Philatelic and Numismatic Forms of Commemoration

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  German Antisemitic Postcard

  2014.1.20

  Front: Black and white rendering of the busts of four Jewish men with pencil writing on the right third of the card. 'Ein Vierblatteriges Kleeblatt' [A four leaf clover] Back: Message handwritten in pencil with green postal stamp and several black hand stamps.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  19th century postally used postcard from Berlin to Zittau, Germany with caricatured drawings of four Jewish men called “a four leaf clover.”

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  Antisemitic Postcard: Geschäftsfreunde aus Galizien (Zolynia) [Business friends from Poland (Zolynia)]

  2014.1.22

  A drawing of two Jewish men with canes talking to each other.Back: Handwritten message in purple pencil dated 1915.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  A Feldpostcard - German military mail - from WWI era depicting two caricatured Jewish “types” from Poland discussing business matters.

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  Antisemitic Propaganda Label Antedating Existence of Nazi Party

  2019.2.192

  Green label with ridged edges and black rectangular border, “Otto Glagau” printed in lower left corner.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Antisemitic propaganda label from around the time of the Weimar Republic and the founding of the Nazi party. The espousal of anti-Jewish sentiment did not have to wait for Hitler and the Nazi Party. Includes a quote from Otto Glagau, a major antisemitic writer of the 19th century: "We can learn something from the Jews. From the baptized minister to the Polish Scrounger, they comprise a single chain.”

  [Related item: 2019.2.193]

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  Antisemitic Propaganda Label Antedating Existence of Nazi Party

  2019.2.193

  Green label with ridged edges and black rectangular border, “Franz Lizst” printed in lower left corner.

  [Related item: 2019.2.192]

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Antisemitic propaganda label from around the time of the Weimar Republic and the founding of the Nazi party. The espousal of anti-Jewish sentiment did not have to wait for Hitler and the Nazi Party. Includes a quote by Franz Liszt, the composer and pianist: “The day will come when all nations amidst which the Jews are dwelling will have to raise the question of their wholesale expulsion, a question which will be one of life or death, good health or chronic disease, peaceful existence or perpetual social fever.”

  [Related item: 2019.2.192]

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  Bank Notes from the Austrian Antisemitic Bund

  2012.1.457a-c

  Series of three pieces of paper money. All show newspapers being burned. The first has blue illustrations and is titled "Fünfzig Heller." The second has yellow illustrations and is titled, "Zwanzig Heller." The third has green illustrations and is titled, "Zehn Heller."

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Set of notes by the Austrian antisemitic Bund. On one side picture shows Jewish publications burning in the fire and on the other side is a quote stating "although time will come when Christians and Jews will live together, it will never work out." The back of the 50 Heller note exhorts Germans of all political persuasions who love their folk and recognize the looming danger of the Jews to join together and support the aryan press.

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  Antisemitic Notgeld German Currency

  2012.1.455a-c

  Three pieces of paper money with black and red illustrations. The first shows Jews adding blood to matzoh, the second shows Jews being burned at the stake, and the third shows a priest offering the wafer to the Jews.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  These 100 pfennig Sternberg “Notgeld” notes from 1922 were intended to commemorate the burning at the stake in 1492 of 27 Jews accused of the Eucharistic sacrilege of using the blood of Christian children for making matzah, the unleavened bread used in Passover seders. The correct order of these images would therefore be: 1) the Priest Peter Dane selling consecrated wafers representing the body of Christ to the gathered Jews as a symbol of offering Jews conversion to Christianity; 2) an image of the Jews stabbing the wafers - seen here mixed with blood - symbolizing the Jews’ responsibility in killing Christ; a rejection of Jesus and Christianity; and the blood libel charge -common in medieval Europe and thereafter - of murdering a Christian child to use in the process of making the Passover matzah. Thus, historical charges against the Jews which form the basis of religious antisemitism are herein conflated; and 3) the pogrom enacted against the Jews - burning them at the stake - for their alleged crimes.

  Notgeld - emergency currency - was common during the Weimar Republic’s period of hyperinflation. Towns and villages would issue their own currency - with the Reichsbank’s eventual approval - often artistically rendered with attractive scenes or local heroes reflecting a town’s pride of place. Thus Notgeld did not always carry a reference to antisemitic themes or political issues. Yet antisemitic Notgeld anticipated themes that would be taken up in a few short years with the Nazi party’s rise to power. The medieval inheritance of antisemitism founded on religious and historical differences - vividly depicted in the Sternberg Notgeld - would be subsumed in the Third Reich by a virulent secular anti-Judaism based on race and immutably rooted in the blood and ancestry. The Jew would undergo a transformation from a pariah scapegoated during periods of social and economic unrest to a pathogen who must be expunged from the body politic.

  The fledgling Nazi party had already come into existence before these notes were printed. In a mere 11 years Hitler and his minions would wield power in Germany. Martin Luther’s splenetic antisemitic screeds denouncing Jews amid his growing frustrations with them would lead ineluctably down the centuries to the materialization and enactment of Heinrich Heine’s prophetic warning: where books are burned, they will in the end burn people.

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  Reichsmark Currency Notes

  2012.1.465a-c

  Three 1000 Reichsbanknotes. Each has a different illustration on the back: first, is a cariacature of a man speaking into a microphone as another writes at a desk. The second shows a man bowing to a Swastika with "Hitler, Nationalsozialismus" around it. On the bottom is the caption, "Gott der Gerechte! Scho mieder ä naier Gometh!" The third note shows the profile of a caricaturized man in glasses with the caption, "Sowjet Jude Radeck."

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  German Weimar Republic 1000 Reichsmark currency notes issued in 1922 by the German Treasury overprinted with Nazi antisemitic propaganda. Due to inflation and the crash of the German economy during the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich government revalued currency, blaming Jews for the economic collapse. They printed antisemitic images and phrases on the reverse of the bills.

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  American Boycott German Goods Stamp

  2012.1.415a

  Small white stamp with blue illustration of the Star of David. Titled, "For Humanity's Sake, Don't Buy German Goods."

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Pre-World War II German boycott stamp issued in the United States by Jewish war veterans. Probable date is 1933, as counter-measure to German boycott of Jewish stores.

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  American Boycott German Goods Stamp

  2012.1.415b

  Small white stamp with teal illustration of the Star of David. Titled, "For Humanity's Sake, Don't Buy German Goods."

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Pre-World War II German boycott stamp issued in the United States by Jewish war veterans. Probable date is 1933, as counter-measure to German boycott of Jewish stores.

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  American Federation of Polish Jews Stamp

  2012.1.415c

  Blue stamp with illustration of immigrants and the Statue of Liberty. Titled, "America Will not Forsake You, American Federation for Polish Jews."

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Stamp most likely issued in 1933 by the American Federation of Polish Jews.

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  Wagner Commemorative Postcard

  2019.2.207

  Postcard with green postage in top right corner, “Postkarte” written in green print, image of building and landscape in green ink on left side.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Official postcard with indicia showing Wagner in profile. The Festival Hall at Bayreuth is pictured along with inscription “Honor your German master.” Hitler loved Wagner’s operas, especially Die Meistersinger. The themes of Wagner’s operas appeared, especially to the Nazis, to glorify Germany’s ancient pagan past, its Teutonic mythology and heroic gods. Wagner himself, most notably in his writing, seemed as well to be antisemitic, lending further comfort to Nazi ideology. Prophetically, Hitler’s last visit to the opera was to see Wagner’s Gotterdammerung.

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  Commemorative Postcard of 450th Anniversary of Birth of Martin Luther

  2019.2.208

  Postcard with black postage in top right corner, marked “Postkarte” in black ink, image of Martin Luther on left side.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Luther was a Christian theologian and monk whose teachings inspired the Protestant Reformation. He also penned several screeds against Jews. When his early attempts to convert them to Christianity failed, he became more angry and advocated measures including burning their synagogues, destroying prayer books, seizing their money and property and destroying their homes: even going so far as to imitate murdering them. His 20th century fans included Heinrich Himmler, Julius Streicher, and of course, Adolf Hitler. Protestant churches in 1941 thought that Jews wearing the yellow badge was a good idea. Bishop Martin Sasse applauded the burning of synagogues on Kristallnacht. Luther’s animosity toward Jews was, strictly speaking, religious in nature.

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  Booklet of Frederick the Great Stamp

  2019.2.206

  Postage stamp booklet, front includes “Deutsches Reich” in black print and image of two flags, inside includes a page of green postage stamps and a page of red postage stamps.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The cover of this booklet depicts both existing national flags, the “Kaiserreich” black, white, and red flag, and the new swastika flag which would soon replace the former. The back cover shows information on the new Reichstag opening. As well an interleaf that displays the slogan “All for Germany.” Hitler had been sworn in as Chancellor January 30, 1933. Hitler revered Frederick’s military genius and carried a portrait of him wherever he travelled.

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  Postcard Depicting the Garrison Church at Potsdam with Imprinted Stamp of Frederick the Great

  2019.2.225

  Postcard labelled “Postkarte” at top in green. Includes green postage in upper right corner and image of church in green on left side. Back dated “19.5.33,” written in black ink.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Inscription on postcard commemorates the opening of the Reichstag on March 21. 1933 in Potsdam. Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor on January 30, 1933. He took his oath of allegiance- prior to the opening of the Reichstag- in this church. Frederick the Great was Hitler’s hero and he always carried Frederick’s portrait with him.

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  Konversionkasse (Promissory Notes) Exchanged for Jewish Property

  2012.1.466ab

  Two konversionkasse. The first is orange and titled "Fünfzig Reichsmark" (fifty Reichsmark). The second is green and titled, "Fünf Reichsmark" (five Reichsmark).

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Konversionkasse were essentially promissory notes given to German Jews in exchange for their property and money. These Jews were fortunate enough to escape Germany in the early years of the Third Reich. The notes often contained pinholes because refugees typically pinned them to the inside of their clothes during their journey. In almost all cases when they arrived at their destination they found the notes worthless when attempting to exchange them. The 50 Reichsmark note is series E from 1933/1934 and quite scarce.

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  German Anti-Soviet Propaganda Stamp

  2015.2.149

  Green stamp on white serrated paper depicting Stalin in profile facing left. To the left of Stalin is the British crown, and on the right is a hammer and sickle. Titled "This is Jewish War" with Stars of David in the upper corners, and hammer and sickles in the lower corners.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).

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  Envelope Celebrating Return of the Saar

  2014.1.30

  Envelope with music note ink stamp and blue postage stamp.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Saar music notes slogan cover.

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  Envelope with Deutsches Reich 1936 Olympics Stamps

  2015.2.158

  Front: Tan envelope with two rows of four stamps with Olympic events on them, and a black circular hand stamp between them. Includes a red and white pasted stamp in bottom left, and white pasted paper with typewritten and written information.Back: Two black circular hand stamps.Sent from the 1936 Olympic Games to stamp collector Leonhard Berger of Karlsruhe, this envelope has all eight official Deutsches Reich Olympische Spiele 1936 postage stamps and official cancellations from the Olympic Village.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Nazi Philatelic 1936 Olympic Games Postage Stamps on Registered Cover. Third Reich registered cover with Deutsches Reich Olympische Spiele 1936 postage stamps designed by Max Eschle for the 1936 Olympic Games. The envelope was sent to stamp collector Leonhard Berger of Karlsruhe and has event cancellations form the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. the original red border registration sticker is in the lower left corner. This envelope has all eight official Deutsches Reich Olympische Spiele 1936 postage stamps and four 35 mm round event cancellations from the Berlin Olympisch Dorf or Olympic Village dated 16 August 1936. The registration sticker is from the special post office at the Berlin Olympic Village.

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  German Anti-Soviet Propaganda Stamp

  2015.2.150

  Maroon stamp on white serrated paper depicting the King of England on the left and Joseph Stalin on the right with the British crown between them. Includes the Soverign's Orb, hammer and sickle, Stars of David and a black hand stamp.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).

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  Hitler Stamp

  2015.2.151

  Purple stamp on white serrated paper depicting Adolf Hitler in profile facing right.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).

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  American Anti-Hitler Propaganda Stamp

  2015.2.152

  Red stamp on white serrated paper depicting a skeletal Hitler in profile facing right. .

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).

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  German Anti-British Propaganda Stamp: King George with Crown Surmounted by Star of David

  2015.2.153

  Blue stamp on white serrated paper depicting King George of England in profile facing left with a crown hovering above his head.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).

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  German Anti-British Propaganda Stamp: King George with Crown Surmounted by Star of David

  2015.2.154

  Purple stamp on white serrated paper depicting King George of England in profile facing left with a crown hovering above his head, with a purple hand stamp.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).

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  German Anti-British Propaganda Stamp

  2015.2.155

  Orange stamp depicting King George of England in profile facing left with a crown hovering above his head, with a black rectangular stamp promising the liquidation of empire, and a purple hand stamp.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).

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  German Anti-British Propaganda Stamp: King George with Crown Surmounted by Star of David

  2015.2.156

  Orange stamp depicting King George of England in profile facing left with a crown hovering above his head, with a black rectangular stamp promising the liquidation of empire. Forged stamps like these were common during the war, with enemies hoping to defraud their opponents' postal service, and to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).