Nazification and Early Stages of Persecution: Identification, Expropriation; Aryanization; and Emigration

The Holocaust (1933-45) refers to Nazi Germany’s deliberate, progressive persecution and systematic murder of the Jews of Europe. Nazi antisemitism superseded traditional Judeo-Christian religious conflict by uniting a racial ideology with social Darwinism: the Jew is seen as subhuman, a disease threatening the body politic, and the cause of Germany’s problems—its economic woes, its defeat in World War I, its cultural degeneracy—and thus he must be eradicated. As soon as Hitler came to power in 1933, the Nazis commenced the organized persecution of the Jews. Jewish books were burned, and businesses boycotted. Jews were excluded from professions, public life, and from the arts. The Nuremberg laws of 1935 identified and defined a Jew based on immutable racial characteristics and lineage, less so his religion. Jews were stripped of their civil rights as German citizens. More than 120 decrees and ordinances were enacted subsequent to the Nuremberg laws. In 1938, Kristallnacht occurred, the planned pogrom that led to the destruction of synagogues, mass arrests, and the looting of Jewish businesses. Jews were murdered, and many more were interned in concentration camps that had been established for political prisoners. Jewish property was registered, confiscated, and ultimately aryanized. Life in Nazi Germany was sufficiently intolerable that more than 200,000 Jews emigrated. Hitler’s goal of making Germany “Judenrein” was proving successful.

With the Nazi’s ascension to power, other groups were imperiled as well, vulnerable to discriminatory treatment, persecution, and death; for example, the Roma and Sinti, the developmentally and physically disabled, homosexuals, and political and social "undesirables". Slavic people were considered Untermenschen, fit only for servitude in the new and expanded Reich. During this period, in direct contravention of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was also secretly building its military and preparing for an eventual war. Yet it was the Nazi’s growing confidence and skill in pruning the aryan tree of its undesirables that allowed it to create an increasingly sophisticated technical apparatus for carrying out mass murder on an industrial scale, its ultimate goal the “final solution to the Jewish question.”

--Michael D. Bulmash, K1966

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Bill with Antisemitic Stamp

2012.1.474

Tan telegram with typewritten address to Firma Franz Schunko, Ammendorf. Includes a tan pasted sticker with red illustration of a Jew with a hooked nose looking through a Star of David. Back side includes a chart and typewritten message.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Bill from an electrochemical firm in Ammendorf with sticker depicting a grotesque caricature of a Jew upon which is superimposed a Star of David.
Reichsparteitag (National Party Convention) Postcard

2016.1.32

Front: Red background with ‘REICHSPARTEI-TAG, NURNBERG, 5-12.SEPTEMBER’ below circular image of two men with Nazi flag behind them, 1938 at left; Back: Handwritten message written sideways.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Also known as the Nuremberg Rally, the annual rally of the Nazi Party in Germany, immortalized by Leni Riefenstahl in several of her films, including "Triumph of the Will", filmed at the 1934 event. The theme of the 1939 rally, given the name “Rally of Peace”, was cancelled due to Germany’s assault on Poland, September 1, 1939, which began World War II. This rally was to occur on September 2. Thus 1938 was the last annual rally.
Der Ewige Jude [The Eternal Jew] Postcard

2014.1.37

Front: A caricature of a Jewish man with his right hand full of gold coins and a cane in his left. Includes a picture of Germany with communist symbols at his right and a yellow background.Back: Includes a message written in pencil and a green stamp.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

To further promote Nazi antisemitic objectives, a travelling exhibition named “Der Ewige Jude” ("The Eternal Jew") was created in 1937. It appeared in five cities during the following eighteen months. The exhibition depicted Jews - their clothes, facial characteristics, cultural items and art - in every conceivable negative and unfavorable way, and markedly “degenerate” in contrast to the Nazi aryan ideal. This postcard advertising the exhibition - in this case in Vienna - depicts a caricatured, unattractive image of a disheveled Jewish man against a yellow background clutching a knotted whip in his left hand with an inset map of the Soviet Union with red Communist hammer and sickle. In his outstretched right hand are gold coins. His eyes are closed against a secret he is hiding: the composite image represents a putative Jewish conspiracy for world domination. The two special cancellations on the back of the postcard commemorate the event.
Neville Chamberlain Arriving at Heston Airport

2014.1.180

Front: Chamberlain descending an aircraft. Back: A handwritten note reading, "Chamberlain arriving from Munich after signing Munich Pact with Hitler," and Culver Pictures, Inc. stamps and barcodes.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Arriving at Heston airport following the Munich Conference, Chamberlain declares proudly that he has secured "peace in our time." Hitler had demanded that Czechoslovakia cede to Germany the Sudetenland territories of Bohemia and Moravia, regions inhabited by ethnic Germans. Chamberlain's appeasement policy in essence led to the dismemberment of the independent democratic state of Czechoslovakia.
Postcard Celebrating Germany Occupation of Czechoslovakia

2014.1.178

Front: A cartoon of a Jewish man climbing hill with a goat. Includes a caption that translates to, "So the Jew robbed the last piece and poverty, misery remains."Back: White postcard with black printed postcard lines. Includes writing in grey ink, a grey postage stamp, black and red hand stamps, and a pasted sticker with an illustration of a Jewish face. The text on the red hand stamp translates to, "How have worn... laughing, and find like... remain free! ... 21 September 1938."

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The date of the postmark, September 30, 1938, was the date that Germany, France and Britain signed the Munich Pact, which essentially sealed Czechoslovakia's fate, putatively warding off a crisis by ceding the Sudetenland to Hitler.
Postcard of Nazis Marching into Reichenberg, Sudetenland

2014.1.179

Front: A sepia-colored photograph of Nazi soldiers marching down the street and their main onlookers. Shows Nazi banners hanging from buildings.Back: White postcard with message written in black ink, pink postage stamp, and black hand stamps.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: This postcard depicts the Nazi absorption of the German-speaking area of Czechoslovakia, known as the Sudetenland. Czechoslovakia's allies, Great Britain and France, had capitulated to Hitler's demands that the Sudetenland territories of Bohemia and Moravia, part of Austria until the end of World War I, be given back by Czechoslovakia to Germany. The occupation of the Sudetenland would be complete by October 10, 1938. Hitler would subsequently establish a puppet government in Slovakia, and by March 15, 1939, the provinces of Bohemia-Moravia would be declared a Reich Protectorate.
Postcard From Distraught Jewish Woman Alone in Vienna after Kristallnacht

2014.1.56

Front: Handwritten message in black ink.Back: Red printed postcard lines, black handwritten address and message, and red stamp.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Mailed by a Jewess named Schprinze, addressed to her family in Jerusalem, Palestine. German handwritten message addressed to Josef Pollak, a family member who managed to leave Nazi Germany in good time while Ms. Schprinze remained alone in Vienna. The text indicates her state of mind: her confusion, fear, and separation from reality. "One can only imagine the horrors these days: the sounds of broken glass everywhere, all the raging mobs looting shops, sights of wild fires burning old sacred synagogues. Above all the feeling that life is completely turned over..." She begins the card with family matters, asking for Morris's address which she has lost, then complains she has no luck (mazal). She continues, "Morris is not writing to me... I am worried for my life... I have no time to think... Please help me..." Signed in Hebrew letters "Schprinze." She mailed the card with surface rather than air mail and neglected to write her address. As no family name appears on the card, we know nothing of her fate.
Correspondence from Poland to Palestine

2014.1.248ab

Envelope Front: A tan envelope with writing in blue ink. Includes three postage stamps (red, blue and green), as well as a blue sticker and three black hand stamps.Envelope Back: Partially ripped. Includes writing in blue ink.Letter Front: Letter written in blue ink on tan paper.Letter Back: Continuation of letter with a signature at the bottom.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The Nazis invaded Cracow on September 9, 1939, a mere ten months after this letter was written. Cracow had been the home to Jews since the 13th century, and an important center of learning. Nazi persecution of Jews commenced immediately with forced labor. The Ghetto was established in March of 1941. Deportations to the surrounding concentration and extermination centers began at the end of May, 1942 to Belzec, Auschwitz and Plaszow labor camp for those deemed capable of work.
Herschel Grynszpan Led From Paris Police Station by Detective

2014.1.51

Front: A black and white photograph of a man in a hat leading a man shielding his face out of a building with pasted paper with typewritten title.Back: Stamp, writing, and sticker.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Wire photograph taken ten days after Grynszpan shot Ernst Vom Rath, angered that his parents had been forced by the Nazi government to leave their home in Hanover, Germany, and return to Poland, their country of origin. Vom Rath's murder provided a rationale for the initiation of a nationwide pogrom against the Jews referred to as Kristallnacht.
Letter from Chase National Bank of the City of New York to the American Consul, Vienna, Germany (German Family Escapes the Holocaust)

2015.2.202

White paper with typewritten message. Includes a printed return address on the upper left, a signature in black, green and brown stamps and a black hand stamp.

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.
Postcard from Kristallnacht Prisoner in Dachau

2014.1.79

Front: White postcard with handwritten message in black cursive.Back: Black printed postcard lines and text with handwritten address.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Nine days after Kristallnacht, a postcard from a Dachau Jewish prisoner to his family in Speyer. He is identified as a "Schutzhaftjude" for “Jew in Protective Custody”, the rationale for arresting Jews after Kristallnacht and placing them in the Dachau concentration camp.

[Related items: 2014.1.57, 2014.1.58, 2014.1.59]
Young Refugee with Doll

2014.1.45

Front: An image of a girl with glasses, beret, doll, and satchel standing with her parents.Back: Typewritten and handwritten information about the image.Additional Information: "Refugee girl arriving with her parents in Canada from Germany in 1938.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Information on wire photo from Acme Newspictures Inc. verso: Young Jewish refugee arriving with her parents in Montreal, Canada, from Germany in November, 1938.
Refugees Reach Vancouver Enroute to Australia

2014.1.42

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Recto: Acme Press Photograph November 25, 1938: refugees from Germany arriving in Vancouver, British Columbia. Verso: "Vancouver, B.C. -- A family of Jewish refugees from Germany as they arrived in Vancouver recently, enroute to Australia where they will take up a new home. Credit Line (Acme)."
Press Photograph: Witnessing Kristallnacht in Berlin

2014.1.52

Front: An image of ransacked Jewish-owned stores in Berlin. Verso: Typewritten information about the image. Back: "Most Important News Pictures of '38"

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Acme wire photo with following information verso: “A street scene in Berlin showing the shattered fronts of Jewish-owned stores, the result of anti-Jewish demonstrations following the slaying of Ernst vom Rath in Germany's Paris embassy. Vom Rath's slayer was a Jewish youth. 12-13-1938." The image seems to capture a range of moods of the onlookers, from incredulity to exultation to disengagement.
Helga Kreiner of First Kindertransport Arrives in Harwich, England

2014.1.43

Front: An image of a girl in an overcoat clutching a doll. Back: Typewritten information about the image.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Helga Kreiner is pictured having arrived in Harwich, England, a member of the first Kindertransport of refugee children escaping the Nazi menace against Jews in Germany. Clutching her doll to her chest, holding her bag by her side, she stands anxiously awaiting her future in a foreign land without her parents whose own fate she could not know.
Jewish Refugees at British Holiday Camp

2014.1.47

Front: An image of a woman in a kerchief alongside children and adolescants in front of row houses.Back: Typewritten, handwritten, and stamped information pertaining to the photograph.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Acme wire photo with following information verso: "Jewish refugees from Germany, temporarily staying at the holiday camp here (Dovercourt, Essex, England). They have been promised new homes in Britain. They will be supported by voluntary contributions, sheltered by British families, educated and taught trades and will then emigrate to British possessions. 12/13/1938"

Dovercourt Bay was meant to be a temporary transit camp for the first groups of children waiting for a foster family that could sponsor them. Depending on the ease with which that occurred, they might be placed at Dovercourt for some time, during which they would be taught English and practical skills and enjoy playing with their new-found friends, essentially being indoctrinated into British life.
Jewish Woman Seeking Refuge from Nazi Menace During "Polish Action"

2016.1.40

Front: woman sitting on steps with head in hand, a tag ‘247’ hangs from her sleeve; Back: handwriting in pencil and date handstamp.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

As the Nazi noose tightens, the number of Jews seeking refuge through the 1930s increases exponentially, even as there are few countries willing to admit them. This woman’s expression embodies the frustration of the prospective Jewish émigré who is frantically attempting to find shelter from the Nazi storm, in this case a Polish-born Jew living in Germany who is one of 17,000 Jews rounded up and loaded in sealed railway cars and driven across the Polish border by SS men in October 1938.
German-Jewish Refugees in England

2016.1.37

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Associated Press wire photo verso: "Young Jewish refugee children in camp at Dovercourt Bay, England, pay close attention to the blackboard as they receive a lesson in English. This haven cares for 200 German- Jewish Children." 12-28-38.
Mrs. Ottilie Moore Saves Refugees

2014.1.89

Front: An image of Mrs. Ottilie Moore, daughter of Adolph Goebels surrounded by refugee children and a poodle on a ship deck. Back: Typed information about the image.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Mrs. Ottilie Moore, daughter of the late Adolph Goebels, sausage king. Mrs. Moore has brought over from Europe eight refugee children whom she will keep and school in the United States. Two of the children in the group are Mrs. Moore's own.
Jewish Refugees Holding Torah

2014.1.90

Front: An image of two men holding a Torah in the Devoncourst Bay refugee camp in England. Back: Typed information about the image.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Associated Press wire photo with following information verso: "Free to pursue their devotions without fear of persecution, these young German Jewish refugees are shown unrolling the scrolls of the law for Jewish religious instruction at the Dovercourt Bay refugee camp in England. Note the shawls and head coverings they are wearing in accordance with ancient custom."
Beschluss [Resolution]

2014.1.98

Typewritten letter with Amtsgerichts Wedding stamp in lower lefthand corner from the Office of the District Court
National Socialist Workers Party Membership Book

2014.1.5

Front: A red oilskin cover with a gold swastika encircled by a wreath with an eagle perched atop.Interior: Forty-eight pages with black text.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Issued to William Kietzmann, born November 8, 1890. Approximately the same age as Adolf Hitler, he sports a mustache like the latter. Page 12 has a note dated 1938 and signed by a party official. There are eight pages of dues payment stamps from 1936 to 1943.
Immigration Document for Georg-Heinz Moses

2014.1.60

Green paper with printed text, as well as stamped/handwritten German information. Includes a photograph of Georg-Heinz Moses and a signature.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: 1939 police immigration document issued by the German consulate in Malmo, Sweden. In all likelihood Mr. Moses was one of 30,000 arrested after Kristallnacht and imprisoned in concentration camps.

[Related items: 2014.1.57, 2014.1.58, 2014.1.59]
Copy of Press Photo of Jewish Refugee Children Aboard Liner President Harding

2016.1.34

Group of children waving at Statue of Liberty

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

These children are among a group of 50 Jewish refugees, imperiled by Nazi Germany, aged 5 to 14, from Vienna, waving at the Statue of Liberty as liner pulls into New York harbor, en route to Philadelphia, where they will be placed with foster families. They were brought to the United States by Eleanor and Gilbert Kraus, assimilated Jews from Philadelphia. Other powerful Jewish leaders from Philadelphia exhorted the Krauses to call their mission off lest it fomented more domestic antisemitism. It is believed that Roosevelt did not do all he could do to increase immigration of the beleaguered Jews of Europe precisely because of American Jews’ unwillingness to support their European brethren.
Handbuch der Judenfrage [The Handbook of the Jewish Question] by Theodor Fritsch

2016.1.65

Cover: black and red swastika over snake with many Star of David symbols, title below, white on black background; 574 pages

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Theodore Fritsch was an antisemitic German political scientist and believer in the superiority of the “aryan race”. His “Handbook” was first published in 1893 and espoused a return to traditional “Volkisch” peasant values and customs against the industrialization and urbanization so characteristic of modernity. He was enormously influential on Hitler and his minions. He died September 8, 1933, not long after Hitler became chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933.