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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First Day Cover: Lithuanian First Day Cover Commemorating Chiune Sugihara
2012.1.117
White envelope with a photograph of a fenced-off buildling and a stamp with a black and white photograph of Chiune Sugihara.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Commemorative Lithuanian First Day Cover for Chiune Sugihara, who was the Japanese consul in Kaunas, Lithuania in 1940. He issued Japanese visas to Polish Jews against the orders of his government, as a consequence of which Jewish refugees were able to escape to Japan and other countries.
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First Day Cover: Czechoslovakian Commemoration of Petr Ginz
2012.1.133
A white envelope with a blue image of a space shuttle.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Czechoslovakian First day Cover from 2005 commemorating Petr Ginz. Petr Ginz was a Czechoslovakian diarist, novelist, and artist transported from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz in 1944 where he was murdered at the age of 16. The stamp shows his drawing "Earth seen from the Moon."
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First Day Cover: Celebration of Hiram (Harry) Bingham IV
2012.1.119
White envelope with photographs of and text about Hiram (Harry) Bingham IV.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: US First Day Cover commemorating Harry Bingham, Vice Consul in Marseilles, who worked with Varian Fry and others to provide visa and travel documents to Jews attempting to escape Vichy France.
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International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Holocaust Souvenir Leaf
2021.1.70a
Leaflet reading “Israel-UN Joint Stamp Issue with a silver border and blue background with candles and stamps for the International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
A souvenir leaf for International Day of Commemoration of Victims of Holocaust from 2008. Three years before, on November 1, 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated January 27 as an annual International Day of Commemoration for victims of the Holocaust. Verso: The resolution repudiates Holocaust denial, and member states are encouraged to develop “educational programs instructing future generations about the horrors of genocide and condemns … all manifestations of religious intolerance … based on ethnic origin or religious belief.”
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International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Holocaust First Day Cover
2021.1.70b
First Day Cover for International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Holocaust. Art with a blue Star of David with a skull and cross bones and the faint outline of a swastika, over a piece of barbed wire that turns into a white flower.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
International Holocaust Remembrance Day first day of issue of commemorative stamp with blue Star of David surmounted by skull and crossbones, a faint outline of a swastika, and barbed wire representing death camps and ghettos ultimately yielding tentatively to the hope of life symbolized by a flower emerging from the barbed wire. Part of a joint philatelic issue with the United Nations Postal Administration.
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Irena Sendler Commemorative Card, Poland
2014.1.470
Printed postcard titled, "Kto ratuje jedno życie, to jakby ratował cały świat" with black and white picture of a young woman.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Irena Sendler (Sendlerova), also known as Jolanta, was a Polish Roman Catholic nurse/social worker who worked in the Polish Underground during World War II. She was the head of the children's section of Zegota in German-occupied Warsaw. She was able, with the help of other members of Zegota, to save the lives of 2,500 children by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto, as well as securing false identity papers and housing for them. She wrote their birth names and their new names on strips of paper hidden in a jar. Arrested and tortured by the Gestapo in 1943, she refused to divulge the names of her comrades or those of her rescued children. She was sentenced to death by firing squad but was saved by Zegota by bribing the German guards. She lived in hiding yet continued her efforts to help the children. She was honored by Yad Vashem as one of the Polish Righteous Among the Nations. Pope John Paul II also praised her efforts. The recipient of many awards, the Polish Government presented her as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
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"As long as you remember us we are alive" Israel Holocaust Commemorative Stamps
2016.1.17
Full sheet of six columns of stamps, three with black background and gold heart with 'Jude' at center, three with blue and white flag of Israel with Star of David at center. At left are larger images of stamps.
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Commemorative Australian First Day Cover Featuring Raoul Wallenberg and Flora Hegedus
2016.1.54
Front: Reproduced work permit with photograph of Flora Hegedus at left; postage stamp with image of Raoul Wallenberg top right; Back: ‘JSR 2/5’.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Commemorative Australian First Day Cover from 2015 showing a signed Wallenberg work permit under Swedish authority for a Flora Hegedus. Only 5 issued.
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Commemorative Australian First Day Cover Featuring Schutz-Passes Signed by Raoul Wallenberg
2016.1.55
Front: Reproduced images of Schutz-passes with postage stamp of Raoul Wallenberg in top right; Back: ‘JSR 5/5’
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Only 5 issued.
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German Antisemitic Postcard
2014.1.19
Front: A color drawing of a Jewish man selling contraband goods while three officers detain him.Back: Blank green postcarte lines with a penciled "Judaika!" in the upper right.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Postally unused antisemitic postcard of a Jewish merchant caught with contraband.
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German Antisemitic Postcard
2014.1.21
Front: A black and white illustration of three Jewish men playing music and singing to various laughing animals and children. [Howling Wolf]Back: Black printed postcard lines.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: An early postally unused antisemitic postcard, a cartoonish sendup of Eastern Jews and their music, entitled “howling wolf.” Caricatures of three Jewish musicians playing their instruments while animals are howling and children are laughing gleefully.
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Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism Postage Stamp
2012.1.28a
Purple stamp of a soldier looking through binoculars.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
A stamp commemorating the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (Légion des Volontaires Français Contre le Bolchévisme). The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism was a collaborationist French militia founded July 8, 1941. It was officially known to the Germans as Infantry Regiment (Infanteriereregiment) 638. It had no formal link with the Vichy regime, even though it was recognized as an "association of public usefulness" by Pierre Laval's government in February 1943. Philippe Pétain, head of state of Vichy France, personally disapproved of Frenchmen wearing German uniforms. The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism volunteered to fight against the USSR on the Eastern Front.
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Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism
2012.1.28b
Black stamp of a soldier and a tank.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
A stamp commemorating the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (Légion des Volontaires Français Contre le Bolchévisme). The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism was a collaborationist French militia founded July 8, 1941. It was officially known to the Germans as Infantry Regiment (Infanteriereregiment) 638. It had no formal link with the Vichy regime, even though it was recognized as an "association of public usefulness" by Pierre Laval's government in February 1943. Philippe Pétain, head of state of Vichy France, personally disapproved of Frenchmen wearing German uniforms. The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism volunteered to fight against the USSR on the Eastern Front.
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Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism Postage Stamp
2012.1.28c
Green stamp depicting two soldiers firing a cannon.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
A stamp from the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (Légion des Volontaires Français Contre le Bolchévisme). The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism was a collaborationist French militia founded July 8, 1941. Philippe Pétain, head of state of Vichy France, personally disapproved of Frenchmen wearing German uniforms and never went beyond individual and informal words of support to some specific officers. The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism volunteered to fight against the USSR on the Eastern Front. It was officially known to the Germans as Infantry Regiment (Infanteriereregiment) 638.
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Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism Postage Stamp
2012.1.28d
Red stamp of soldiers on horses.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A stamp from the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (Légion des Volontaires Français contre le Bolchévisme). The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism was a collaborationist French militia founded July 8, 1941. Philippe Pétain, head of state of Vichy France, personally disapproved of Frenchmen wearing German uniforms and never went beyond individual and informal words of support to some specific officers. The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism volunteered to fight against the USSR on the Eastern Front. It was officially known to the Germans as Infantry Regiment (Infanteriereregiment) 638.
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Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism Postage Stamp
2012.1.28e
Blue stamp of soldiers saluting and carrying flags.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A stamp from the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (Légion des Volontaires Français contre le Bolchévisme). The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism was a collaborationist French militia founded July 8, 1941. Philippe Pétain, head of state of Vichy France, personally disapproved of Frenchmen wearing German uniforms and never went beyond individual and informal words of support to some specific officers. The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism volunteered to fight against the USSR on the Eastern Front. It was officially known to the Germans as Infantry Regiment (Infanteriereregiment) 638.
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First Day Cover: Israeli Commemoration of Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes
2012.1.113
White envelope with orange photograph of buildings on fire, and a grey stamp with a shirtless man among ruins.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Israeli First Day Cover commemorating Holocaust martyrs and heroes.
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Australian Commemorative Stamps of Raoul Wallenberg
2012.1.150ab
Front: A sheet of blue and grey Raoul Wallenberg stamps surrounded by information about Raoul Wallenberg.Back: Reproductions of a Schutz-Pass.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Australian stamps commemorating the heroism of Raoul Wallenberg with a timeline of Wallenberg's life and honors.
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Korczak Forest Label
2012.1.151
Yellow Star of David labeled "Jude" with Hebrew text.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Donations from these labels were dedicated to the Korczak Forest in Israel.
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Korczak Forest Label
2012.1.152
Red and orange label with illustration of a man carrying a child with children trailing behind him.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Donations from these labels were dedicated to the Korczak Forest in Israel.
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Antisemitic Label
2012.1.414a
Black label with skull titled, "De Joden Buiten!"
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Antisemitic label from Belgium: "Out With Jews!"
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Antisemitic Label
2012.1.414b
Blue label with illustration of river and hills titled, "Kauft nicht bei Juden."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
German label with Swastika exhorting people not to buy from Jews.
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Antisemitic Label
2012.1.414c
White label with blue Star of David. Titled, "Zur ärztlichen Behandlung ausschliesslich von Juden berechtigt."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A Nazi label required for Jewish doctors, which announced that their practice was restricted to Jewish patients.
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Antisemitic Label for Doctors
2012.1.414d
Small white label with blue Star of David. Titled, "Zur ärztlichen Behandlung ausschliesslich von Juden berechtigt."
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
A label required for Jewish doctors, consequent to the Nuremberg Laws, which announced that their practice was restricted to Jewish patients.
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Arthur Szyk:Emergency Committee to Save the People of Europe Labels
2012.1.417a-d
Four stamps titled, "Save Human Lives." The first has an illustration of a soldier and mechanic with a bearded celestial figure. The second has an illustration of a soldier holding a Jewish man with a Star of David armband. The third shows two children wearing Star of David armbands. The fourth shows a Rabbi holding a Torah.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Arthur Szyk illustrator: labels for the Emergency Committee to Save the People of Europe.