This section provides another point of entry into the troubled landscape of Holocaust memory. It samples the post-war stamps and first day covers issued by many nations to commemorate the victims, resisters, partisans, the liberators, the hidden and the ones who sheltered, the diplomatic heroes and others, as well as highlights some of the essential themes and signal events of the genocide of the European Jews and its aftermath. Interspersed among these is a selection of other, older, philatelic and numismatic items: stamps, labels, Notgeld, ghetto scrip, and coins, that were utilized both prior to and during the Third Reich and the Holocaust and tell another story.
--Michael D. Bulmash, K1966
Browse the Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection.
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JNF-KKL Parachutists Series Stamps
2021.1.69a
Seven black and white stamps, six of men, one of a woman
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Series commemorating the group of Jewish volunteers from Palestine who gave their lives on missions sponsored by the British S.O.E. into Nazi- occupied Europe between 1943 and 1945. Of the 37 chosen, seven either died in captivity or were executed. Hannah Szenes, perhaps the best-known of the parachutists, was seized in Hungary, imprisoned and tortured, but refused to reveal the details of her mission. She was tried and executed in Budapest on November 7, 1944. She was 23 years old, a poet and songwriter whose songs are still sung in Israel today.
The names of the parachutists with their portraits on the JNF labels are: Zvi Ben Yaakov, Abba Berdichev, Perec Goldstein, Hannah Szenes, Enzo Sereni, Rafael Reisz, and Haviva Reik.
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Provisional Label/Stamp Used During the Period Between British Mandate and Beginning of Jewish State
2021.1.73
Four dark blue stamps depicting a man, Mordechai Anielewicz. Hebrew text along all four borders.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Mordechai Anielewicz was founder and commander of the Jewish Combat Organization (ZOB) in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, who died at 24 fighting the Germans. A socialist-Zionist, he understood Germany’s intentions to liquidate the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto and he refused to submit passively to their intentions. While political differences in the Ghetto led to fragmentation, Anielewicz was able to create an alliance of the many different groups in the Ghetto. They were able to secure weapons and ammunition, but it was hardly enough to stand up to the Germans. They nevertheless held them off for 30 days and refused to surrender. Fighting ended May 16 1943: 7000 Jews were murdered, the remainder sent to concentration camps. The Warsaw Uprising became an important symbol of Jewish armed resistance in the Holocaust.
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Mauthausen Commemorative Postcard
2012.1.425a
Tan postcard with green postcard lines. Includes a blue illustration of a hand reaching through barbed wire titled, "Niemals Vergessen!"
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The concentration camp Mauthausen was liberated May 5, 1945. One year later, the Austrian government issued this commemorative card. Above the drawing of the outstretched hand against the barbed wire are the words "Niemals Vergessen", or "Never Forget".
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Lidice Remembrance Envelope
2012.1.422
White envelope with multiple stamps. One is an illustration of a man with a mustache. There are two of a woman with sunken eyes. There is one of a feather and another of a woman in pink.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: On May 27, 1942, an assassination attempt was made on Reinhard Heydrich, the protector of Bohemia and Moravia. Heydrich died June 4 from infections caused by the failed assassination attempt. In reprisal, on the morning of June 7, the Nazis completely destroyed the Czech village of Lidice, twenty miles northwest of Prague. The male inhabitants of the village were killed, and women and children were sent to concentration camps. This envelope shows the stamps issued by Czechoslovakia in honor of Lidice.
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Provisional Label/Stamp Used During the Period Between British Mandate and Beginning of Jewish State
2021.1.82
Four blue stamps with the number 50 above a Star of David with a tiger in the center. Hebrew text in inverted arc under the Star of David and along bottom border.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Coat of Arms of First Zionist Conference Half-Century Anniversary.
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Mauthausen Commemorative Postcard
2012.1.425b
Green postcard with an illustration of a chained hand reaching two fingers up.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The concentration camp Mauthausen was liberated May 5, 1945. This commemorative card was issued June 20, 1947.
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Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Commemorative Stamp
2012.1.423a
Stamp with an illustration of a man and woman holding guns. Titled, "Polska."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Poland issued this stamp to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising on April 19, 1943.
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Envelope from Safed Addressed to Tel Aviv
2021.1.54
White envelope with Blue stamp in top right corner. Writing in black ink on back and front of envelope.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
The evacuation of the British on April 16, 1948, and the ensuing seizure of public buildings meant the isolation of the residents of Safed. The post office was closed and there would be no ability to obtain stamps or the machinery to apply cancels. Consequently an ad hoc stamp was designed and printed on the fronts of envelopes. A circular postmark would be used- the red double circle with bridge- until interim postmarks reached Safed.
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Interim Cover with Label Commemorating Jewish Resistance in Warsaw Ghetto
2021.1.57
White envelope with blue stamp depicting man with gun in top right.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Interim cover with black Tel Aviv postmark on a JNF label (1946) with red overprint “Doar” or “Post” commemorating the April, 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto to thwart the final effort of the Nazis to transport the remaining ghetto population to the death camps. The stamp contains the text ‘Revolt of the Warsaw Ghetto 19 April 1943 - 14 Nissan 5713’.
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Two Interim Covers with Eliezer Ben-Yehuda JNF Labels Cancelled in Netanya and Holon
2021.1.58ab
White envelope with blue text. “Printed Matter” in top center on front. Second envelope has map of Israel and lion printed on front.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Illustrations on Netaniya and Holon interim covers, both with violet overprints of the word Doar for Post and cancellations on Eliazer Ben-Yehuda provisional stamps (from JNF labels) of the Jewish post, celebrating the opening of the Post Office in the Jewish state, 5-16-1948.
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Interim Cover (Minhelet Ha-am) Tel Aviv Pipeline
2021.1.63
Pale gray envelope with blue stamp in the top right corner and black ink writing on the front.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Interim cover (May 1, 1948 to May 15, 1948) provisional JNF label NEGEV PIPELINE stamp (1948) of Jewish Post prior to Israel statehood with violet overprint and Tel Aviv cancellation.
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Provisional Label/Stamp Used During the Period Between British Mandate and Beginning of Jewish State
2021.1.72
Two dark blue stamps depicting a man holding a rifle. Hebrew text along the bottom.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Interim label with JNF/KKL label commemorating Jewish resistance in Warsaw Ghetto.
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Provisional Label/Stamp Used During the Period Between British Mandate and Beginning of Jewish State
2021.1.89
Sheet of 28 red stamps, each with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet and each depicting a different landscape. Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Alphabet Stamps Cities and Settlements in Israel the Initials or Last Letters of Their Names Representing the Hebrew Alphabet.
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Envelope with Provisional Label Used During the Transition Between End of British Mandate and Beginning of Jewish State in Palestine
2021.1.55ab
Envelope with blue Hebrew text and Star of David. Green stamp in top right depicting large wooden boat.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
This cover contains the JNF/KKL (Jewish National Fund) label from 1946 depicting the immigrant ships bearing Jewish refugees from the Holocaust to the shores of Palestine, before being turned back by the mandatory government of Great Britain. The label is overprinted in violet with the word “Doar” or Post with a Tel Aviv double ring cancellation. It references the November 29, 1947 Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly to establish a Jewish state in Palestine. As the British attenuated postal services in April 1948, postal operations and post offices were transferred to the Provisional government, the latter utilizing JNF/KKL stamps/labels with overprints or in some cases (e.g., the towns of Safed and Nahariya) ad hoc postage - prior to the declaration of the state of Israel. This transition or interim period lasted from May 1 to May 15, 1948. Israel Post began to issue stamps on May 16, 1948, a Sunday (Saturday was the Sabbath), titled Doar Ivri - Hebrew Post - as the name of the new nation had not yet been chosen.
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Nahariya by the Sea Emergency Post on Unaddressed Envelope
2021.1.59
White envelope with three stamps, one white, one red, and one green.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Nahariya By the Sea Emergency Post postmarked 5 May 1948 on unaddressed Interim cover. After the liberation of Palestine in 1948, the local council of Nahariya issued emergency stamps for postage until the regular stamps of Israel were available.
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Rishon Le Zion Interim Covers
2021.1.60ab
Two white envelopes, both have blue stamps showing a figure holding a gun with the Israeli flag in the background.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Interim cover May 6, 1948 Rishon Le Zion imperforate label/stamp, “transported by armoured car,” to Tel Aviv. Rishon Le Zion is 12 miles from Tel Aviv. With the withdrawal of the British from Palestine in September 1947, hostilities broke out with the Arabs impacting communications. As an emergency device, buses and taxis were used to carry mail, but rates were prohibitively expensive. As a consequence, the local Council of Rishon established its own postal service with Tel Aviv, and created its own special stamp, designed by Eva Samuel. Service continued until May 6 when the regular Minhelet Ha’am - Interim - service could take over.
Israel interim period Rishon Le Zion Nachlat Yehuda. Mailed to Tel Aviv cancelled last date: 5/6/1948. Local stamps in use until May 7th. Nachlat-Jehuda was postal agency near Rishon le Zion.
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Interim (Minhelet Ha'am) Cover Mailed from Nahariya to Alfred Zolokovitz in Haifa
2019.2.257
Envelope with red and white postage stamp of the Star of David in top right corner above a blue postage stamp with man’s profile, “14 MAY 1948” stamped near top in blue ink.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:The cover is postmarked with a 20 mil emergency post stamp tied by a dated postmark of May 14, 1948 above a 10 mil Chaim Weizmann JNF (Jewish National Fund) stamp with a Nahariya Minhelet Ha’am postmark and Hebrew Doar or Post overprint.
The interim period, or Minhelet Ha’am, refers in philately to the transition period between the end of the British Mandate over Palestine and the first stamps of the new state of Israel, a two-week period from May 1st to May 15th of 1948. While all public services were affected during this chaotic time, the postal service was particularly problematic. The Jewish provisional government did not have its own stamps; consequently, JNF labels-typically used for fundraising- were employed, with the Doar overprint, along with local community tax stamps.
On the day this letter was postmarked, May 14, 1948, the British Mandate had expired, and Davis Ben Gurion proclaimed the state of Israel. At 5:25 a.m. the next day, May 15, 1948, Israel was attacked by five Arab states, marking the beginning of the War of Independence.
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Provisional Label/Stamp Used During the Period Between British Mandate and Beginning of Jewish State
2021.1.76
Dark blue stamp showing thirteen men at a table with two flags of Israel behind them. Hebrew text along the top and bottom borders.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
JNF/KKL label/stamp of David Ben Gurion formally declaring the Establishment of the State of Israel.
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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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First Day Cover from Tel Aviv
2021.1.56
Envelope with copies of the Balfour declaration and UN decision to establish Israel on front.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
First day cover commemorating opening of the first post office in Tel Avi, May 16, 1948 with new Doar Ivri stamp of the State of Israel cancelled in Tel Aviv 5-16-1948. Cover contains image of Balfour Declaration to Lord Rothschild from November 1917, and the list of the 33 countries who voted in favor of the proposal in the United Nations General Assembly to establish a Jewish State in Palestine on November 29, 1947. An image in red of Theodor Herzl, father of modern Zionism as a political movement, and supporter of immigration to Palestine and the formation of a Jewish state.
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Registered Mail from Haifa Postmarked in English, Hebrew and Arabic
2021.1.62
White envelope with a blue stamp, green stamp, and four gray stamps.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Registered mail Haifa, 5-16-1948, post marked English, Hebrew and Arabic, last day of Jewish Administration and first day of State of Israel with Doar Ivri stamp and Chaim Weizmann Interim labels, 2 overprints Haifa and two overprints Tel Aviv.
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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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Provisional Label/Stamp Used During the Period Between British Mandate and Beginning of Jewish State
2021.1.81
Dark blue stamp depicting a tall brick monument with an inscription in Hebrew. Hebrew text along the bottom and inset next to the monument.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Roads to Jerusalem Commemoration Monument, inscription reads: “To our comrades who with their guns opened, built and conquered this road.”
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Provisional Label/Stamp Used During the Period Between British Mandate and Beginning of Jewish State
2021.1.83ab
[2021.1.83a] Red stamp depicting a tree overlooking a valley landscape
[2021.1.83b] Green stamp depicting a tree overlooking a valley landscape.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Landscape of Galil.
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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.