During this period emigration of Jews from Germany and Austria was closed down even as anti-Semitism became more extreme. With the advent of World War II on September 1, 1939, Jews fell increasingly under Nazi control as more European territory was conquered. Jews were placed in ghettos under brutal and appalling living conditions: slave labor, starvation and disease were rife, and many Jews perished, or were eventually sent to killing centers. Major ghettos included Warsaw, Lodz, and Lublin, but there were as many as 1000 ghettos in all. The Gestapo and the SS became organs of terror. Opponents of the Nazis were sent to concentration camps, and many never emerged. The Nazis utilized the Einsatzgruppen, mobile killing units following the Wehrmacht into the Soviet Union, murdering Jews and other groups targeted for elimination. The Einsatzgruppen, along with their local minions, ultimately murdered 1,500,000 Jews.
--Michael D. Bulmash, K1966
This collection features: correspondence and representative covers from many ghettos—including smaller ones-- established under the Nazis; a rare stamp from the ghetto of Czestochowa (Tschenstochau) in Poland; ghetto scrip; a selection of undercover mail covers; and the passport of a woman who had been a passenger on the St.Louis in 1939.
Browse the Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection.
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Horst Wessel Dachau Street Sign
2012.1.541
Black metal sign reading, "24 Horst Wessel-Strasse."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A small metal street sign from the concentration camp of Dachau. The streets in Dachau were named after so-called Nazi heroes, and this particular example identifies the address "24 Horst Wessel Strasse." Horst Ludwig Wessel (1907-1930) was a German Nazi activist who was made a posthumous hero of the Nazi movement following his violent death in 1940. He was the author of the lyrics to the Nazi Party anthem "Die Fahnehoch" ("The Flag on High"), usually known as the "Horst Wessel Song."
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German Broadside Warning French Civilians Against Sabotage
2019.2.28
Two large, bold printed titles on each half of page, each followed by a paragraph, "KRIEBEL" printed in lower right side of each half of page
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Broadside printed in both German and French warning French civilians that sabotage directed at military communications is forbidden and will be met with severe punishment, including possible death. By way of example, it states that one Parisian factory employee named Henri-Jules Guerin of Paris had cut a cable, was apprehended by local citizens, court-martialed, and sentenced to death. In effort to maintain good relations with the free population, all saboteurs must be handed over to the German military authorities immediately and thus avoid the use of force against the citizenry. The announcement is signed in type at the conclusion by one Divisionkommandeur Generalmajor Karl Kriebel.
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Streetcar in Krakau with Sections for Jews and Non-Jews
2014.1.236
Front: A black and white photo of a streetcar filled with people. Includes arrows and numbers pointing to a sign on the streetcar.Back: Includes a pasted caption, as well as various stamps and markings with information about the photo.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Edited wire photo with information verso: photo of street car in Krakow, Poland, with sections marked for Jews ("fur Juden") and non-Jews ("Nichtjuden"), with a comparison to American Jim Crow laws: "a familiar symbol of race prejudice in our own country".
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Letter From Josef Tiso
2012.1.372
Tan paper with "Prezident Slovenskej Republiky" (President of the Slovak Republic) letterhead. Includes typewritten message and signature in faint ink.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Josef Tiso (1887-1947) was a Slovak politician and priest, head of the Nazi satellite Slovak state and involved in the deportation and massacre of Jews. He was convicted and hung at war's end. This letter was written Presidential letterhead to General Lieutenant Franz Barackhausen, German General of Artillery, in part "... Please accept my heartfelt thanks for your friendly new year's wishes which I sincerely reciprocate..." At the time of this letter, Franz Barackhausen was serving as head of the German military mission in Slovakia.
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"Israel" Postcard
2012.1.296
Tan postcard with red postcard lines, addressed to Dr. Georg Reich with a message written in black ink.Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash :A law enacted August 17, 1938 required Jews with non-Jewish forenames to assume the name "Sara" if a woman and "Israel" if a man. This law became effective January 1, 1939. These names were to be used on all correspondence -- private or official -- including return addresses on mail. This is an early "Israel" postcard, sent from Vienna to Lichtenstein, German censor markings.
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Citizenship Certificate
2014.1.436
Black border with 'Deutches Reich' at top along with eagle seal and 'Staatsangehörigfeitsausweis'.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:A Third Reich citizinship document for Theofil Anders from 1940. With such a document, Mr. Anders' citizenship is proven authentic.
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Georg and Hedwig Hirschfeld Letter
2012.1.510
White letter with title, "Gemeinnükige Kleingärtner = Genossenschaft m. b. h., Quedlinburg a Harz." Includes a typewritten message.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: One of two documents (2012.1.510 & 2012.1.511) relating to German Jewish couple Georg and Hedwig Hirschfeld. Georg Hirschfeld was a well-known author who lived in Munich. The couple sold their house to a German named Gottschalk. After the house was sold, the Hirschfelds were unable to find a flat due to the Nazi law involving "tenancies with Jews." Mrs. Hirschfeld tried everything to get an accommodation for herself and her husband. She finally tried to get an accommodation in a summer house through a German allotment club. This first letter is a very kind response by a German to Mrs. Hirschfeld. A translation follows:"Dear Mrs. Hirschfeld!We received your letter from 12.2.1940 and unfortunately have to inform you that we are not able to bestow upon you an accommodation in our allotment club. Due to the law "Tenancies with Jews" from 30.4.1939 it is against the law for German nationals to live together with Jews. The common housing shortage and actual war situation make it impossible to accommodate you and your husband in a Jewish house. Perhaps you should seek to talk again with SS-Hauptsturmführer Berg and ask him if there is a possibility to accommodate you at the newly established Ghetto at Litzmannstadt. Dear Mrs. Hirschfeld, we are so sorry that we cannot give you a more positive response. With best regards and Heil Hitler.
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Georg and Hedwig Hirschfeld Letter
2012.1.511
A typewritten letter on thin paper. Includes several underlined lines and handwritten notes.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: One of two documents (2012.1.510 & 2012.1.511) relating to German Jewish couple: Georg and Hedwig Hirschfeld. Georg Hirschfeld was a well-known author who lived in Munich. The couple sold their house to a German named Gottschalk. After the house was sold, the Hirschfelds were unable to find a flat due to the Nazi law involving "tenancies with Jews." Mrs. Hirschfeld tried everything to get an accommodation for herself and her husband. She finally tried to get an accommodation in a summer house through a German allotment club. This first letter is a very kind response by a German to Mrs. Hirschfeld. This second letter was written by Mrs. Hirschfeld to Gottschalk. A translation follows:Dear Mrs. Gottschalk, Dear Mr. Gottschalk,Herewith I send you the letters which I received by the allotment club. I couldn't send them earlier. Because I was pretty sick and it is even difficult for me to move or do any physical work. Unfortunately it is totally hopeless to get one or two empty rooms. So I have to continue to search. My husband is already signed out from here, because they will keep him at the hospital. He is not able to live outside, because of his sick heart. My self I have no change to come into question with the Jewish Housing Agency, because due to the law, I do not belong to the Jewish Unit of Germany. Therefore I also don't have maternity rights. This law changed, because of the marital law. It is not allowed to get homeless and I don't want to dump my furniture.I don't understand, why you avoided an open debate before the war with me and my husband. I tell you that, because you lowered the price for the house and you ruined us totally. Unfortunately, I more and more don't understand the people of my environment. Since one year now, we get chased around and all agitate against us. How to take responsibility for this in front of God--I don't know it! Hedwig Hirschfeld Hassel.
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Letter from Theodor Eicke
2012.1.379
Tan paper with typewritten messages on either side, baring several signatures.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Theodor Eicke (1892-1943) was a German Military Officer, Commander of the SS-Divison Totenkopf of the Waffen-SS and one of the key figures in the establishment of concentration camps in Nazi Germany. Eicke was involved in the execution of SA chief Ernst Rohm during the purge known as the "Night of the Long Knives". As a division commander of the SS Totenkopf, Eicke writes in1940 to Berlin concerning a notorious SS Obersturmfuhrer Friedrich Fritz Hartjenstein. Eicke discusses a transfer of Hartjenstein, indicating that there was no room for an officer of his rank in his (Eicke's) division. Hartjenstein would join Eicke's Totenkopf division later in 1941. As commandant of the Dachau concentration camp, and inspector of concentration camps in general , Eicke was a stern disciplinarian who set- for the SS who ran the camps-merciless standards for managing the prisoners . He was killed in 1943 when his aircraft was shot down in the Soviet Union.
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Lucie Sara Nathan, Lublin (Majdanek) Concentration Camp Index
2012.1.58
Half sheet with typed biographic information, titled, "Nathan."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A concentration camp index sheet from Lublin (Majdanek) with camp stamp. It noted that citizenship was lost.
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Thea Sara Feiftmann, Dachau Concentration Camp Index
2012.1.59
Half sheet with typed biographic information, titled, "Feiftmann."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A concentration camp index sheet from Dachau with camp stamp. It noted that citizenship was lost.
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Hans Zimmermann Letter
2015.2.180
Front: Brown paper with illustrations of a soldier on a rocky terrain, a Swastika, and a man blowing a field. Message written in blue cursive.Back: Continuation of message in blue cursive. Writing in green, and circular handstamp.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Hand signed letter signed by Gauleiter of Frankonia Hans Zimmermann. 1940. On the letter sheet are the illustrations of a German soldier with hand grenade, and a German farmer. The document is stamped "National Socialist German Labor Party--Schlierstadt." Zimmerman, a German politician, joined the Nazi Party in 1930, and became Gauleiter in 1940 after Julius Streicher was suspended from the post. Translation: Schlierstadt in May 1940. Dear August! You have left the homeland and now fulfill your difficult duty as a soldier. You shoulder sacrifice and danger, so that we here in the homeland can live in peace. We thank you for your effort and your sacrifice. We are also solid and safe like you on the front lines. As you all far away in combat with the enemy, also we here in the homeland will fulfill our duty gladly and bravely and we will do your work here. We are proud of you and your glorious victories. So also you shall be proud of us. We will always be strong and brave, so our Führer (Hitler) can and will lead us to victory. We hope and pray that almighty God will bless our battle and that he will bring you soon back, healthy and as a victor to our fatherland. The whole Schlierstadt village is saluting you! Heil Hitler! Gauleiter Hans Zimmerman and the NSDAP Ortsgruppenleiter of Schlierstadt, Ernst.
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Correspondence to George Eckstein
2012.1.519&.520
Envelope: Tan envelope addressed to Georg Eckstein, New York City. Includes censor tape on back.Letter: Typewritten letter in German on onionskin paper.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: One of two letters to George Eckstein (2012.1.517 & 2012.1.519). Eckstein was a Jew who escaped from Nazi Europe and who attempted to aid others in their attempts to flee. The airmail envelope was postmarked from Brunn, old capital of the Austrian crownland of Moravia and (at the time the letter was mailed) part of the Nazi Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (formerly Czechoslovakia). Although the envelope was passed by Nazi censors, it lacks the typical identifying numbers of individual censors. The letter passed through the Protectorate's mail system, the day Hitler planned to begin invasions of Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. These invasions began on May 9, when this letter passed through Frankfurt. This signaled the beginning of the war on the Western Front.In this letter a European Jew asked Eckstein to help arrange for the writer's relatives in the United States to pay for tickets to the US, as his family was destitute. He did not want American immigration authorities to believe that his family would add to the welfare roll if the local Jewish congregation bought the tickets.
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"In the Beginning was the Word" NSDAP Postcard
2012.1.448
White postcard with black and white illustration of Hitler addressing a crowded room. Titled, "Am Anfang war das Wort." Back includes various stamps.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: This postcard depicts Hitler as leader of the NSDAP, standing on a platform, with his followers-men and women-listening in rapt attention. The scene occurs in humble surroundings. Quote "In the beginning was the word" is taken from the Gospel of St. John. Verso: a series of commemorative cancels.
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Certificate of Pure Aryan Descent
2012.1.493
Green certificate on white background with title "Prüfungsergebnis." Includes illustration of Eagle and Swastika.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The official Nazi certification of pure Aryan German blood, or Abstammungsnachweis, was required of any citizen who wished to exercise his or her civil rights, or join the Nazi Party. This one -- number 92444 -- bears the Eagle and Swastika seal. It certifies that Franz Gerstorfer is "Deutchbluttig (Arisch)" or of pure Aryan German blood, and that he is not of Jewish or mixed Jewish (or "Mischling") ancestry.
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Undercover Postcard Sent to Villa Hortensia, Lausanne, Switzerland, from Warsaw
2014.1.275
Front: White postcard with black printed postcard lines and writing in black ink. Includes brown and red postage stamps as well as one purple and several black hand stamps.Back: Message written in black ink.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Censored in Munich. Used Deutsche Post Osten overprints on Hindenburg stamps. Communicating between enemy-occupied territories and allied nations was extremely difficult during World War II. Yet friends and family were desperate to maintain contact with one another. Organizations, resistance groups and governments-in-exile would also utilize undercover addresses in neutral countries like Switzerland or Portugal, thus not indicating the true destination of their correspondence. The mail from these undercover addresses would then be routed to their intended destination.
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National Registration Identity Card for Salome Goldstein (German Family Escapes the Holocaust)
2015.2.201
Front: A tan card with a black border. Includes a large black seal on top with crown and shield and a black printed title.Interior: Tan card with printed boxes and writing in English, as well as written information in with black and blue ink, a purple AIBA stamp on either page and a signature at the bottom right.
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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Letter from Lancut, Poland to Officer POW
2014.1.259ab
Note written on off-color, hole-punched notebook paper in pencil. A red German stamp on the upper left. Envelope: Off-white, coffee-stained envelope written in Polish in blue ink with a black stamp. A red checkmark next to the prisoner's number.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash A POW letter sent from Lancut, Poland to a Polish Officer POW in an OFLAG Camp near Lubec, Germany. After Germany invaded Poland, the Polish army surrendered four weeks later. Captured Polish officers were imprisoned in Offizierlager Camps or Oflags. Enlisted men were imprisoned in Mannschaftsstammlager camps or Stalags. Dr. Naworol is a medical POW in OFLAG XC. Officers in these camps were typically treated humanely, as opposed to Soviet prisoners -- officers as well as soldiers. Germany was generally willing to treat Allied prisoners according to provisions of the Geneva Convention. In a letter written in May, 1940 to the Camp Command he asks for suspenders because the pair that he has are useless.
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Postcard of Paul Verdiere Cafe
2014.1.181
Front: A sepia-colored photograph of a small brick building with signage over it. Several men stand in front of it.Back: Tan postcard with black printed postcard lines. Includes a message written in pencil and a black hand stamp.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A German Fieldpost Cancel on Postcard from the Paul Verdiere Café, from France to Germany. Sent by a German soldier several weeks after the German invasion of France.
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A Cry For Help from Nazi Germany
2014.1.100
Front: White postcard with message and address written in blue ink. Includes two green postage stamps, one blue stamp, and several hand stamps.Back: Continuation of message.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Postcard (with Nazi censor mark at upper right) airmailed from Mannheim to New York; sent by Dr. Siegfried Israel Basnizki and his wife Margrete to relatives in the U.S. "We are fine, why do we not hear from you? People here are being invited to the immigration office, why are we not among them? Have you transferred the funds that we sent you to use as financial guarantee funds? L. Jonnah of the Leipzig office said that the $500 required as insurance for immigration has not been received. In case you transferred it, please ask for confirmation to be sent to us... We do not want to lose more time." Thus, Seigfried and his wife urged the family to assist them as time was rapidly running out. Margaret added the following: "I am miserable from your silence. We do not ask for much. Just do it and we will be successful. Do not forsake us." At this time, the Nazis allowed and indeed encouraged emigration of German Jews. The Zentralstelle Fur Judische Auswanderung (Central Office of Jewish Emigration) assisted in this process. The office provided passports and arranged legal and procedural matters. The sum of $500 was required as financial assurance that the person would be leaving the country. Sadly, Dr. Basinizki and Margarette failed to get the appropriate papers for their rescue. They both perished the same day in Auschwitz, three years after sending this postcard.
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Kindertransport Correspondence:International Red Cross from Walter Herz, United Kingdom, to Marie Herz, Bohemia-Moravia
2012.1.36
Document with Red Cross at top, titled, "War Organisation of the British Red Cross and Order of St. John. Includes typewritten and printed information in English and German.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Red Cross correspondence. An official "War Organization of the British Red Cross..." inquiry filed by Walter Herz, ("Relationship of enquirer to addressee: Son") a young Czech Jew, sent by his parents to Great Britain, prior to WWII. His parents remained in Bohemia-Moravia. Form has official 4-line boxed hand stamped address at top: "Red Cross Message Bureau 22, 37 Sutherland Avenue, Paddington, London W9." Limited message (no more than 25 words) reads in German: "Dear Mommy, Do not worry about me, I am very fine. I have everything I need. Kisses, Walter." Addressed to his mother, Marie Herz, in Bohemia-Moravia. Form has a red double circle of the International Red Cross, Geneva. It was received in Nazi Germany on October 14, 1940 (per the red boxed hand stamp at top). Back has mother's reply, also in German, "My very dear Walter, Do not worry about me. I am healthy & fine, too. Thousand kisses from your Mama." The form was hand stamped by the International Red Cross in Geneva. Kindertransport (also Refugee Children Movement or RCM) is the name given to the rescue mission that took place nine months prior to the outbreak of World War II. The United Kingdom took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi Germany and the occupied territories of Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the Free City of Danzig. The children were placed in British foster homes, hostels, and farms.
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Letter from Haavara Limited, Tel-Aviv
2015.2.72ab
Two page Letter on acidic tan paper. Haavara title in English and Hebrew on top in blue. Beneath a typewritten message, including several ink-written checkmarks. Second page continues the typewritten text with signature in bottom right.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Haavara was a company established in 1933 as the result of an agreement between the Jewish Agency (the official Jewish executive in Palestine) and the Nazi regime. The Trust and Transfer Office Haavara Ltd. was established in Tel Aviv to facilitate Jewish emigration to Palestine. Though the Nazis had ordered Jewish emigrants to surrender most of their proerty before leaving Germany, the Haavara agreement let them retain some of their assets by transferring them to Palestine as German export goods. Approximately 50,000 Jews emigrated to Palestine under this arrangement.
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Treuhander Stamp on Krakau Envelope
2012.1.73
Cream-colored envelope with outlined space for the address to be written. Includes the Treuhander Stamp.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A Treuhander -- trustee or power of attorney -- cover from Krakau.
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Postcard Sent by a German Soldier to his Father
2019.2.134
Postcard of vividly colored illustration of soldiers and others with supplies, marked “LA CLASSE – Le désarmement” in the lower right corner. Back includes “CARTE POSTALE” written at the top, as well as a red postage stamp and green postage stamp in upper right corner.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Staff Sergeant Eroll Hagerott sends his father regards from France on a French postcard with French stamps. The postcard was sent just four days after the armistice was signed between Germany and France at Compiegne on June 22, 1940.
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Correspondence to George Eckstein
2012.1.517 & 518a-c
Envelope: Grey envelope with typewritten address to Georg Eckstein in New York City. Includes handwritten return address and censor tape on back.Letters: Typewritten letters on thin paper. Includes handwritten additions.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: One of two letters to George Eckstein (2012.1.517 & 2012.1.519). Eckstein was a Jew who escaped from Nazi Europe and who attempted to aid others in their attempts to flee. This envelope was postmarked from Breslau on June 27, 1940, the day after the enclosed letters were dated. The return address has the Jewish designation Gertrude Sara Cohen, and the envelope was taken to the post office and presented to a clerk for mailing, as provided by regulations requiring Jews to present outgoing foreign mail in person rather than use a letter box. The purple rubber stamp on the face of the envelope confirms that the rule was followed, "Delivered at the counter." Although the envelope lacks the typical pair of rubber stamped numerals within small rectangles, the pencil notations on the front may be the censor numbers. The same notations are found on each sheet of the enclosed correspondence. The language of the correspondence has Austrian phrases, suggesting that the writer was from the southern part of Germany, and the quality of the German language is poor, as is the punctuation.