As the Einsatzgruppen continued to blaze a trail of murder through the Baltic states, Ukraine and the Soviet Union, Reinhard Heydrich officiated at the Wannsee Conference in January, 1942, where plans were discussed for the systematic extermination of all the Jews of Europe in all of the countries conquered by Germany. Entire Jewish communities were to be liquidated. Concentration camps, initially used to incarcerate political prisoners, became extermination centers for mass murder in gas chambers, especially after Heydrich’s assassination. While there were many concentration camps, the major extermination centers were Auschwitz, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor, Bergen-Belsen and Treblinka. Thus Jews were to be methodically killed with poison gas, or utilized as slave labor to be worked to death in war- related industries for the Reich.
This collection includes many examples of concentration and internment camp mail (including Romanian and Croatian camps as well as French internment camps) used during the Third Reich; several Auschwitz Briefaktion Postcards; and a program of the Bermuda Conference with a copy of a letter written by Rabbi Stephen Wise.
--Michael D. Bulmash, K1966
Browse the Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection.
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Identity Card for Janette Kornreich, from Bukovnia: "Oficiul Judetean Al Evreilor Cernăuţi Carte de Identitate."
2012.1.18
Front: Identification card with stapled black and white photograph of a young girl crossed out in blue ink and large yellow Star of David. Titled, "Oficiul Judetean Al Evreilor Cernăuţi Carte de identitate."Back: Printed and written text including identification number 39939.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: This document comes from the Bukovina region, and includes signatures and seals from 1941, 1942 and 1943. Bukovina is a region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains. It is currently split between Romania and Ukraine. Almost the entire Jewish community of northern Bucovina was destroyed by the deportations to the death camps over the Dniester river. Despite his promise that he would treat Jews from territories not occupied by the Soviets differently, Romanian leader Ion Antonescu ordered the deportation of Jews also from Suceava County. Consequently, in 1941 and 1942, 21,229 Jews from southern Bukovina were deported.
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Letter from Baldur von Schirach
2012.1.384
Typewritten letter on "Der Beauftragte des Führers für die Inspektion der HJ und Reichsleiter für die Jugenderziehung der NSDAP" with embossed eagle. Signed in green.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Baldur von Schirach (1907-1974) was the Nazi leader of the Hitler Youth and Gauleiter of Vienna. He was sentenced at Nuremberg to twenty years for war crimes. Typed letter on his official Hitler Youth letterhead, Berlin, to Heinrich Burkhardt whose son had recently been killed on the eastern front. It reads, in part: "As is reported to be today, your wife's son Willi, a young guide in Bann 333, Franconia area, was killed in the east on the field of honor... the Adolf Hitler Youth movement mourns with them... proud of a comrade that his service in theh ome and the front, but by necessary [fighting?] to the death... [he] was a role model to the Hitler Youth to preserve the memory of her son Willie and in true honor..."The Hitler Youth did at times go to the front in various capacities, and at war's end, they were brought directly into combat.
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"Bekanntmachung" [Notice] Broadside
2012.1.568
A red poster with white border and text in black German. Titled, "Befanntmachung" and includes the name "Erich Deibel."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:Announcement of forthcoming execution of Erich Deibel.
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"Bekanntmachung" [Notice] Broadside
2012.1.569
A red poster with white border and text in black German. Titled, "Bekanntmachung" and includes the name "Maria Diecker."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:Announcement of forthcoming execution of Maria Diecker.
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Envelope from Rovno, Ukraine
2014.1.266
Front: Green envelope with four postage stamps of Adolf Hitler in various colors. Includes four black and two purple hand stamps, a line of writing in purple pencil and a red and white sticker.Back: A black hand stamp.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Cover to Berlin with hand stamp of Reichskommissariat of the Ukraine. Rovno (Rivne) Rovno fell to the Germans in June 1941 and was turned into a regional civilian administrative capital in Volhynia. Erich Koch was the Hitler appointed Reichskommisar whose mission was to exploit the region- its resources and people- for German ends.
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Court Summons, Lemberg (Lvov)
2014.1.268
Front: Tan postcard with black printed postcard lines. Includes typewritten address, a brown postage stamp of Adolf Hitler, black, red and purple hand stamps and various writing in purple and blue pencil.Back: Printed black text with several additions written in with black ink. Includes a red hand stamp.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Summons to review an inheritance case. However, the summons turned out to be undeliverable (aufruferfolglos, zuruck), and was returned and filed with other Lemberg World War II-period papers in the Lvov city court. Many of the original pre-war Lemberg (Lvov) residents were uprooted and no longer lived at their registered addresses after the Soviet, and later, Nazi occupations. Some ended up in Siberia or Central Asia. Others were in Nazi concentratin camps or killed by the Soviets, Nazis, and their collaborators, or in the Ukrainian-Polish Nationalistic strife, and yet others evacuated with the Soviets as the Nazis approached Lvov in the summer of 1941.
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Postcard from Jewish Refugees from Poland Living in Lavlenka Village, Kazakhstan, to Tel Aviv, Palestine
2016.1.21
Front: Handwritten message in Hebrew using purple ink; Back: Hammer and sickle symbol in top left corner, four blue postage stamps at top right as well as a printed red stamp.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Postcard written by refugees fleeing from Nazis, written in Hebrew, to family or friends in Palestine. Approximately 8,500 Jews fled to Kazakhstan during the Holocaust.
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Censored Postcard Sent From Borgo Val Di Taro (Borgotaro) by David Levy to Delasem Leader Septimus Sorani in Rome
2019.2.129
Tan postcard, “VINCEREMO” printed across left side, titled “CARTOLINA POSTALE” in brown print at top, brown postage stamp on right side above “CENSURA 3” stamped in blue. Sorani was a Jewish delegate of the Rome office of DELASEM (DELEGAZIONE PER L’ASSISTENZA EMIGRANTI EBREI) the Jewish resistance organization in Italy aiding Jews- both Italian and foreign- who fell beneath the Axis boot. DELASEM provided money, housing, and if necessary, false documents to assist refugees interned in Italian camps. Support for DELASEM came from international organizations such as AJDC and HIAS, as well as elements of the Catholic Church and the Swiss.
David Levy may have been related to Giuseppe Levi of the Rome office. He is clearly appreciative of funds sent his way. He could be part of the network of internees who worked for DELASEM, especially given the proximity of Borgotaro to Parma, a hotbed of partisan resistance to the Nazis and the Italian puppet state, which would not be liberated from German occupation until the end of April 1945.
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Geheim (Secret) Estonian Police Document
2012.1.35
Half-page typewritten document with "Geheim" and "R" stamps and "Böhl" signature in green.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A 1942 document, stamped "secret" ("geiheim") from the files of the Estonian police. It ordered that they give "special treatment" (euphemism for liquidate) to three Jewish Partisans.
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Letter from Wilhelm Kube
2015.2.168ab
Front: White paper with printed return address in upper left corner and date written on upper right.Back: Continuation of letter in black ink with printed text.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Wilhelm Kube (1887-1943). Letter dated December 20, 1942 to a young girl starting in part: "May 1943 will be filled with a strong fighting spirit... in Adolf Hitler's movement.... we will fight until the final victory against the Bolsheviks... Then the era of youth will come." Kube was the Generalkommissar of Belorussia where his ruthless administration oversaw the extermination of the large Jewish population. In October 1941, Kube vehemently protested the "unauthorized" murder of Jews by Einsatzgruppen squads. Ironically, he himself particpated in a Minsk ghetto atrocity wherein a group of children were seized and thrown into sand pits to die. Kube, accompanied by several of SS officers, approached the screaming children and threw handfuls of sweets. The children perished in the pits. Kube was assassinated by a partisan bomb placed under his bed in 1943.
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Philatelic Postcard with Stamps Issued in 1943 with Special Postmark Inscription "The Fuhrer Leads, We Follow, 10th Anniversary of Coming into Power"
2019.2.210
Postcard with three postage stamps, swastika stamped twice in round stamps marked “MÜNCHEN” in black ink.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate depicted in the stamp design was an important symbol of Nazi power. A torchlight parade through this gate marked Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor on January 30, 1933.
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German Cover Commemorating 20th Anniversary of Munich "Putsch" with Inscription "UND IHR HABT DOCH GESIEGT" [And Despite All, You Were Victorious]
2019.2.211
Green envelope, red postage stamp with swastika in top right corner, addressed to “Herrn Dietrich Ott.”
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:A member of the Hitler Youth, dressed in uniform, is holding the flag as though to rally the party and the troops. The postmark was used only for November 9, 1943 and reads “Munich, Capital of the Movement.”
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Announcement of the Murder of Police Lieutenant Hahn
2012.1.62
Flier with two columns of text, one in German, one in Polish, respectively titled, "Bekanntmachung!" and "Obwieszczenie!"
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A flier announcement of the murder of Police Lieutenant Hann on May 22, 1944, near Przeworsk. Ten people were shot immediately as a warning. The flier was signed der SS-und Polizeiführer im Distrikt Krakau (The SS and Chief of Police in the Krakow district). Dual text in Polish and German.
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Theresienstadt Package Receipt Acknowledgement to Vienna from Paul Ornstein
2019.2.80
Postcard with vertical line in center of postcard, stamped with "11b" in blue ink on left side, two brown postage stamps of Adolf Hitler in top right corner that are placed horizontally and crossed out with pencil, back marked "Theresienstadt, am 9/9 1944" in top right corner.
[Related items: 2015.2.54 and 2019.2.78]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Mr. Ornstein was originally from Vienna, and just days after writing this postcard on September 29, 1944, he was transported to Auschwitz, where he was eventually murdered. His wife, Elisabeth Rosa Ornstein, had already been transported to Auschwitz on June 10, 1944, where she too was murdered.
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German Cover Commemorating 21st Anniversary of the Munich Uprising
2019.2.212
Green envelope, includes white and red postage stamp of eagle and two snakes, writing in pencil
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The inscription reads “Remember the 9th of November 1923.” The eagle, representing Germany, is doing battle with the three major co-signatories- Great Britain, France, and the United States- of the Versailles Treaty in June 1919. The tide had clearly turned against Germany by the end of 1944. To manage shortage of manpower, Hitler had ordered the creation of the Volkssturm in October: all males between 16 and 60 years of age were required to participate in the war effort.
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Cover from Lubben to Marienbad, with Stamp Commemorating Home Guard (Volkssturm) Mobilization
2019.2.131
Envelope with red postage stamp in upper right corner beside white postage stamp with “5,00” in red print, stamped with 11a in blue ink.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: This cover was mailed 17 days after the stamp was issued to honor Hitler’s order to call up of all males between 16 and 60 to fight along with the Wehrmacht in defense of Germany. The war was to end for Germany in just a few months.
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Censored, Not Permitted Postcard from Abraham Schiller to Markus Schiller in Yiddish
2014.1.237
Front: A 'Karte Pocztowa.' Includes a letter written in Yiddish with red handstamp, "Hebräische Schrift nicht zulässig" [Hebrew writing not allowed], black postal stamp and black Reich mailing stamp with the Reichsadler. Back: Continuation of Yiddish letter. Further information: A postcard sent from Occupied Poland on Rosh Hashana Eve by Abraham Schiller. It was censored due to the Yiddish writing.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: German writing only. Postcard sent from Occupied Poland, Yiddish text written on Rosh Hashana Eve by Abraham Schiller. Card was not posted due to 3 line red cachet in German 'Hebrew writing not allowed' on front and reverse, address hand crossed in red crayon.
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Niederschrift [Oath of Office] Signed by Marianne Tuerk
2015.2.145
Tan paper with two hole punches on the left side and printed text in German. Includes printed Nazi seal on top, as well as several pencil signatures and purple hand stamps.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Marianne Tuerk was a medical doctor who had been imprisoned for murdering children at Kinderspital Am Spiegelgrund, the children's clinic in Vienna, as part of the Nazi Euthenasia program known as Action T4, headed by Philipp Bouhler. Among with Margarethe Heubsche and Ernst Illing, the head of the "clinic," she claimed that the murders were ordered from Berlin to "purify and improve the physical standards of the German race." These children were designated as Lebensunwertes Leben, Life Unworthy of Life, and were thus targeted for "euthanasia." Overdoses of Luminol, Veronal and Morphine were administered to children with mental and physical diseases and disabilities, or were considered "inferior" according to Nazi racial policy. Over seven hundred children perished at Spiegelgrund, one of 30 Nazi institutes where physically and mentally handicapped people were killed as part of the T4 program. In most cases cause of death was cited as pneumonia, or muscle problems. Brains and other body parts were collected and placed in jars of formaldehyde. Dr. Tuerk was imprisoned for ten years after the war. Illing was hanged. [This document is] An Oath of Office (Niederschrift) signed by Tuerk, in which she pledges her fidelity and obedience to Hitler and the German empire, and to fulfill her duties conscientiously.
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Sterilization Procedure Leaflet
2015.2.146
Front: White paper with a graphic black, white, and red illustration of the body being opened with medical instruments performing a sterilization procedure. Includes dotted lines pointing to certain parts of the body with descriptions at the end of them. Includes red and purple hand stamps, black printed text, and Tuerk's signature in black at the bottom.Back: Another graphic black, white, and red illustration of the body being opened with medical instruments performing a sterilization procedure. Includes dotted lines pointing to certain parts of the body with descriptions at the end of them. Includes printed text at the bottom.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Marianne Tuerk was a medical doctor who had been imprisoned for murdering children at Kinderspital Am Spiegelgrund, the children's clinic in Vienna, as part of the Nazi Euthenasia program known as Action T4, headed by Philipp Bouhler. Among with Margarethe Heubsche and Ernst Illing, the head of the "clinic," she claimed that the murders were ordered from Berlin to "purify and improve the physical standards of the German race." These children were designated as Lebensunwertes Leben, Life Unworthy of Life, and were thus targeted for "euthanasia." Overdoses of Luminol, Veronal and Morphine were administered to children with mental and physical diseases and disabilities, or were considered "inferior" according to Nazi racial policy. Over seven hundred children perished at Spiegelgrund, one of 30 Nazi institutes where physically and mentally handicapped people were killed as part of the T4 program. In most cases cause of death was cited as pneumonia, or muscle problems. Brains and other body parts were collected and placed in jars of formaldehyde. Dr. Tuerk was imprisoned for ten years after the war. Illing was hanged. [This document is a] Leaflet signed by Tuerk pertaining to the sterilization procedure.
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Envelope from "Israel"
2015.2.91
Blueish white envelope. Address written in blue cursive ink. Two pasted stamps in upper right: pink stamp with man in profile facing left, and blue stamp with Hitler's profile facing right. Black circular handstamp between them. Pasted Mit Luftpost stamp in upper left. Ink and pencil writing in bottom left, water damaged. Back: Address written in blue cursive ink on flap. White censor tape with black Nazi eagle circular emblem upside down on bottom. Red stamp of alternating circles with Nazi eagle and horizontal lines across censor tape.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Israel Cover
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Transfer of Farm Property to True Germans Document
2014.1.106
Front: White paper with printed black writing and lines. Includes written information and several purple hand stamps.Back: Includes several stamps and a purple signature.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Probate court ensures only true Germans own farms. Legal folio, Cologne August 8, 1942, an 'Anerbengerichts' or inheritance court document approving the transfer of a farm to another party. The 'Anerben' laws were specifically established by the Nazis to ensure that German farms would be sold, inherited, or otherwise transferred only to those with pure German blood and that they would not be split up. The law actually saw farms as the "wellspring of German Blood" in fulfillment of Himmler's dream.
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Censored Envelope from Germany to Undercover Address in New York
2014.1.242
Front: A white envelope with writing in blocky black ink. Includes a blue postage stamp, a black hand stamp, and censor tape.Back: Includes censor tape in both German and English.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: This was the undercover address (generally assumed to have been run by Thomas Cook and Co.) used for mail from Germany to Canada prior to US entry into the war. Mail was sent on from there under separate cover, as evidenced by the lack of re-direction and the presence of Canadian censor tapes on the German covers.
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Correspondence from Ernest Kohn/Adolf Slunjski in Zagreb, Croatia
2014.1.254ab
Envelope: A white envelope with green writing. In the upper left corner is a printed return address, crossed out with black ink with a different return address stamped on in purple. Includes two green postage stamps and a black hand stamp.Letter: Typewritten letter on white paper, including two purple hand stamps, and some writing in black ink, including a signature.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A letter from Zagreb from a formerly Jewish-owned company "Ernest Kohn" with its name crossed out and replaced with the new owner, Adolf Slunjski. Ernest Kohn of Zagreb was murdered during the Holocaust in 1942.
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Real Photo Polish Postcards of Nazi Atrocities
2012.1.100c
Black and white photograph of Nazis filming a group of children with printed postcard lines and caption on back.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Germans filming female victims.
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Real Photo Polish Postcards of Nazi Atrocities
2012.1.100f
Black and white photograph of Jews being herded by soldiers with printed postcard lines and caption on back.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Jews being removed from Rzeszow, either being sent to ghetto or deported.