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 Nazi anti-Semitism superseded traditional Judeo-Christian religious conflict by uniting a racial ideology with social Darwinism: the Jew is seen as subhuman, a disease threatening the body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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Correspondence from an Austrian Jew
2012.1.306c
White envelope with address handwritten to Soloman Weiser and return address to Wisn Weiser on the back flap.
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 third item is an envelope with an addressee at Buchenwald Concentration Camp, in which Buchenwald is crossed out. The Zuruck on front instructs to return to sender and boxed stamp impression on reverse advises "addresee allowed no mail until further notice."
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A Plea for Help. Letter Sent by Suria Kalb in Vienna to Relative in America Requesting Assistance Emigrating to America
2012.1.363ab
Envelope: Tan envelope addressed to Sam Wasserman in black ink. Includes return address from Sara Kalb on back flap.Letter: Letter in black ink written on grid paper.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Dear Cousin: Even though I was just a little girl when your dear cousin departed for America you will no doubt remember my mother from Tarnow. My mother was the sister to your mother who had gone to her eternal rest. Mindel Laufer was my mother’s name and my name is Suria and I live in Vienna. I am married by the name Kalb. We lived well and everything was OK. Now however a great change took place for every Jewish person. It is a situation in which we all find ourselves. No doubt you are familiar with it. I assume that people in America have very little understanding for it when one is caught in a situation like this. All the people who have relatives in America are leaving to go there. Everyone is willing to help whenever they can. I am thankful that I have you in America. Please be our savior in my problem. I do not know of anyone whom to ask for help. Will you send me the papers for me to emigrate to America? I am not the least concerned about my future over there. It simply cannot be more difficult to earn a living there comparing it to here. We are still young and not afraid to work hard. We need the necessary papers. You can make contact with the “HIAS Society” in New York Lafayette Street who will help you. I am very sincere regarding my coming to America. I want to save myself from being condemned to death. I plead with you dear cousin to provide the papers for me and my husband whose name is Mendel Kalb. Born August 9, 1903 in Tarnow. Our 8 ½ year old child is named Manfred Kalb born November 23, 1935 in Vienna. We are certain that you will do everything possible and will notify us that you will help us for it means life or death and it may be easy for you to help us. It is an opportunity once in a lifetime to do something good for people in need. We plead with you to help us and we thank you dear cousin in advance. We greet you heartily and remain as the family of Mendel and Suria Kalb. Vienna II Talen Str. 46/25.
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Postcard for "The Eternal Jew" Anti-Semitic Exhibition, Vienna, 1938
2012.1.478
Yellow postcard with an illustration of a stereotyped Jewish man, holding a cane and map with the Communist hammer and sickle in one hand and coins in the other. Includes caption, "Der Ewige Jude" (The Eternal Jew) in type that mirrors Hebrew.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: To further promote Nazi anti-Semitic objectives, a travelling exhibition named “Der Ewige Jude” ("The Eternal Jew") was created in 1937. It appeared in five cities during the following eighteen months. The exhibition depicted Jews—their clothes, facial characteristics, cultural items and art- in every conceivable negative and unfavorable way, and markedly “degenerate” in contrast to the Nazi Aryan ideal. This postcard advertising the exhibition-in this case in Vienna- depicts a caricatured, unattractive image of a disheveled Jewish man against a yellow background clutching a knotted whip in his left hand with an inset map of the Soviet Union with red Communist hammer and sickle. In his outstretched right hand are gold coins. His eyes are closed against a secret he is hiding: the composite image represents a putative Jewish conspiracy for world domination. The two special cancellations on the back of the postcard commemorate the event.
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Bill with Anti-Semitic Stamp
2012.1.474
Tan telegram with typewritten address to Firma Franz Schunko, Ammendorf. Includes a tan pasted sticker with red illustration of a Jew with a hooked nose looking through a Star of David. Back side includes a chart and typewritten message.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Bill from an electrochemical firm in Ammendorf with sticker depicting a grotesque caricature of a Jew upon which is superimposed a Star of David.
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Envelope with Die for "The Eternal Jew" Anti-Semitic Exhibition, Vienna, 1938
2012.1.485
Tan envelope with two pasted green stamps and two hand stamps, each for "Der Ewige Jude."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The Vienna Exhibition of "The Eternal Jew" was open from August 2 - October 23, 1938. Apparently at least two different dies were used for canceling during this period.
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Reichsparteitag (National Party Convention) Postcard
2016.1.32
Front: Red background with ‘REICHSPARTEI-TAG, NURNBERG, 5-12.SEPTEMBER’ below circular image of two men with Nazi flag behind them, 1938 at left; Back: Handwritten message written sideways.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Also known as the Nuremberg Rally, the annual rally of the Nazi Party in Germany, immortalized by Leni Riefenstahl in severa of herl films, including "Triumph of the Will", filmed at the 1934 event. The theme of the 1939 rally, given the name “Rally of Peace”, was cancelled due to Germany’s assault on Poland, September 1, 1939, which began World War II. This rally was to occur on September 2. Thus 1938 was the last annual rally.
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Der ewige Jude [The Eternal Jew] Postcard
2014.1.37
Front: A caricature of a Jewish man with his right hand full of gold coins and a cane in his left. Includes a picture of Germany with communist symbols at his right and a yellow background.Back: Includes a message written in pencil and a green stamp.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: To further promote Nazi anti-Semitic objectives, a travelling exhibition named “Der Ewige Jude” ("The Eternal Jew") was created in 1937. It appeared in five cities during the following eighteen months. The exhibition depicted Jews—their clothes, facial characteristics, cultural items and art- in every conceivable negative and unfavorable way, and markedly “degenerate” in contrast to the Nazi Aryan ideal. This postcard advertising the exhibition-in this case in Vienna- depicts a caricatured, unattractive image of a disheveled Jewish man against a yellow background clutching a knotted whip in his left hand with an inset map of the Soviet Union with red Communist hammer and sickle. In his outstretched right hand are gold coins. His eyes are closed against a secret he is hiding: the composite image represents a putative Jewish conspiracy for world domination. The two special cancellations on the back of the postcard commemorate the event.
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Exhibition of the Masonic Lodge Museum Postcard
2012.1.476
White postcard with black printed postcard lines. Includes a red and black illustration of a skull and book with caption, "Ausstellung im Logenmuseum."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: This postal card was issued to commemorate the two day September 17-18, 1938, anti-Masonic exhibition at Chemnitz. The special cancel, with Nazi dagger severing a masonic symbol, was also employed for the event. The anti-Masonic exhibitions were designed to visit all the major cities of Germany; however, only Chemnitz and Hannover appear to be recorded philatelically.
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Neville Chamberlain Arriving at Heston Airport
2014.1.180
Front: Chamberlain descending an aircraft. Back: A handwritten note reading, "Chamberlain arriving from Munich after signing Munich Pact with Hitler," and Culver Pictures, Inc. stamps and barcodes.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Arriving at Heston airport following the Munich Confrence, Chamberlain declares proudly that he has secured "peace in our time." Hitler had demanded that Czechoslovakia cede to Germany the Sudetenland territories of Bohemia and Moravia, regions inhabited by ethinic Germans. Chamberlain's appeasement policy in esssence leads to the dismemberment of the independent democratic state of Czechoslovakia.
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Postcard Celebrating Germany Occupation of Czechoslovakia
2014.1.178
Front: A cartoon of a Jewish man climbing hill with a goat. Includes a caption that translates to, "So the Jew robbed the last piece and poverty, misery remains."Back: White postcard with black printed postcard lines. Includes writing in grey ink, a grey postage stamp, black and red hand stamps, and a pasted sticker with an illustration of a Jewish face. The text on the red hand stamp translates to, "How have worn... laughing, and find like... remain free! ... 21 September 1938."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The date of the postmark, September 30, 1938, was the date that Germany, France and Britain signed the Munich Pact, which essentially sealed Czechoslovakia's fate, putatively warding off a crisis by ceding the Sudetenland to Hitler.
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Postcard of Nazis Marching into Reichenberg, Sudetenland
2014.1.179
Front: A sepia-colored photograph of Nazi soldiers marching down the street and their main onlookers. Shows Nazi banners hanging from buildings.Back: White postcard with message written in black ink, pink postage stamp, and black hand stamps.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: This postcard depicts the Nazi absorption of the German-speaking area of Czechoslovakia, known as the Sudetenland. Czechoslovakia's allies, Great Britain and France, had capitulated to Hitler's demands that the Sudetenland territories of Bohemia and Moravia, part of Austria until the end of World War I, be given back by Czechoslovakia to Germany. The occupation of the Sudetenland would be complete by October 10, 1938. Hitler would subsequently establish a puppet government in Slovakia, and by March 15, 1939, the provinces of Bohemia-Moravia would be declared a Reich Protectorate.
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Envelope with Cancel for "The Eternal Jew" Anti-Semitic Exhibition, Vienna, 1938
2012.1.483
Tan envelope with many stamps. Addressed with black ink. Includes two rectangular and two circular black stamps for "Der Ewige Jude."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Registered envelope with mixed franking used last day of "Der Ewige Jude" (The Eternal Jew) exhibit in Vienna.
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Postcard with Die for "The Eternal Jew" Anti-Semitic Exhibition, Vienna, 1938
2012.1.484
Tan postcard with green printed postcard lines. Includes one rectangular and one circular black stamp for "Der Ewige Jude."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The Vienna Exhibition of "The Eternal Jew" was open from August 2 - October 23, 1938. Apparently at least two different dies were used for cancelling during this period. Note that the September 6 circular dial (seen on 2012.1.485) has ".WIEN." on the bottom whereas the October 23 (last day of the show) has an "a WIEN."
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Postcard From Distraught Jewish Woman Alone in Vienna after Kristallnacht
2014.1.56
Front: Handwritten message in black ink.Back: Red printed postcard lines, black handwritten address and message, and red stamp.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Mailed by a Jewess named Schprinze, addressed to her family in Jerusalem, Palestine. German handwritten message addressed to Josef Pollak, a family member who managed to leave Nazi Germany in good time while Ms. Schprinze remained alone in Vienna. The text indicates her state of mind: her confusion, fear, and separation from reality. "One can only imagine the horrors these days: the sounds of broken glass everywhere, should of all the raging mobs looting shops, sights of wild fires burnign old sacred synagogues. Above all the feeling that life is completely turned over..." She begins the card with family matters, asking for Morris' address which she has lost, then complains she has no luck (mazal). She continues, "Morris is not writing to me... I am worried for my life... I have no time to think... Please help me..." Signed in Hebrew letters "Schprinze." She mailed the card with surface rather than air mail and neglected to write her address. As no family name appears on the card, we know nothing of her fate.
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Kassel Synagogue Postcard
2012.1.444a
Illustration of a Kassel street with a synagogue and group of people.
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Berlin Synagogue Postcard
2012.1.445b
Sepia colored photograph of a synagogue with a large Star of David window.
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Munich Putsch Commorative Postcard
2012.1.449
White postcard with an illustration of three men: one in a Nazi uniform, one in a shirt and tie, and one in more traditional German garb. Titled, "Und ihr habt doch gesiegt!" Includes a message written in pencil.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Official 1938 Erinnerungspotkarte or commemorative postcard designed by artist Elk Eber, commemorating the fallen Nazi heroes of the November 9, 1923 Putsch in Munich. The image shows a Nazi brownshirt with a Nazi blood order medal, holding a Swastika flag, in front of the Feldherrnhalle in Munich. Below it says "Und ihr Habt Doch Gesiegt" ("And you were victorious afterall").
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Herschel Grynszpan Led From Paris Police Station by Detective
2014.1.51
Front: A black and white photograph of a man in a hat leading a man shielding his face out of a building with pasted paper with typewritten title.Back: Stamp, writing, and sticker.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Wire photograph taken ten days after Grynszpan shot Ernst Vom Rath, angered that his parents had been forced by the Nazi government to leave their home in Hanover, Germany, and return to Poland, their country of origin. Vom Rath's murder provided a rationale for the initiation of a nationwide pogrom against the Jews referred to as Kristallnacht.
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Letter from The Chase National Bank of the City of New York to the American Counsul, Vienna, Germany (German Family Escapes the Holocaust)
2015.2.202
White paper with typewritten message. Includes a printed return address on the upper left, a signature in black, green and brown stamps and a black hand stamp.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Group of items pertaining to the timely escape of a Jewish family from persecution in Hitler's Germany. Includes: (2015.2.202) a legalized copy of a letter from Chase National Bank to the American Consul in Vienna, Nov. 19, 1938, stating that the American Louis Cohen wishes to be responsible for the entrance of Salome Goldstein to the U.S., and further states that he maintains accounts at the bank and has been etended credit; (2015.2.201) a British National Identity card issued to Goldstein and signed by her on May 23, 1940; (2015.2.203) a Jan. 25, 1939 notice that the German Jewish Aid Committee in London has retained Goldstein's passport which presumably will remain in their possession until her future status is determined; (2015.2.204ab) a May 5, 1939 letter from a Jewish dressmaker in London stating that business conditions do not permit her to hire Goldstein; (2015.2.205a-c) a letter from a Mrs. Hoffman in London to Goldstein's parents in the U.S. who had just made the crossing, with Mrs. Hoffman relieved that they had arrived alive; (2015.2.206) a May 3, 1939 postcard from a Jewish friend or relative mentioning Budapest; (2015.2.207) an envelope to Goldstein from Victoria Woolen Co. in New York.
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Envelope with Cancel for "The Eternal Jew" Anti-Semitic Exhibition, Berlin-Reichstag, 1938-1939
2012.1.486
Tan postcard with green printed postcard lines. Includes two circular black hand stamps mentioning, "Der ewige Jude."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Following the Munich and Vienna Exhibitions, "The Eternal Jew" exhibition moved to the Reichstag Buildling in Berlin where it remained from November 12, 1938 through January 13, 1939. The postmark for the occasion reads: "Berlin-Reichstag Exhibition - The Eternal Jew." Three different type cancels were used. The differences are an "a", "b" or "c" which appeared over the date box.
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Young Refugee with Doll
2014.1.45
Front: An image of a girl with glasses, beret, doll, and satchel standing with her parents.Back: Typewritten and handwritten information about the image.Additional Information: "Refugee girl arriving with her parents in Canada from Germany in 1938.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Information on wire photo from Acme Newspictures Inc. verso: Young Jewish refugee arriving with her parents in Montreal, Canada, from Germany in November, 1938.
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Refugees Reach Vancouver Enroute to Australia
2014.1.42
Front: A black and white photograph of a man in a hat and long coat smiling at the camera. Also includes a woman in a shawl and a young woman to the man's right, and three smaller children to his left.Back: Various typewritten, stamped and scrawled writing with information.Additional Information: "Vancouver, B.C. -- A family of Jewish refugees from Germany as they arrived in Vancouver recently, enroute to Australia where they will take up a new home. Credit Line (Acme)."