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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German Soldier Feldpost Letter Written to his Family in Munich Accompanied by Photo of Arrested Jews
2019.2.86abc
a: Green envelope addressed to "Paul Gruber," gray, torn postage stamp of Hitler in upper right corner. b: Two- sided, typed letter, front includes "Reichshof/Krakau 18.June 1943" in upper right side. Back includes "II" in the center at the top of the page. c: Black and white photo of a soldier standing in front of a large group of people standing in three lines with their arms up.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The soldier, Sergeant Oskar Gruber, writes that he has just arrived in Krakow, and that he is currently being accommodated at a reserve hospital in a protected area, and that the zone is happily “free of Jews” ( Judenfrei ). Referring to a photo accompanying the letter he reports that the last “pest” has been expelled. He hopes for his family’s sake that the British and Americans will leave them (his family) alone. He references his experience in Russia seeing many thousands dying there and that he is happy just to have survived. He goes on to say that what the Fuhrer (Hitler) has described about Jews is “far too harmless,” and that as far as he and his comrades are concerned, “the Jew is the most miserable (race) on this earth…when everything is over, and when we emerge victorious from this war, then the world will understand everything about this uncultivated race.” On the reverse of the photo is a note “Jews 17.6, please keep safe, Oskar.”
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11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland Feldpost Letter Sent to Family Member (Mother)
2019.2.110ab
a: Blue Envelope with two circular ink stamps, one black, one purple with handwriting on front: "Frau Elise Müller". b: Brown letter handwritten in black with drawing of a man in uniform holding a bouquet of flowers.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:The author of this letter is a member of a Norwegian Voluntary Unit in the German army during WWII: 15 kompanie SS-Panzer Grenadier Rgt. “NORGE”. a Waffen-SS division of Scandinavian volunteers which fought on the Eastern front during WWII.
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French Anti-Semitic Illustrations: “The Cancer That Has Eaten France”
2014.1.16
A series of anti-semitic illustrations printed by the Institut D'Etudes Des Questions Juives [Institute of the Study of Jewish Questions].
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Daimler-Benz Truck with Four German Soldiers
2015.2.48
Front: Sepia colored photograph with scalloped edges. Shows four soldiers in heavy coats and hats standing and sitting around a black truck with Mercedes Benz decoration on front. Technical information about the truck is printed on its door.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Technical data about truck painted on door.
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Ukrainian Document Acknowleging Laws That State Who Must Be Considered Jewish
2014.1.211
Front: Light brown paper with columns of printed text in German, Ukrainian and Polish.Back: Continuation of text.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Document issued in Ukrainian, Polish and German languages. One side states the infamous laws that state who must be considered Jewish. The second part is to be signed and states that the signer is acquainted with the laws and is not Jewish. Either the paper had to be signed to join the Ukrainian SS Division "Galichina" or that all Ukrainians working for the Germans had to sign it.
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Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism Postage Stamp
2012.1.28a
Purple stamp of a soldier looking through binoculars.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A stamp commemorating the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (Légion des Volontaires Français contre le Bolchévisme). The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism was a collaborationist French militia founded July 8, 1941.It was officially known to the Germans as Infantry Regiment (Infanteriereregiment) 638. It had no formal link with the Vichy regime, even though it was recognized as an "association of public usefullness" by Pierre Laval's government in February 1943. Philippe Pétain, head of state of Vichy France, personally disapproved of Frenchmen wearing German uniforms. The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism volunteered to fight against the USSR on the Eastern Front.
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Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism
2012.1.28b
Black stamp of a soldier and a tank.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A stamp commemorating the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (Légion des Volontaires Français contre le Bolchévisme). The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism was a collaborationist French militia founded July 8, 1941.It was officially known to the Germans as Infantry Regiment (Infanteriereregiment) 638. It had no formal link with the Vichy regime, even though it was recognized as an "association of public usefullness" by Pierre Laval's government in February 1943. Philippe Pétain, head of state of Vichy France, personally disapproved of Frenchmen wearing German uniforms. The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism volunteered to fight against the USSR on the Eastern Front.
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Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism Postage Stamp
2012.1.28c
Green stamp depicting two soldiers firing a cannon.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A stamp from the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (Légion des Volontaires Français contre le Bolchévisme). The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism was a collaborationist French militia founded July 8, 1941. Philippe Pétain, head of state of Vichy France, personally disapproved of Frenchmen wearing German uniforms and never went beyond individual and informal words of support to some specific officers. The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism volunteered to fight against the USSR on the Eastern Front. It was officially known to the Germans as Infantry Regiment (Infanteriereregiment) 638.
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Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism Postage Stamp
2012.1.28d
Red stamp of soldiers on horses.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A stamp from the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (Légion des Volontaires Français contre le Bolchévisme). The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism was a collaborationist French militia founded July 8, 1941. Philippe Pétain, head of state of Vichy France, personally disapproved of Frenchmen wearing German uniforms and never went beyond individual and informal words of support to some specific officers. The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism volunteered to fight against the USSR on the Eastern Front. It was officially known to the Germans as Infantry Regiment (Infanteriereregiment) 638.
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Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism Postage Stamp
2012.1.28e
Blue stamp of soldiers saluting and carrying flags.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A stamp from the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (Légion des Volontaires Français contre le Bolchévisme). The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism was a collaborationist French militia founded July 8, 1941. Philippe Pétain, head of state of Vichy France, personally disapproved of Frenchmen wearing German uniforms and never went beyond individual and informal words of support to some specific officers. The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism volunteered to fight against the USSR on the Eastern Front. It was officially known to the Germans as Infantry Regiment (Infanteriereregiment) 638.
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Resident Registration Form for Jews
2012.1.82
Form with black printed text and information filled in with black ink. Titled, "Anmeldung zur polizeilichen Einwohnererfassung." Includes a red "Jude" stamp at top with two Stars of David. Back consists of printed text.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: An Anmeldung was a resident registration form. This document was used to register Jews and their possessions in occupied Poland. Handstamped "Jude" by Nazi police and flanked by two Mogen Davids. A bilingual form was created enabling Nazis to register Jews and their belongings. Questions six and seven related to religion and ethnicity; question eleven asked for details of any business owned; question twelve pertained to home ownership. After blitzkrieg against Poland, Himmler ordered the registration of all Jews and other declared enemies of the state.
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"Fremdenpass" (Alien Passport) for Bernard Fenster
2012.1.97
Grey cover with Nazi eagled titled, "Deutsches Reich Fremdenpass. Interior includes a black and white photograph of, and various biographical information about Bernard Fenster.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Nazi issued alien passport to a Jew named Bernard Fenster. Issued in Vienna in July of 1939 and good for one year. With heavy black stripe on cover to make this more noticeable by the SS. Has his picture in which his left ear is prominently shown as this was part of the Nazi propaganda that Jews could be distinguished by their left ear. With various handstamps, one Swedish adhesive revenue and finally entry into the US in early 1940.
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Testimony Signed by Karl Hermann Frank
2012.1.376
White paper with printed and handwritten German. Includes three signatures on the bottom right including one from Karl Hermann Frank.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Karl Hermann Frank (1898-1946) was SS Obergruppenfuhrer and a prominent Sudeten German Nazi official in Czechoslovakia serving under Reich protector Reinhard Heydrich until the latter's assassination. Frank was instrumental in implementing Hitler's orders of revenge, which included the destruction of the Czech villages of Lidice and Lezaky, the murder of their male inhabitants, and the deportation of women and young adults to concentration camps. Frank was executed in 1946. Document signed twice by Frank, adding his title as deputy Gauleiter and his SS number, in which he swears: "I am German, of Aryan lineage..." he attests that he is not a Freemason nor member of any secret society, and vows his allegiance to the state.
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Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski
2012.1.393
Black and white photograph of a man in glasses in Nazi uniform.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski was highly regarded by Hitler for his brutality and improvisational skills. As SS general and general of the Waffen-SS assigned to the Russian front, Bach-Zelewski was a leader of the Einsatzgruppen, and was thus responsible for many atrocities on the eastern front in which he took a personal part. In October 1941, after 35,000 people had been executed in Riga, he proudly wrote "there is not a Jew left in Estonia." He actively participated in massacres of Jews in Minsk and Mogilev in Russia. Bach-Zelewski claimed to have told Himmler that the firing squads were having a deleterious effects on the assassins, after which Himmler consulted about other methods to murder Jews, leading to the focus on gas as a more industrial solution to the Jewish problem.
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Poland Occupation Coupons
2012.1.419abc
Blue coupons on serated paper, each titled, "Generalgouvernement." Each has an illustration of farmwork or livestock.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Coupons from occupied Poland, the General Government, which served as money for forced labor in the General Gouvernment.
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Oranienburg Lagergeld Money
2012.1.460
Piece of paer money with black background. Includes two illustrations of German officers and Nazi insignia. Titled, "Lagergeld des Konzentrationslagers Oranienburg" and worth 50 pfg.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A fifty pfennig banknote issued by and used at the German concentration camp, Oranienburg, later commonly called Sachsenhausen. The note measures 5'' x 3 1/2'' and on both sides pictures the German eagle and Swastika device, two armed German soldiers facing center, and a strand of barbed wire. Sachsenhausen was used primarily for political prisoners and was the scene of a huge counterfeiting effort to undermine the British Pound (operation Bernhard).
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Ukraine Nazi Occupation 1942-1945 Banknote 50 Karbovanets
2019.2.115
Green banknote marked with "50 Fünfzig" red number "40-006583" in bottom right on front.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: These notes were in circulation for three years during the Nazi occupation of the Ukraine. The Reichskommissariat Ukraine issued notes in Karbovanets, pegged to the German Reichsmark, thus replacing the Russian ruble. This note would have been equivalent to 5 Reichsmarks. It depicts a miner.