The Holocaust (1933-45) refers to Nazi Germany’s deliberate, progressive persecution and systematic murder of the Jews of Europe. Nazi anti-Semitism superseded traditional Judeo-Christian religious conflict by uniting a racial ideology with social Darwinism: the Jew is seen as subhuman, a disease threatening the body politic, and the cause of Germany’s problems—its economic woes, its defeat in World War I, its cultural degeneracy—and thus must be eradicated. As soon as Hitler came to power in 1933, the Nazis commenced the organized persecution of the Jews. Jewish books were burned and businesses boycotted. Jews were excluded from professions, public life, and from the arts. The Nuremberg laws of 1935 identified and defined a Jew based on immutable racial characteristics and lineage, less so his religion. Jews were stripped of their civil rights as German citizens. More than 120 decrees and ordinances were enacted subsequent to the Nuremberg laws. In 1938, Kristallnacht occurred, the planned pogrom that led to the destruction of synagogues, mass arrests, and the looting of Jewish businesses. Jews were murdered, and many more were interned in concentration camps that had been established for political prisoners. Jewish property was registered, confiscated, and ultimately arianized. Life in Nazi Germany was sufficiently intolerable that more than to 200,000 Jews emigrated. Hitler’s goal of making Germany “Judenrein” was proving successful.
With the Nazi’s ascension to power, other groups were imperiled as well, vulnerable to discriminatory treatment, persecution and death; for example, the Roma and Sinti, the developmentally and physically disabled, homosexuals, and political and social "undesirables". Slavic people were considered Untermenschen, fit only for servitude in the new and expanded Reich. During this period of time, in direct contravention of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was also secretly building its military and preparing for an eventual war. Yet it was the Nazi’s growing confidence and skill in pruning the Aryan tree of its undesirables that allowed it to perfect the technical apparatus for carrying out mass murder on an industrial scale, with its ultimate goal the “final solution to the Jewish question”.
This collection features numerous examples of identification documents for Jews used during the Third Reich; a selection of mail covers and Francotyp cards which record the mail history of Jewish-owned companies or corporate entities both before and subsequent to arianization during the era of the Third Reich; Julius Streicher anti-Semitic literature, posters from der Sturmer; and a general selection of anti-Semitic literature and postcards--Michael D. Bulmash, K1966
Browse the Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection.
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Dr. Freud Arrives in London as Refugee
2014.1.87
Front: An image of Dr. Sigmund Freud accompanied by a younger man. Back: A typed description of the photo.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Photo shows an 82 year old Sigmund Freud, Austrian pioneer of psychoanalysis, arriving at Victoria Station in London, June 6, 1938, not long after the "Anschluss". According to the information provided on the wire photo by Planet News, he is intending to make his home in London (his daughter works there). " Dr. Freud, who is Jewish, had his passport restored to him unexpectedly by the Nazi authorities. He was allowed to take out of Austria only his furniture, his library, and his collection of Greek and Egyptian antiques."
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Jewish Refugees from Austria
2014.1.88
Front: An image of Jewish refugees surrounding a table while having an English lesson in Switzerland. Back: Typed information about the image.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: According to information provided on this wire photo (verso), "Thousands of Jewish refugees are now living in special encampments in Switzerland, where the authorities are trying to ease the problem by taking measures to prevent further influx. Many of the refugees are said to have been aided across the border by the Austrian Nazis. The photo shows a group of the refugees having an English lesson in the camp here."
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Jewish Refugees on SS Aorangi
2014.1.91
Front: An image of a young woman in a coat next to a chalkboard on the SS Aorangi. Information about the photo is typed underneath. Back: Title and date are stamped.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: AP wirephoto with explanation verso: "This sign at the gangplank of the SS Aorangi spelled a new home in Australia or New Zealand for this German-born Jewess. She was one of 150 refugees, mostly from Berlin and Vienna, enroute to a new home."
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Schooled in New Ways
2014.1.94
Front: An image of two boys writing during lessons at a refugee camp in Dovercourt Bay, England. Verso: Typed information describing the image.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: AP wire photo from 1938 verso: "Here is a study of young German Jewish refugees writing during lessons at the refugee camp school which has been set up for them at Dovercourt Bay, England, many of the children wear caps indoors in accordance with tradition."
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Anschluss Postcard from Vienna to Rome
2014.1.202
Front: A tan postcard with black printed postcard lines and writing in black ink. Includes one green and two orange postage stamps and several black hand stamps.Back: Message written in black ink.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Austria and German mixed franking sent from Vienna to Rome.
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La Persecution du Peuple Juif
2012.1.31
A reproduction of a painting of a woman with child being attacked by a double-headed eagle. Titled, "La Persécution du Peuple Juif. Information printed on back.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A postcard sold to raise funds for refugees and development in Palestine. The image on the front depicts a mother protecting her child from a double-headed eagle (a symbol with both Germanic and Russian roots). The child is lying on flags bearing the Star of David. The reverse side containsa quote from Bernard Lazare, French Jewish literary critic: "Nous sommes toujours le vieux peupl a la nuque dure, l'indocile et rebelle nation; nous voulons etre nous-memes, ce que nous ont fait nos aieux, notre histoire, nos traditions, notre culture et nos souvenirs, et nous saurons bien conquerir ce droit que est le notre d'etre non seulement des hommes, mais aussi des Juifs." The quote translates to English as "We are still the old hard-necked people, the stubborn and rebellious nation, we want to be ourselves, what we have done for our ancestors, our history, our traditions, our culture and our memories, and we know we will conquer this right that is ours to be not only men, but also Jews."
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"Men It's Time" Anti-Semitic Postcard
2012.1.435
Blank postcard with an illustration of men and a child running from Nazi flags. Titled, "Manner s'isch Zeit!"
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Postcard entitled, "Men, It's Time" [taken from a quote by Andreas Hofer], depicting the Austrian anti-Semitic union chasing the Anti-Nazi Austrian Chancellor, Kurt von Schuschnigg and his allies out of Austria.
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Postcard for "The Eternal Jew" Anti-Semitic Exhibition, Vienna, 1938
2012.1.479
White postcard with an illustration of a fat man in pinstripe pants leaning on a desk with a book. Behind him a woman in a blue dress and black apron types.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: To further anti-semitic objectives, an exhibition named "Der Ewige Jude (""The Eternal Jew") was established in 1937, three years before the film of the same name. The exhibition depicted Jews in every imaginable negative and unfavorable way. It was to appear in five cities over the course of eighteen months. This postcard is from Vienna. It was later to receive a "favor cancel" in 1943, shown in red.
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Complaint Letter Against a Jew Results in Arrest and Placement in Detention Camp by Gestapo
2016.1.11
Typewritten letter, right corner missing, 'W e n d l' underlined in red pencil, signed by (Dr. Publig)
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Mr. I.A. Knissel, a Viennese bureaucrat and head of the Administration and Organization Office, does a favor for a man lodging a complaint against a Jew. Mr. Knissel, reports that due to his intervention, the Jew Israel Beisatti has been arrested and placed by the Gestapo in detention camp. A Dr. Publig signs the document as well.
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Du und Dein Volk [You and Your People]: Political and Racial Guide for Hitler Youth
2016.1.41
Cover: Title with swastika symbol below; Interior: 44 numbered pages with 2 additional at end for student to add genealogical information.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Booklet by Kurt Schrey, given to high school graduates by order of the NSDAP Main Office for Education (NSLB). Every graduate of a Third Reich High School was to receive a copy. It was meant to be a guide for teenage girls and boys to live their life following the National Socialist beliefs regarding purity of “Aryan” blood, the importance of amily and children, how to become a well-functioning member of the German society. The racial question and Jewish question are an important part of this booklet, and it contains a fold out ancestry chart. This booklet was given to a Hildegard Fink in Vienna.
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Lebensborn
2015.2.18
Tan cover with black woodblock illustration of a woman in a forested area reading a book with a child resting his head on her lap. Includes text beneath in orange. Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash Lebensborn: Jahrbuch fur innere Erneuerung, is Lebensborn's Yearbook for Inner Renewal, authored by Willibald Ulbricht, and displays many patriotic illustrations, quotations, etc. Lebensborn was the organization in charge of ensuring the purity of Aryan blood. Unmarried German women who met specific criteria gave birth to children fathered by SS men who were encouraged by Himmler to volunteer.
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Polish Passport of Chaim Jankiel-Wajnthal, a Jewish Emigrant to Palestine
2019.2.205
Blue booklet labeled “PASZPORT RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA” in gold print, 40 pages. [Page 20-39 blank]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Chaim Jankiel-Wajnthal, born in Warsaw in 1865, was able to emigrate to Palestine before the German invasion of Poland in 1939.
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Hitler Youth Identification Card
2012.1.15
Interior: Black and white photograph of a young girl and biographical information.Exterior: Titled, "Mitglieds - Ausweis der Hitler-Jugend." Includes an image of a Swastika in a diamond and blank lines.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The ID of a young woman in the Hitler Youth. All women had to be of Aryan heritage, citizens of Germany, and free of hereditary disease. As Jutta Ruediger, a leader of the German girls, states: girls were raised to "believe in Germany and our leader and pass on these beliefs to their children." Training consisted of sports (particularly gymnastics), philosophical education, and cultural work. Girls attended lectures and participated in work groups.
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Letter from William Feuer in Lwow, Poland to Samuel Wasserman in Brooklyn, N.Y.
2012.1.358abc
Envelope: Tan envelope addressed in green to Sam Wasserman, Brooklyn, New York. Includes return address on back flap to S. Feller.Letter: Letter in green ink written in English on lined paper.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Letter written in English four days before the Anschluss -the Nazi Germany assimilation of Austria into the Reich; eight months before the pogroms of Kristallnacht; 17months before the non-aggression pact signed between Germany and the Soviet Union; and a week later the German invasion of Poland, the commencement of World War II, and the overrunning of the city of Lwow, the third largest population of Jews in Poland. The series of horrific pogroms against the Jews whose population swelled with Jews fleeing Western Poland before the pact between Germany and the Soviets was to take effect, commenced one month later. After the war there were less than 1000 Jews that survived the Holocaust in Lwow out of a population of more than 150,000 Jews before the war. Mr. Feuer-possibly an immigrant from Poland himself- is abroad visiting family-probably his sister and other family and friends- and after some introductory statements offers a Jewish foreigner’s perspective on the atmosphere in Lwow on the eve of the Holocaust:
Well, Sam how times are here it is impossible for me to explain so much. The Heb has no chance if they have potatoes they eat if not they starve. All Hebs that have a little stars just to earn their bread and butter so one week the windows are broken, the next thing they do is just like they do on a strike in New York (don’t buy it’s a strike) the same thing they do here, they stay in front of the store and say (don’t give the Jews a show). Edibles are very dear, a bath I didn’t take yet, an orange I didn’t taste one since I’m here, meat is very dear and my sister keeps a Jewish home and if I want some I go into a kosher restaurant with a HECHSHER (certification that something is kosher or obeying the laws of kashrut) with a cross. I expect to leave as soon as it will get warm, whether I will make it or not I do not know. I know one thing. I’ll take all the chances in the world…I’m sorry I left N.Y. because it is a hard job to get out of this country. I’ll have to do a little travelling by hook or crook. I’ll try to do it. Mr. Feuer leaves Sam his address in Lwow. Not long after this letter was written to Brooklyn, the Jews of Lwow would succumb to the Russians, Germans and Ukrainian Nationalists.
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"Ein Volk Ein reich Ein Führer" Postcard
2012.1.446a
A white postcard with an illustration of Hitler's face on a map of Germany. Titled, "Ein Volk Ein reich Ein Führer." [One Folk, One Reich, One Leader] Includes a message written in black ink.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: German postcard commemorating the Anschuss, the annexation of Austria into greater Germany March 13, 1938.
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Anti-Semitic Postcard Commemorating Anschuss
2012.1.470
Front: An illustration of a golden German map with a photograph of Hitler's face in profile pasted onto it. Caption reads: "13 Marz 1938. Ein Volk Ein Reich Ein Führer."Back: Green printed postcard lines and a painted red, black and white sticker depicting a muscular man with a swastika hammer ready to strike a snake with the head of A Jewish man. The caption reads, "Tod dem Marxismus. Her zu uns!"
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Annexation of Austria commemorative postcard with sticker verso depicting a muscular man with a swastika hammer ready to strike a snake with the head of a Jew. The caption reads, "Tod dem Marxismus. Her zu uns!" ("Death to Marxism. Join us!") In Nazi ideology, Marxism and Judaism are indistinguishable foes.
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Anschluss Postcard
2014.1.175
Front: An illustration of Adolf Hitler smiles at a map of Austria. Includes text in black.Back: White postcard with black printed postcard lines and text. Includes writing in blue, a green postage stamp and a black hand stamp.
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Broadside Announcing Speech by Hermann Goering in Vienna
2019.2.15
Printed "GORING" in black text on tan paper with thin red border, swastika in top left corner.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: This speech was slated to occur on the eve of the Austrian Anschluss and exhorts Viennese men and women to attend (“ you cannot remain home ”). Goring had informed the audience that Vienna needed to be free of Jews within four years’ time.
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German Occupation Austria Plebiscite Ballot - Registration Postcard
2016.1.46
Front: ‘Wahlausweis’ printed in bold at top center; Back: Postcard split it two sides, pink and purple handstamps as well as some handwritten in lines
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Hitler has promised Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg that Austria would remain independent following Chancellor Dollfuss’s assassination. Riven by strife, the government was unable to cope with the situation without offending Hitler. As a last resort Schuschnigg announced a plebiscite for March 13, 1938 on the question of independce. Only “yes” ballots were to be handed out, while “no” voters would have to supply their own ballots. Hitler sent Schuschnigg an ultimatum to postpone the plebiscite and resign. The latter complied, and Hitler and his army entered Austria. The propaganda campaign was quite successful. This document-registration card to incorporate Austria into the German Empire for the plebiscite on April 10, was printed after the Nazis had already invaded Austria.
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Postcard Announcement of the Plebiscite of 10 April 1938 on Annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany
2019.2.224
Postcard with blue stamp including date “10. April 1938.” Back includes “Wahlausweis” in black print in center.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany into the Greater German Reich (the Anschluss ), made effective by a legislative act on March 13, 1938, required ratification by a plebiscite to occur in April. The message on this card meant for Jews reads:
“Anyone who is to exercise his right to vote, although he is denied the vote or is a Jew or is known to him that he is descended from at least three fully Jewish grandparents, or is married to a Jewish mixed-race person (at least two Jewish grandparents), is to immediately return this voting document to the community office and stay away from the election. Otherwise, he is subjected to severe punishment.”
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Correspondence from an Austrian Jew
2012.1.306a
Tan postcard with green printed postcard lines and message written in pencil.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The following correspondence may chronicle the fate of one Austrian Jew, including items 2012.1.306a, 2012.1.306b and 2012.1.306c. In this first item, one individual with the last name Weiser sends another Weiser -- both living in Vienna -- a postcard about returned laundry, greetings, and kisses, etc.. A purple stamped impression instructs the addressee to "reply only with postcard."
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Postcard Airmail from Vienna to Palestine After Anschluss
2016.1.19
Front:Typewritten page beginning with "Liebste Hedy" and ends with handwritten "Lola"; Back: Four postage stamps, two red, 2 green, two "MIT FLUGPOST POST AVION" stamps
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Austria had been annexed by Nazi Germany in March 1938, the so-called Anschluss, the month before this airmail postcard was written by Lola Feiner, living in Vienna, to Hedy Finkelmann in Palestine. After the annexation, Jews were chased through the streets, compelled to wash sidewalks, beaten, and Jewish businesses and residences were pillaged. Thousands of Austrians who opposed Nazi rule were sent to concentration camps. Statements of assets were required of all Jews. The Nuremberg Laws followed. By May, Jews lost their civil liberties, and were forced to wear the yellow star. Kristallnacht occurred in November. Synagogues were destroyed and many Jews sent to Dachau. Property was confiscated. This is the context for the postcard that Lola sends to Hedy expressing fear over the circumstances she is immersed in, and asking for assistance.
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"Vollmacht" Power of Attorney
2012.1.504
Tan paper titled, "Vollmacht." Includes typewritten message.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Notarized power of attorney document from 1938
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Correspondence from an Austrian Jew
2012.1.306b
Tan postcard with green printed postcard lines and a message written in pencil.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The following correspondence may chronicle the fate of one Austrian Jew, including items 2012.1.306a, 2012.1.306b and 2012.1.306c. This second item is addressed to the same location in Vienna as 2012.1.306a, with a message that is difficult to read.
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Weimar Dienstpass for Ernst and Freda Borchardt with Forged Third Reich Anachronisms
2012.1.96
Green cover with Weimar Eagle and large blue stamp of the Star of David. Titled, "Deutsches Reich Dientstpass. Interior includes various biographical information about and black and white photographs of Ernst and Freda Borhardt.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A Dienstpass, or Service Passport, doctored with Third Reich embellishments to make it appear to be of the era. The informed eye will note the following: a) a Jewish Star of David on the cover and a red “J” on p.1, the latter required only after October,1938; b) the cover itself with the Weimar Republic eagle rather than the Third Reich Eagle and swastika; c) “Sara”, the required name for a Jew after 1938, also on page 1; d) the obvious date changes from 1928 to 1938 on p.2 and p.4; e)Hebrew script stamp p.3; f)Hungarian and Belgian visas and stamp, and the “Prussian Department of the Interior” stamp are from Weimar era, not from that of Third Reich; g) “SS” stamps incorrect. All made to appear like a Nazi era passport to dupe the unsuspecting collector, an example of what Alex Tulkoff calls “counterfeiting the Holocaust”; i.e., profiting from the anguish of this period of history. One hopes the Borchardts did not return to Germany after 1928.