1945-Present: Post-Holocaust Commemoration and Revitalization: Displaced Persons Camps; Refugees and Emigration; Postwar Trials; Israel Statehood

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

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First Day Cover: British Commemoration of D-Day, June 6, 1944

2012.1.130

White envelope with a black and grey illustration of soldiers on D-Day.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: British envelope commemorating D-Day.
40th Anniversary of Dachau and Mauthausen Envelope

2012.1.439a

White envelope with black and white illustration of people marching into Nazi gas chambers with Nazi soldier above it. Includes several stamps.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A cachet cover issued to commemorate the 40th anniversary of liberation of Dachau & Mauthausen death camps. The cover was designed by the German war criminals hunter Simon Wiesenthal. Franked with special overprinted Austrian stamp & cancelled with special cachet first day cover.
40th Anniversary of Dachau and Mauthausen Envelope

2012.1.439b

White envelope with an illustration of a red skull in a Nazi uniform holding Hitler's features in a mask.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A cachet cover issued to commemorate the 40th anniversary of liberation of Dachau & Mauthausen death camps. The cover was designed by the German war criminals hunter Simon Wiesenthal. Franked with special overprinted Austrian stamp & cancelled with special cachet first day cover.
First Day Cover: Celebration of Havivah Reik

2012.1.140

White envelope with wooden Star of David and stamp of Havivah Reik.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: First Day Cover commemorating Havivah Reik.
First Day Cover: Israeli Celebration of Enzo Sereni

2012.1.141

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 Enzo Sereni.
Austrian Commemoration of Anne Frank First Day Cover

2012.1.157

White envelope with two Anne Frank postage stamps and one Anne Frank hand stamp.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: An Austrian commemorative First Day Cover of Anne Frank from 1988.
Edith Stein and Rupert Mayer Commemorative Sheet

2012.1.433

Flier titled, "Sonderpostwertzeichen Seligsprechung von Edith Stein und Rupert Mayer." Includes stamp with a nun and a priest.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Commemorative Sheet from German postal authorities in memory of Edith Stein and Rupert Mayer. Stein was one of the most controversial victims of the Holocaust. The German occupation authority in the Netherlands deported her and other Jewish converts to Catholicism who became members of the priesthood during 1943. The Vatican has taken the position that she died as a Catholic and has been made a Saint. Jewish organizations and scholars believe she died because of her Jewish roots -- according to the Nazi Race Law of September 15, 1935.
First Day Cover: Celebration of Anne Frank along with stamps honoring the end of the Holocaust

2012.1.131

White envelope with five postage stamps, including a long one with pictures of Anne Frank. Includes illustration of the Anne Frank Huis in blue and black.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Israeli First Day Cover celebrating Anne Frank along with stamps honoring the end of the Holocaust.
First Day Cover: Celebration of Anne Frank

2012.1.134

White envelope with a postage stamp with photos of Anne Frank, as well as black and blue illustrations of the Anne Frank Huis.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Israeli First Day Cover commemorating Anne Frank.
Kristallnacht Commemorative Flier and Stamp

2012.1.427a

Flier titled, "Ersttagsblatt der Deutschen Bundespost." Includes a grey postage stamp in middle with illustration of a synagogue. Back includes text in German.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A commemoration of Kristallnacht, "The night of broken glass," which occurred in Germany on November 9/10th, 1938.
Kristallnacht Commemorative Stamp

2012.1.427b

Stamp with purple background and illustration of a burning synagogue. Titled, "Das Gehelmnis der Erlösung heisst Erinnerung."

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A commemoration of Kristallnacht, "The night of broken glass," which occurred in Germany on November 9/10th, 1938.
Italian Commemoration for National Congress Postcard

2012.1.153

Silver front with an illustration of a dead body laying near barbed wire. Back includes blank postcard lines.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A commemorative postcard for the National Congress in the city of Genova, Italy, by the Associazione Nazionale Ex Deportati.
First Day Cover: German commemoration of Felix Nussbaum

2012.1.110

Envelope with illustration of a man in a fedora with a yellow Star of David on his jacket.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: First Da Cover with self-portrait of Felix-Nussbaum, brilliant surrealist Jewish painter, wearing Jewish star and holding up required identification. Nussbaum would ultimately perish in Auschwitz.
Vel D'Hiv Roundup Commemoration Envelope

2014.1.159

Front: White envelope with a color illustration of many people crowding into a small area, two black hand stamps, one blue pasted postage stamp, and a line of printed text.Back: Printed black circular seal and printed black text in French.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The Vel D'Hiv roundup began July 16, 1942. Over the next two days, 12,884 Jews from the Paris region, including over 4,000 children, were taken into custody in an operation planned and implemented by French police and auxiliaries. It would become the largest mass arrest in France during World War II. 7,000 of these Jewish victims were packed into the Veldrome d'Hiver, an indoor sports stadium. In increasingly desperate conditions -- no working lavatories, extreme summer heat, and absence of ventilation, no fresh water -- they awaited shipment to transit camps before being transported to Auschwitz. The Vel d'Hiv roundup would become a symbol of French guilt and complicity with the Germans during the Holocaust.
Heroes and Martyrs Remembrance Day Leaflet

2012.1.405

Front: Black and white photograph of children in a concentration camp. Titled, "Souvenir Leaf, Heroes and Martyrs Remembrance Day, 52 Years Since the Uprisings in the Ghettos and Camps, 50th Anniversary of the Defeat of Nazi Germany and Liberation of the Camps 1945-1995" in Englihs and Hebrew.Back: White background with a black illustration of a building. Titled, "Beit Lohame Haghetaot Ghetto Fighters' House" in English and Hebrew.
50 Years Since the Liberation of the Auschwitz Death Camp Souvenir Leaf

2012.1.409a

Front: White card with a photograph of the train tracks leading to Auschwitz. Titled, "Souvenir Leaf, 50 Years Since the Liberation of the Auschwitz Death Camp."Back: Text in Hebrew and English. Titled, "Beit Lohamei Hagethaot - The Ghetto Fighters' House."

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Auschwitz was liberated on January 20, 1945.
Kristallnacht Commemorative Souvenir Leaf

2012.1.409b

Front: Includes a black and white photograph of a synagogue and photograph of a memorial. Titled, "Souvenir Leaf, Kristallnacht - 65 Jahre" in English and Hebrew.Back: Titled, "Remember and Never Forget!" in English, Hebrew and German. Includes an illustration of a burning synagogue and a Star of David in chains.
First Day Cover: Israeli Commemoration of Heroes and Martyrs Day

2012.1.144

White envelope with blue illustration of a hand reaching towards the sky with Star of David on wrist.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Israeli First Day Cover commemorating Heroes and Martyrs Day. Issued 50 years after of the Holocaust of Hungarian Jews.
First Day Cover: Israeli Commemoration of 50th Anniversary of Liberation of Buchenwald

2012.1.145

White envelope with blue illustration of children standing by a tower. Titled "Convention of the Children of Buchenwald 50th Anniversary of Liberation of the Camp."

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Israeli First Day Cover commemorating the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald Concentration Camp
German Commemorative Sheet and Stamp

2012.1.426

White sheet titled, "50. Jahrestag der Befreiung der Gefangenen aus den Konzentrationslagern." Includes a serated stamp and the names of concentration camps surrounding it.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: German Commemorative sheet issued in Bonn. This sheet commemorated the liberation of the concentration camps. This was issued near the 50th anniversary of the ending of German National Socialism and the liberation concentration camps in the Third Reich during World War II.
First Day Cover: Marshall Islands Commemoration of Allies Liberating Concentraion Camps

2012.1.129

White envelope with matching illustration and stamp of concentration camp prisoners behind a barbed wire with a soldier holding a gun. Titled, "Allies Liberate Concentration Camps."

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Marshall Islands First Day Cover commemorating Allies liberating Concentration Camps.
First Day Cover: Portuguese Commemorating Peace and Freedom in Europe

2012.1.118

Envelope with barbed wire background, and two long, rectangular stamps. Titled, "Europa, Paz e Liberdade.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Portuguese First Day Cover commemorating peace and freedom for Europe.
V-E Day Stamps

2012.1.404

Large white envelope with a green illustration of a man saluting with troopins in the background. Includes a series of stamps depicting Auschwitz and St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Stamps celebrating the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.
First Day Cover: Israeli celebration of the end of WWII and liberation of Concentration Camps

2012.1.127

Large envelope with five rows of identical stamps with US, UK and Russian flags.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Israelie First Day Cover celebrating the end of WWII and liberation of Concentration Camps.
Israeli Buchenwald Commemorative Envelope

2012.1.406

White envelope with black and white illustration of camp members along bottom. Includes a colorful illustration with camp members and watercolor butterflies.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Israeli Postal souvenir sheet issued in 1995 to commemorate liberation from the camps.