OTD in history, 17 December 1938, a secret nazi expedition left Hamburg for #Antarctica. They set foot on Antarctica and named the area Neu Swabenland, in the part that had been claimed by Norway - as seen here on a vintage globe. Germany never advanced any territorial claims to the region.

A 2mm hammer and sickle on this 25 kopeken coin from #Transnistria. Transnistria is a small strip of land between the Dniester River and the Moldovan border with Ukraine. It declared independence in 1990, but the UN still considers it a part of Moldova. www.defactoborders.org/places/trans....

Pssst, alvast een klein nieuwtje: Van de Kaart komt volgend voorjaar ook naar Nijmegen, op 24 maart 2026 staan we in het heerlijke LUX (@luxnijmegen). Onder andere met Henk van Houtum, harpist Jareach Gilula, Floor Koomen, Jorie Horsthuis en Suzanne Hendriks: www.lux-nijmegen.nl/programma/va...

Balkan choir Slavuj has been at our theatre evenings a number of times and we big fans. On December 13th, they will perform, conducted by Ivo Boswijk, at the English church in the secluded courtyard Begijnhof in Amsterdam. There are only a few tickets remaining! www.ticketkantoor.nl/shop/Slavuj2...

For decades, the separatist Moldovan region of #Transnistria counted on practically free gas from Russia. When that changed last year, the impact on the lives of the local community was immense. What are the prospects for this self-declared republic? Read more: www.defactoborders.org/places/trans...

Two years ago, in December 2023, President Maduro of Venezuela, organized a referendum to seek support for annexation of the area called Essequibo, a part of neigboring (ex-British) Guyana. This claim has a long history and can be traced back also on #stamps: www.defactoborders.org/places/esseq...

Looking for a cosy get-away? De Facto is teaming up with Adwin de Kluyver and Podium Vlieland - the cutest cinema on the Wadden island of Vlieland, to organise an Off the Map filmfestival on February 20-22, 2026. Check out the arrangement: podiumvlieland.nl/bezoek/van-d.... Hope to see you there!

What an amazing way to visualize early human migration. Lovely map by @HarvardCGA. A great colour scheme and an appropriate map projection! Source: buff.ly/3lbxonJ

Through the Prism of Borders, edited by Katia Anguelova, Angelika Burtscher and Marion Oberhofer, invites the reader to reflect on the complexity of borderlands and how they might be reimagined. Read the full review of the book by Jorie Horsthuis on defactoborders.org. #borders #borderlands #books

Who is going on a trip with us? Off the Map is teaming up with Podium Vlieland, the cutest filmtheater in the Waddensea, to organize a film-weekend full of borderstories, 20-22 February 2026. Check out the program and arrangement: podiumvlieland.nl/bezoek/van-d...

De Facto Goes South! De Facto was never as close to a border as this week: on November 12, we will travel to Maastricht (NL) for our newest edition of Off the Map. Art, science, stamps and a quiz - all about borders. Join us! www.theateraanhetvrijthof.nl/voorstelling...

Last week, Syria officialy recognised Kosovo as an independent, sovereign state - a geopolitical and symbolic shift for Damascus. This brings the total number of states who acknowledge the Republic of Kosovo to 120. Place of the week on our site! www.defactoborders.org/places/kosovo

Geopolitics in milimetres. Just received a card from Russia with an unmistakable claim on a #postalstamp. Depicted is the Kyz-Aul Lighthouse, a peninsula on the peninsula Crimea. #postalwars #stamp

In case you missed Off the Map in Deventer, here are some impressions. With harpist Jareach Gilula, former India correspondent Aletta André and graphic designer Floor Koomen. Moderated by Jorie Horsthuis and with a quiz by Suzanne Hendriks. Thanks Viorica Cernica for the beautiful photographs!

Pssst, alvast een klein nieuwtje: Van de Kaart komt volgend voorjaar ook naar Amsterdam, op 8 april staan we in het heerlijke Theater De Richel. Zet alvast in je agenda en koop je kaartje via onze site of die van De Richel. Dank aan Fonds BJP en BNG Cultuurfonds. *Save the date: April 8, Amsterdam*

Interested in #borders and geographical curiosities? Come to our live shows! The next one will be in Maastricht, AINSI Theatre: theateraanhetvrijthof.nl/voorstelling.... Hope to see you there!

Het is herfstig buiten! Maar gelukkig hebben wij weer een fijne avond gepland op 8 oktober in Mimik, Deventer. Er is mooie muziek en er zijn interessante verhalen. De laatste kaartjes koop je via de site van Mimik en via 'events' op onze site defactoborders.org. Wie weet tot overmorgen!

Komende woensdag is Van de Kaart weer in Mimik, Deventer. Met o.a. voormalig correspondent Aletta André over Kasjmir, verbindende muziek van harpist Jareach Gilula, een vleugje NUTOPIA en een bezoek aan de Westelijke Jordaanoever. Er is ook weer een quiz. Laatste kaartjes via de site van Mimik!

Whoop whoop! @destentor.bsky.social heeft Van de Kaart als uittip. Gaat dat zien op 8 oktober in Mimik, Deventer. Kaartjes kun je kopen via hun site, of de onze. Wie weet tot daar en dan!

Breaking: Next to Trump, also Luca has made a claim on Greenland. Let’s see how this plays out.

Super proud to have been booked by Theater AINSI, Maastricht, to organise an Off the Map event on November 12th, 2025 and April 1st 2026. Get your tickets here: www.theateraanhetvrijthof.nl/voorstelling...

The photo of #AlanKurdi, taken by Nilüfer Demir, went viral ten years ago today, with #KiyiyaVuranInsanlik (humanity washed ashore). It's a reminder of the dangers people face when trying to reach safety, crossing the borders of the European Union. Art by Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik.

Next week, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk will be screened at Mimik, Deventer on September 5th, as part of the IJsselbiennale. Jorie Horsthuis has invited Karel Smouter (Trouw) and Dutch-Palestinian Abed al-Attar to continue the conversation after. Tickets: www.mimik.nl/agenda/over-....

August 26 is a national holiday in Namibia, commemorating the first day of the Namibian War of Independence, August 26, 1966. Pakistan, Turkey, and India issued "Namibia Day" stamps in 1974 and 1975 in solidarity. However, it wasn't until 1990 that they achieved widespread international recognition.

Gespot in Mimik Deventer! Aankondiging voor het filmprogramma Over de Grens op vrijdag 22 augustus. Wat doen grenzen met ons, zeker als ze verschuiven? Op vrijdag 22 augustus tonen we Green Border en gaat Jorie Horsthuis in gesprek met Romy van Baarsen www.mimik.nl/agenda/over-...

How far would you go to uncover the truth? Journalist Romy van Baarsen went on a date with a border guard and wrote a revealing story about deadly, illegal pushbacks in the Mediterranean Sea. On August 22, De Facto's Jorie Horsthuis will interview her: www.mimik.nl/agenda/over-...

This is the epic World Passport, as seen Fenix, the new Rotterdam museum about migration. It's a fantasy travel document started in 1954 by Garry Davis. There are even some countries that have let the World Passport through, like Burkina Faso, Ecuador and Togo (not an official recognition though)

Antifaschismusplatz 2 is the (only) address in the Republik Kugelmugel, in Prater park, Vienna, Austria. It was built in the 1970s by artist Edwin Lipburger and declared a #micronation. Vienna granted it asylum. This 'Staat im Staat' is an 'Exterritorial Gesamtkunstwerk'. Citizenship costs 100 euro.

August 3rd marks the day of Independence of Niger from France, on this day 65 years ago. This stamp shows the overprinting 'indépendance 3-8-60'. Niger had issued its first stamps as an autonomous republic already the year before (marked Republique du Niger). #stamps #philately #independence

Nice mini-library / bookcrossing find! Vintage atlas. Can you guess the year of release (by the geography)?

Just a couple of months ago, India and Pakistan were on the brink of war in the region Jammu & Kashmir, urging one of De Facto's explorers, Jan Heijs, to zoomed into this conflicted and contested area and how it is represented on stamps: www.defactoborders.org/places/jammu...

Hurray! De Facto received a grant from the Fund for Special Journalistic Projects (Fonds BJP)! We're celebrating with cake and then... full steam ahead! Subscribe to the newsletter (via our website) and stay up-to-date on all our plans.

Expand your borders tonight at Across the Border, part of the IJsselbiennale in Deventer. How do borders impact us, especially moving borders? Tonight screening: Half Moon, by Bahman Ghobadi (2006) on screen at Mimik. Get your tickets at mimik.nl/agenda/over-...

Little sneak preview... De Facto was visiting a new location for two Off the Map-events. It's an amazing place! Anyone recognizes it? #geoguessr More info soon... :)

Join us on 27 June in Mimik, Deventer, for 'Across the Border', a series of film nights on #borders. We will screen Home Game by Lidija Zelovic, whom journalist Jorie Horsthuis will interview after the show. www.mimik.nl/agenda/over-...

The Republic of Biafra was a short-lived secessionist state in the south-east of Nigeria. It declared independence on 30th of May 1967, 58 years ago today. The state was dissolved on 15 January 1970. #stamps #philately

Shouldn't all coins be flowershaped? Check this cute coin from Dominica. 5 cents East Caribbean States, 1995. (and some shells) #coins

Save the date: 27 June 2025: De Facto Across the Border will show the film 'Home Game' by Lidija Zelovic at Mimik and the IJsselbiennale in Deventer. After, Jorie Horsthuis will interview Lidija Zelovic about her work and the parallels she draws with the present. www.mimik.nl/agenda/over-...

Detail of a dramatic white and black globe from 1939 with blood colored borders that soon would be contested. Seen in the beautiful book Around the world in 200 globes. Stories of the Twentieth Century, by Willem Jan Neutelings. Read our ravin' review here: www.defactoborders.org/homepage/glo...

Een midweek op een eiland met films over eilanden, veel mooier wordt het niet! Van 4-6 juni en met @adwindekluyver.bsky.social. Die gaf bij een avond van De Facto al eens een heerlijke presentatie over zijn favoriete eilanden. Laatste kaarten beschikbaar via: podiumvlieland.nl/bezoek/de-ei...

Globe gym with Belinda Carlisle! Never noticed before, but her video for Heaven is a Place on Earth has loads of globes! Video was directed by Dian Keaton by the way. Have a globalicious week!

In case you missed it, you can read all about our event Off the Map, last week in The Hague: www.defactoborders.org/homepage/the...

In the very few days between the passing of Pope Franciscus and the assigning of the new Pope, the Vatican released these 'SEDE VACANTE' stamps, meaning empty seat. Postcrosser Monika (aka MonikMary) was ON IT and wrote about it here: www.postcrossing.com/blog/2025/05... #stamps #philately

De Facto goes cinema! Which movie about borders is an absolute must-see, and why? Let us know! This Summer, De Facto will host 4 movie nights in Mimik, Deventer, screening movies and talking with filmmakers and experts, as a side program of the IJsselbienale, which is all about borders this year.

Cool to see our own Floor Koomen in Maandblad Filatelie! Written by Jan Heijs.

Interested in #borders and geographical curiosities? Come to our live shows! The next one will be Mimik, Deventer on October 8th.... mimik.nl/agenda/de-fa... Hope to see you there!

That was a lovely evening at Zaal 3 in The Hague last week! Thanks to Slavuj and Reber Dosky, Floor, Suzanne and Jorie, Jerney for the photos, @svdj.bsky.social for sponsoring us and of course, HNT and all the people in the audience! You're the best.

Next week, May 7th, Reber Dosky will be one of our guests at Off the Map, our second evening in The Hague. Dosky is a Kurdish-Dutch filmmaker and has just returned from filming in #Kurdistan, the non-recognized country that finds itself in four countries in the Middle East. Hope to see you at Zaal 3

Next week, on Wednesday 7th of May, part of the amazing Slavuj choir will be our guest at Off the Map at Zaal 3, The Hague! They will sing songs from areas where the borders never really consolidated. Photo by Jerney Hakkenberg. We are looking forward! See you there as well?