the Polish submarine “Orzeł”. The stamps were made using intaglio technique.

The issues were feasible because in April 1941, the Polish Government in Exile agreed with the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the legal regulation of the Polish postal service, and at the same time on the issue of stamps. A few months later, President Władysław Raczkiewicz handed over supervision of the Polish Postal Telegraph and Telephone Company to Treasury Minister Henryk Strasburger.

The stamps were for various prices expressed in Polish zlotys, but were sold for British pounds. The rate used was 1 pound = 24 zloty. They were used to pay for postage sent from Polish warships and merchant navy ships to countries of the British Empire, the Coalition and neutral countries (with the exception of Sweden). However, they could not be used in Great Britain, as the London authorities did not agree.

The first issue was a series entitled ‘Destruction by the Germans in Poland’ and ‘The Polish Army in Great Britain’. The second was entitled ‘Polish Armed Forces in the Fight against the Germans’. It appeared on 1 November 1944. In addition to these, two stamps of the reprinted first series were issued to commemorate the capture of Monte Cassino by the Poles. They bore the typographical overprint – 18 V 1944 Monte Cassino. The last stamps were issued on 3 February 1945. This was a so-called charity issue with a surcharge for orphans of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.

Due to the withdrawal of recognition of the Polish Government in Exile by the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom, the stamps lost their circulation power on 11 July 1945.

It is worth noting that the Polish Underground State also waged a “stamp” struggle against the German occupier in the General Government. This was done by printing the Polish eagle on German postage stamps. Polish emblems were placed on letters and parcels addressed to German institutions and to Poles collaborating with the Germans.