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 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.
Browse the Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection
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Correspondence From Austrian Displaced Persons Camp
2012.1.169ab
Envelope: Green envelope addressed to Mrs. L. Roskies from a person at an Austrian displaced persons camp after World War II.Letter: Letter written in blue on lined paper.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Letter written in Hebrew from DP Camp Hallein bei Salzburg in Austria to L. Roskies of Montreal, Canada.
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Letter Regarding Israeli Defense Committee Signed by Ben Gurion
2014.1.380
Typewritten letter in Hebrew; signature in blue ink at bottom left.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Letter hand-signed by David Ben Gurion to Mr. B Mintz regarding the Israeli defense committee. David Ben-Gurion was Prime Minister of the Provisional Government. Binyamin Mintz was an ultra-Orthodox leader, journalist, writer and one of the founders of the Poalei Agudat Yisrael party. The Provisional State Council was the legislature of Israel from May 1948 until February 1949, when the Knesset was established. Since the battles of the War of Independence sometimes prevented members from attending meetings, 27 deputy members were appointed.
Mintz would become a member of the four first Israeli Knessets. During the British Mandatory period for Palestine, he was a member of the Security Committee and Rescue Committee of the Jewish Agency and after World War II, was sent on various missions to DP camps in Europe.
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Official I.G. Farben Envelope of U.S. Administration
2014.1.391
Pritned return address of 'United States Administration, Control Office, I.G. Farbenindustrie A.G.'
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
IG Farben was a giant German chemical industry conglomerate notorious for its role in committing war crimes during the Holocaust. Its pro-Nazi directorship collaborated with the Nazi leadership to produce quantities of Zyklon B through its Degesch facility, the Hydrocyanic acid insecticide used to gas millions of Jews at extermination centers. Its facility near Auschwitz, Buna, was built to produce synthetic rubber: at least 50,000 prisoners died during its construction from starvation and exposure. Indeed, the bodies of prisoners were buried where they fell, in the wet cement. The company was seized by the Allies in 1945, its assets liquidated, and many executives tried for war crimes at Nuremberg. It continues to be in the process of liquidation.
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The Orphan Builders of Israel
2015.2.3
Front: Black and white photograph of a young woman facing left in a white dress and headwrap, holding a metal bucket, and surrounded by chickens. Back: Pasted newsclipping and several stickers.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
ACME PHOTO wire photo with explanation verso: "The Orphan Builders of Israel. Raanana, Israel: A lifetime of tragedy behind them, 264 children, most of them orphaned by the gas chambers of Nazism, are being cared for at the Raanana Children's Village and Farm School, operated by the Mizrachi Women's Organization of America, an auxiliary of Orthodox Jewry. In this orphanage, one of many throughout Palestine, children ranging in age from five to 15, learn the three "Rs" and a trade, and are prepared to take places in the demanding job of building Israel. Most of the children do not know the meaning of the term "displaced person," but they have experienced the lives of such persons in camps throughout Europe and on the island of Cyprus, before coming to their homeland. Children are taught self-reliance at the orphanage and are helped in regaining the hope they lost at a tender age. …BOY 882892... New York Bureau. A little girl gathers the eggs in a coop on the community's chicken farm. All farm work is done by the children, and the chickens provide enough eggs so that every child in the orphanage may have at least one egg a day. NY-1-2-3-4 MGS Can. Credit (Acme photo by David S. Boyer, Staff Correspondent) 10-1-48 (LG)".
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Identification (Bnei Akiva Union) Issued to Moshe Shapira
2015.2.68
Cover: Green paper with black printed Hebrew text. In the middle is a circle with tablets, a hammer and a rake. Interior: 24 pages; some with tables with purple handstamps, some with green Hebrew handwriting. Back: Black printed Hebrew text in middle of green page. Signature in black at top, writing in green just above printed text.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Shapira (1902-1970) was an important Israeli politician in the early days of the state's existence. A signatory of Israel's Declaration of Independence, he served as a minister in Ben Gurion's administration from Israel's foundation in 1948 until his death in 1970. His signature appears on back.
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Press Photo: Preparing to Leave Famagusta, Cyprus For Israel
2022.1.4
Black and white photograph with focal point being nurse and woman exchanging a baby in blankets. Men are wearing “MC'' armbands.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Holocaust survivors preparing to leave one of the detention camps on the island of Cyprus seven months after Israel declared statehood. They would be part of the final evacuation of internees, since the British mandate had ended on February 14, 1947. Israel began to bring the internees home in December 1948. The last internees were evacuated during January and February 1949.
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Correspondence from an Austrian Displaced Persons Camp
2012.1.168ab
Envelope: Green envelope addressed to Mrs. Fadwiga Tamir from Hemyh Ramet in blue ink. Letter: Letter written in blue ink on thin paper.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Correspondence addressed to Mrs. Fadwiga Tamir (?) in Tel Aviv from H. Ramat (?) in Austrian displaced persons camp Hallein bei Salzburg after World War II.
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Israel Identification Card
2015.2.65
Front: Tan cover with black background with tan Hebrew and Arabic letters. Bottom has open space where serial number 707346 is written in pencil. Interior: Photograph, biographical, and travel information for Zehui Pinkas. Back: Black and tan stripes with number 119064 on bottom in black.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Early Israel identity card. "Pinkas Zehui".
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Envelope from a German Displaced Persons Camp
2012.1.175
Green envelope with typewritten address and return address. Addressed to Mr. Charlie Ammons.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Cover sent from DP camp Schleisscheim-Feldmoching, Germany to recipient in Missouri in 1949.
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Press Photo of Elly Schnittlinger and Family Living in the United States After Four Years in Displaced Persons Camps
2022.1.5
Front: Black and white photograph of family sitting and standing around sofa with leaf pattern. Back: ‘Acme Newspictures’ purple stamp and several types of notes; handwritten, typed and stamped.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Mrs. Elly Schnittlinger, Austrian by birth, had survived the war in internment in DP camps. At the time this photograph was taken she was living in Cleveland, Ohio, with her children. Her husband Artur, according to information on the Yad Vashem website, perished during the Holocaust.
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Response by Judge Advocate Division of War Crimes Branch to International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland
2012.1.87
Typewritten letter on onionskin paper.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A response from the Judge Advocate Division of War Crimes Branch to International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland. The Deputy Judge Advocate asserts that an SS Major, Kurt Gross, has not been denied his rights as a POW under the Geneva Accords -- as his father alleges -- but rather is a war criminal, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for "participation in the killing of two surrendered and unarmed American flyer prisoners of war..." in July of 1944.
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Israeli Immigration ID Card
2015.2.66
Cover: Green with printed text on top and bottom in Hebrew and '75958' near center. Interior:Two staples hold woman's photograph in place. Purple stamps and black Hebrew hand stamps throughout. Includes several handwritten numbers.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: This "Teudat Ole" card for the young woman states that she emigrated from Romania.
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Israeli Laissez-Passer for Student, M. Michael Michaeli
2019.2.260
Small blue hardcover booklet, cover labelled “ETAT D’ISRAEL LAISSEZ-PASSER”, both left corners cut, 32 pages.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Israeli passports were issued after Israel became a state in May 1948, and utilized both French and Hebrew text. However, they were not defined as passports until the end of 1952. Rather, they were referred to as permits or Laissez-Passer, and issued for a specific purpose or destination.
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Early Israeli Passport
2019.2.259
Small blue hardcover booklet, cover labelled “ETAT D’ISRAEL PASSEPORT,” MARKED “41108” near bottom, 32 pages. [page 26-31 blank]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Israeli passports were issued after Israel became a state in May 1948, and utilized both French and Hebrew text. However, they were not defined as passports until the end of 1952. Rather, they were referred to as permits or Laissez-Passer, and issued for a specific purpose or destination. As can be seen on page four of this passport, these early passports were not valid in Germany unless specifically requested. This changed after the Reparations Agreements with Germany was signed. After 1980, passports were printed in both English and Hebrew.
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Friedrich Hossbach (1894-1980) Letter to an American History Professor
2019.2.8
Printed "Friedrich Hossbach" in black text in top left corner, tan paper, full text fills half of document.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
The “Hossbach protocol” refers to notes taken by Hitler’s Wehrmacht adjutant, lieutenant general Friedrich Hossbach on November 5, 1937, which revealed the aggressive and territorial expansionist intentions of Hitler and his military and foreign policy leadership. Hitler spoke at this meeting of the need to intervene militarily in Austria and Czechoslovakia if Germany was to successfully address its economy’s financial crisis and as well to not lag behind in an arms race between Germany and France and Britain. In this post-war letter to Professor Burdick, Hossbach comments on a conversation between Hitler and von Fritsch of the German high command and subsequent remarks Hitler made to him.
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Jubilee of Jewish Volunteers of the Second World War Poster
2015.2.210
Front: A brownish grey poster with military illustrations in blue and tan up and down either side either side. Includes blue printed text in English and Hebrew, a green pasted stamp showing a man parachuting behind barbed wire, two black hand stamps and a depiction of the Israeli flag.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Israeli Military poster celebrating Jewish volunteers of WW2: The Jewish Brigade and the Paratroopers.
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Signed Letter to Muhammed Amin Al-Husseini from Fritz Fuchs
2019.2.263
Single-spaced, double-sided typewritten letter with 'Seiner Eminenz' at top left and signature at lower right. Related item: 2019.2.262
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and Muslim leader in Palestine under the British Mandate. He promoted Islam and rallied Arabs against Zionism. He collaborated with Germany and Italy, seeing the Axis powers as the means to secure Arab independence and kill Jews. He made propagandistic radio broadcasts and helped the Nazis recruit Bosnian Muslims for volunteer units to be part of the Waffen-SS. He was instrumental after the war in establishing an all-Palestine government, which was eventually dissolved by Egypt’s Nasser. This letter to Fuchs thanks him for writing an article supportive of the Arab patriots.
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Signed Letter from Muhammed Amin Al-Husseini to Fritz Fuchs
2019.2.262
Single-spaced typewritten letter with 'DAS HOHE ARABISCHE KOMITEE' at top left and signature at lower right. Related item: 2019.2.263
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and Muslim leader in Palestine under the British Mandate. He promoted Islam and rallied Arabs against Zionism. He collaborated with Germany and Italy, seeing the Axis powers as the means to secure Arab independence and kill Jews. He made propagandistic radio broadcasts and helped the Nazis recruit Bosnian Muslims for volunteer units to be part of the Waffen-SS. He was instrumental after the war in establishing an all-Palestine government, which was eventually dissolved by Egypt’s Nasser. This letter to Fuchs thanks him for writing an article supportive of the Arab patriots.
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Post-War Postcard: Eisenhower in Germany
2016.1.28
Front: image of Eisenhower as well as two postmarks and a stamp; Back: Handwritten note in blue ink.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: German postcard commemorating the state visit of President Eisenhower to Germany in August, 1959. The author of this postcard, evidently unhappy with Eisenhower’s visit 14 years after Germany’s defeat in WWI, wrote: ”How can you welcome and celebrate such a war criminal here in Germany? Did you all forget, that he was responsible for all this destruction and death of millions? This Jew is a war criminal! Shame on you!”
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Beit Theresienstadt Central Card Index for Elizabeth Rosa Ornstein
2015.2.55
Front: White paper with printed brown text. Titled Beit Theresienstadt, and shows a seal with a leaf growing from a brick wall on top. Gives printed out information about Elizabeth Rosa Ornstein.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Form from "Beit Theresienstadt," the central index for Theresienstadt Ghetto victims, yielding information on their countries of origin, transport dates to Theresienstadt and ultimate fate. This sheet is about Elizabeth Rosa Ornstein from Austria, when she was deported to Theresienstadt in March 1944. Just three months later she was deported to Auschwitz where she was murdered. The information about the victims was issued in the 1960s by Beit Theresienstadt, the Theresienstadt Martyrs Remembrance Association in Israel.
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Beit Theresienstadt Central Card Index for Gertruda Trüde Shön
2015.2.57
Front: White paper with printed brown text. Titled Beit Theresienstadt, and shows a seal with a leaf growing from a brick wall on top. Gives printed out information about (Gertruda) Trüde Shön.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Form from "Beit Theresienstadt," the central index for Theresienstadt Ghetto victims, yielding information on their countries of origin, transport dates to Theresienstadt and ultimate fate. This sheet is about (Gertruda) Trüde Shön from Czechoslovakia, when she was deported to Theresienstadt on December 17, 1942. She was deported to Auschwitz on October 9, 1944 where she was murdered. The information about the victims was issued in the 1960s by Beit Theresienstadt, the Theresienstadt Martyrs Remembrance Association in Israel.
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Manuscript from Adolf Eichmann's Defense Attorney
2012.1.365
Fragile paper with typewritten text in English.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi SS officer, resident “expert” on matters and issues related to Jews, and thus tasked with implementing the Final Solution to the Jewish question: the mass murder of the Jews. He was chief of the Gestapo’s Jewish section and encouraged and oversaw the deportations of Jews from Germany and the occupied countries. He was recording secretary at the Wannsee conference where the "Final Solution" was formulated. Captured and smuggled to Israel, he was convicted of war crimes and hanged in 1962. These papers are from the files of Robert Servatius, Eichmann’s defense attorney; a typed manuscript (1962) in which the unrepentant Eichmann essentially blamed World War II and the Holocaust on the Jews themselves. Eichmann's treatise is centered on Zionism and his opinion on its effects on world politics. Eichmann states: "... The chance for the Zionists to get Palestine will be found in a worldwide war... This activity of the Zionists had no other motive but to stir up the nations against each other... To disturb the European balance, to create chaos by war and revolution... Weakening of the European Nations by losses of population... Gavrilo Princip was a Jew... Lloyd George refuses this offer [of peace by Germany], because he knows... The United States had promised the Zionists to enter the war... The Germans are indebted to the Zionists for these changes... With the German disaster [of surrender and Versailles] grows the supremacy of the Jews in Germany.... With the take-over by Hitler.... Zionism recognizes that the good times in Germany are gone... Zionist reaction come quick. It is the world-trade-boycott.... Hitler had given the order in June 1941, to solve the 'Jewish question,' i.e., to annihilate the Jewish population of Europe physically... if World War II, as Mr. Chamberlain has said, was initiated by Judaism... Then of course the Zionists are responsible for the losses on both sides."
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Adolf Eichmann in Court
2014.1.365
Front: Image of Adolf Eichmann wearing glasses and suit with man wearing hat behind him. AP Wire photo from Jerusalem April 11, 1961, taken at the opening of Eichmann's trial in Jerusalem. Statement below reads"Eichmann in Court -- Adolf Eichmann tilts his head as he appears in Jerusalem courtroom today on the opening day of his trial. (AP Wirephoto via radio from Jerusalem) "Back: Taped newspaper clipping of same photo with 'Apr 17,1961' stamp.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
AP Wire photo from Jerusalem April 11, 1961, taken at the opening of Eichmann's trial in Jerusalem.
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Mr. Wajzman Holds a Photograph of his Family while Standing Next to Wife
2014.1.388
Front: Man, looking at camera, holds a photograph of a large family while wife at his side looks to Back: Handwritten information, 'Sender Wajzman and wife. Mindelle. Pic is all his relatives - only he survived holocaust, of the whole group. T. Robb 7-10-81'. 'Date Used JUL 12 1981' hand stamp below handwriting.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Mr. Wajzman was born in Vilna, Poland in 1919. He was a Holocaust survivor who had been a prisoner in a concentration camp during World War II. He is pictured for a local newspaper holding a pre-World War II photograph of his family from Poland, all of whom were murdered during the Holocaust. He was the only member of his family to survive. He taught Yiddish in Florida for many years and served on the board of the South Florida Memorial Center before his death in 1996.
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Elie Wiesel Photograph with Signature
2014.1.384
Image of Elie Wiesel with book in hand; handwritten note, 'For Paul Lorenzen - with best wishes Elie Wiesel' in blue ink.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Congressional Medal of Honor and Nobel Peace Prize winner, author of numerous works informed by his experiences in concentration camps. Elie Wiesel was born to a religious family in Sighet Romania. He was sent to Auschwitz along with his father, mother and three sisters. His mother and sisters were murdered in the gas chambers upon arrival. Transferred with his father to Buchenwald, his father perished. Wiesel promoted human rights and remembrance of the Holocaust throughout his life.