By May 1945 six million European Jews had been murdered by the Nazis and their allies. Much of Europe lay in ruins. Allied soldiers confronting the concentration camps for the first time found -amidst the scattered mounds of corpses and ash-“survivors” suffering from disease and starvation, many of whom would perish in the forthcoming days and months. Homeless and unable -or unwilling- to be repatriated to their countries of origin, many were housed in Displaced Persons camps throughout the Allied zones of occupation. These DP camps, often former military or even concentration camps, were themselves overcrowded, and just as often the Jews had to share space with their very persecutors. Many Jews attempted to emigrate to Palestine despite stringent quotas on immigration imposed by the British government attempting to mollify the Arabs. As a consequence, many emigrated “illegally” with the assistance of the Jewish Brigade and Haganah, through the underground Bricha Movement. A 1947 a United Nations resolution to partition Palestine between Jews and Arabs was to be rejected by the Arabs. Britain would end its mandate and withdraw from Palestine in May 1948. Israel established its provisional government in the same month, giving Jews their own homeland and unrestricted immigration. President Truman himself loosened restrictions on quotas of displaced persons, and approximately 28,000 Jews were able to immigrate to the US. The Nuremberg trials were a consequence of Allied efforts to take legal action against Germany as a criminal state. The first tribunal consisted of eight judges, drawn from each of the Allied countries. Twenty-one former Nazi leaders stood trial. The Tribunal enshrined for the first time in jurisprudence and international law the concept of “genocide”, as well as a typology of war crimes to be utilized by the United Nations. In the ensuing years many courts- both international and domestic-would conduct trials of accused war criminals.
This collection features passports, visas and other documents of diplomats and others who saved Jews, including Friedrich Born, Frank Foley, Feng Shan Ho, Vlademar Langlet, Carl Lutz, Monsignor Angelo Rota, Andrey Szeptycki, Angel Sanz-Briz, Chiune Sugihara, Raoul Wallenberg,Carl Ivan Danielsson and Jan Zwartendijk. Also noteworthy is an assemblage of ephemera—photos, covers, letters, etc.- from the Bergen-Belsen (D.P. Hohne) Displaced Persons Camp (1946-1948); and covers from organizations such as the AJDC , IRO and UNRRA, established to provide aid and assistance to Jewish refugees.
--Michael D. Bulmash, K1966
Browse the Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection.
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Doar Ivri First Day Cover, Full Set of Nine Stamps, Tel Aviv Cancels
2019.2.258
Envelope with nine postage stamps of various colors, blue mark on left side including a Star of David and dated “16.5.1948.”
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: These stamps were the first stamps utilized in Israel after the end of the British Mandate and the beginning of the Israeli postal service, subsequent to the proclamation of the independent state of Israel on May 14, 1948. As they were printed before the name of the new state was in fact chosen, they are titles Doar Ivri or Hebrew Post. The images on the stamps represent coins from the era of Bar Kochba and his struggles against the Roman Empire, symbolizing the struggles Jews have waged toward their own sovereignty in the land of Israel.
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Correspondence From Austrian Displaced Persons Camp
2012.1.169ab
Envelope: Green envelope addressed to Mrs. L. Roskies from a person at an Austrian displaced persons camp after World War II.Letter: Letter written in blue on lined paper.
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Letter Regarding Israeli Defense Committee Signed by Ben Gurion
2014.1.380
Typewritten letter in Hebrew; signature in blue ink at bottom left.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:Letter to Mr. B Mintz from D. Ben Gurion regarding the Israeli defense committee.
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Official I.G. Farben Envelope of U.S. Administration
2014.1.391
Pritned return address of 'United States Administration, Control Office, I.G. Farbenindustrie A.G.'
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:: IG Farben was a giant German chemical industry conglomerate notorious for its role in committing war crimes during the Holocaust. Its pro-Nazi directorship collaborated with the Nazi leadership to produce quantities of Zyklon B through its Degesch facility, the Hydrocyanic acid insecticide used to gas millions of Jews at extermination centers. Its facility near Auschwitz, Buna, was built to produce synthetic rubber: at least 50,000 prisoners died during its construction from starvation and exposure. Indeed, the bodies of prisoners were buried where they fell, in the wet cement. The company was seized by the Allies in 1945, its assets liquidated, and many executives tried for war crimes at Nuremburg. It continues to be in the process of liquidation.
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Jewish Birth Certificate From Cyprus Displaced Persons Camp
2014.1.440
Table with Hebrew writing and red hand stamp.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash Issued to Jewish survivors, originally from Romania, who survived the concentration camps. Stamped by the DP camp at Cyprus and its religious authority.
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Former Buchenwald Prisoners' Health Restored
2015.2.4
Front: Black and white photograph, showing four men working with horses and a cart. Three men are shirtless, and one wears a white shirt. Back: Pasted news clipping on left side. Several stamps and stickers, and writing in pencil.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Acme Newspictures wire photo with news clipping verso:"HEALTH RESTORED--Nearly all the former inmates of the German Buchenwald have regained their health in This [sic] Palestine compound. They work the land and enjoy their new freedom.
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The Orphan Builders of Israel
2015.2.3
Front: Black and white photograph of a young woman facing left in a white dress and headwrap, holding a metal bucket, and surrounded by chickens. Back: Pasted newsclipping and several stickers.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: ACME PHOTO wire photo with explanation verso: "The Orphan Builders of Israel. Raanana, Israel: A lifetime of tragedy behind them, 264 children, most of them orphaned by the gas chambers of Nazism, are being cared for at the Raanana Children's Village and Farm School, operated by the Mizrachi Women's Organization of America, an auxiliary of Orthodox Jewry. In this orphanage, one of many throughout Palestine, children ranging in age from five to 15, learn the three "R's" and a trade, and are prepared to take places in the demanding job of building Israel. Most of the children do not know the meaning of the term "displaced person," but they have experienced the lives of such persons in cmaps throughout Europe and on the island of Cyprus, before coming to their homeland. Children are taught self-reliance at the orphanage, and are helped in regaining the hope they lost at a tender age. BOY 882892... New York Bureau. A little girl gathers the eggs in a coop on the community's chicken farm. All farm work is done by the children, and the chickens provide enough eggs so that every child in the orphanage may have at least one egg a day. NY-1-2-3-4 MGS Can. Credit (Acme photo by David S. Boyer, Staff Correspondent) 10-1-48 (LG)"
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Jewish Community of Berlin Restoration Fund Stamps
2015.2.148
Front: Blue photograph of a buildling with German text beneath.Interior 1: Gold page with four stamps, two brown, and two blue.Interior 2: White page with gold writing and Star of David.Interior 3: Blue page with white writing and menorah.Back: Gold page with six stamps: two blue, two red, two green.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Jewish Community of Berlin ("Jüdische Gemeinde Zu Berlin") Restoration Fund Stamps ("Spenden Marke"), 1940. A set of 10 different denominated stamps depicting synaogues destroyed during Kristallnacht (November 1938), issued by the Jewish Community to raise funds for their restoration.
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Identification (Bnei Akiva Union) Issued to Moshe Shapira
2015.2.68
Cover: Green paper with black printed Hebrew text. In the middle is a circle with tablets, a hammer and a rake. Interior: 24 pages; some with tables with purple handstamps, some with green Hebrew handwriting. Back: Black printed Hebrew text in middle of green page. Signature in black at top, writing in green just above printed text.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Shapira (1902-1970) was an important Israeli politician in the early days of the state's existence. A signatory of Israel's Declaration of Independence, he served as a minister in Ben Gurion's administration from Israel's foundation in 1948 until his death in 1970. His signature appears on back.
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Correspondence From Austrian Displaced Persons Camp
2012.1.168ab
Envelope: Green envelope addressed to Mrs. Fadwiga Tamir from Hemyh Ramet in blue ink. Sent from an Austrian displaced persons camp after World War II.Letter: Letter written in blue ink on thin paper.
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Israel Identification Card
2015.2.65
Front: Tan cover with black background with tan Hebrew and Arabic letters. Bottom has open space where serial number 707346 is written in pencil. Interior: Photograph, biographical, and travel information for Zehui Pinkas. Back: Black and tan stripes with number 119064 on bottom in black.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Early Israel identity card. "Pinkas Zehui".
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Envelope from a German Displaced Persons Camp
2012.1.175
Green envelope with typewritten address and return address. Addressed to Mr. Charlie Ammons.
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Response by Judge Advocate Division of War Crimes Branch to International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland
2012.1.87
Typewritten letter on onionskin paper.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A response from the Judge Advocate Division of War Crimes Branch to International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland. The Deputy Judge Advocate asserts that an SS Major, Kurt Gross, has not been denied his rights as a POW under the Geneva Accords -- as his father alleges -- but rather is a war criminal, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for "participation in the killing of two surrendered and unarmed American flyer prisoners of war..." in July of 1944.
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Israeli Immigration ID Card
2015.2.66
Cover: Green with printed text on top and bottom in Hebrew and '75958' near center. Interior:Two staples hold woman's photograph in place. Purple stamps and black Hebrew hand stamps throughout. Includes several handwritten numbers.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: This "Teudat Ole" card for the young woman states that she emigrated from Romania.
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Israeli Laissez-Passer for Student, M. Michael Michaeli
2019.2.260
Small blue hardcover booklet, cover labelled “ETAT D’ISRAEL LAISSEZ-PASSER”, both left corners cut, 32 pages. Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:Israeli passports were issued after Israel became a state in May 1948, and utilized both French and Hebrew text. However, they were not defined as passports until the end of 1952. Rather, there were referred to as permits or Laissez-Passer, and issued for specific purpose or destination.
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Early Israeli Passport
2019.2.259
Small blue hardcover booklet, cover labelled “ETAT D’ISRAEL PASSEPORT,” MARKED “41108” near bottom, 32 pages. [page 26-31 blank]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:Israeli passports were issued after Israel became a state in May 1948, and utilized both French and Hebrew text. However, they were not defined as passports until the end of 1952. Rather, there were referred to as permits or Laissez-Passer, and issued for specific purpose or destination. As can be seen on page four of this passport, these early passports were not valid in Germany unless specifically requested. This changed after the Reparations Agreements with Germany was signed. After 1980, passports were printed in both English and Hebrew.
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Friedrich Hossbach (1894-1980) Letter to an American History Professor
2019.2.8
Printed "Friedrich Hossbach" in black text in top left corner, tan paper, full text fills half of document.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The “Hossbach protocol” refers to notes taken by Hitler’s Wehrmacht adjutant, lieutenant general Friedrich Hossbach on November 5, 1937, which revealed the aggressive and territorial expansionist intentions of Hitler and his military and foreign policy leadership. Hitler spoke at this meeting of the need to intervene militarily in Austria and Czechoslovakia if Germany was to successfully address its economy’s financial crisis and as well to not lag behind in an arms race between Germany and France and Britain. In this post war letter to Professor Burdick he comments on a conversation between Hitler and von Fritsch of the German high command and subsequent remarks Hitler made to him.
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Youth Aliyah Commemoration Envelope
2014.1.372
Front: Image of hand holding seedling with words '20 yrs. Youth Aliyah 1954' as border; various hand stamps Back: Typed information, 'The Executive of the Jewish Agency' in Tel-Aviv.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Youth Aliyah was founded by Recha Freier on January 30, 1933, the day Hitler took power. With remarkable prescience, she sought to protect German youth from impending doom by sending them to pioneer training camps in Palestine to be educated and absorbed into kibbutzim, the indigenous farming communities. She helped 5,000 Jewish children escape from Germany. Others were smuggled out of Europe during the war to Palestine, the U.K., and other countries. Many more came to Palestine between the end of the war and the establishment of the state of Israel. Youth Aliyah also helped Jewish child survivors in D.P. camps. Frier herself experienced significant opposition from the German Jewish community who thought her methods illegal. She eventually fled to Palestine herself, taking a group of 40 teenagers with her.
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Envelope sent from HIAS in Philadelphia to Santiago, Chile
2014.1.376
Front: Blue and red airmail border; ten cent stamp; HIAS symbol at top left.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Hias cover sent from Philadelphia to the "Comite de Proteccion a Los Immigrantes Israelitas" in Santiago, Chile
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Jubilee of Jewish Volunteers of the Second World War Poster
2015.2.210
Front: A brownish grey poster with military illustrations in blue and tan up and down either side either side. Includes blue printed text in English and Hebrew, a green pasted stamp showing a man parachuting behind barbed wire, two black hand stamps and a depiction of the Israeli flag.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Israeli Military poster celebrating Jewish volunteers of WW2: The Jewish Brigade and the Paratroopers.
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First Day Cover: Israeli Celebration of Vounteers with stamps of Havivah Reik and Parachutists
2012.1.139
Off-white envelope with illustration of a shield with a gold Star of David. Titled, "Célebration des Volontaires, 1955."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Israeli First Day Cover celebrating the Parachutists along with a stamp of Havivah Reik.
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International Day of Liberation Stamps
2012.1.428a
Blue and pink stamps with a shirtless man titled, "Zum tode Geführt und Siehe Wir Leben."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: On April 9, 1955, the German Democratic Government issued these stamps below to commemorate the International Day of Liberation.
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International Day of Liberation Commemorative Card
2012.1.428b
White sheet with blue and pink stamps with an illustration of a shirtless man. Titled, "Für den Aufbau Nationaler Gedenkstätten in Buchenwald, Ravensbrück, Sachsenhausen."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: On April 9, 1955, the German Democratic Government issued these stamps to commemorate the International Day of Liberation.
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First Day Cover: Israeli
2012.1.142
Off-white envelope with green and black illustration of women sitting on steps.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: First Day Cover stresses the importance of finding the names of all of the victims of the Shoah.
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Signed Letter to Muhammed Amin Al-Husseini from Fritz Fuchs
2019.2.263
Single-spaced, double-sided typewritten letter with 'Seiner Eminenz' at top left and signature at lower right. Related item: 2019.2.262
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and Muslim leader in Palestine under the British Mandate. He promoted Islam and rallied Arabs against Zionism. He collaborated with Germany and Italy, seeing the Axis powers as the means to secure Arab independence and kill Jews. He made propagandistic radio broadcasts and helped the Nazis recruit Bosnian Muslims for volunteer units to be part of the Waffen-SS. He was instrumental after the war in establishing an all Palestine government, which was eventually dissolved by Egypt’s Nasser. This letter to Fuchs thanks him for writing an article supportive of the Arab patriots.