World War II and Holocaust Remembrance in Stamps
Excerpt from the Sidney Levin Stamp Collection
TU Special Collections and University Archives was recently gifted an extensive collection of stamps from the family of Mr. Sidney Levin. Mr. Levin, a world traveler and enthusiastic stamp collector, gathered stamps from each country he visited and organized them into several binders, including annotations and other memorabilia.
The stamps in the collection provide a unique lens for exploring history and the impact of world events. Many are issued by governments or official agencies to highlight recent events or to commemorate the past. Each nation included presents that nation's stance or perspective and provides insight into its relationship with its history and with other nations.
Mr. Levins's complete collection is available in the Towson University Archives digital collections.
Below is a small excerpt of stamps from Europe and Israel concerning World War II and the Holocaust. It ranges from the 1930s to the 1990s and features stamps issued during the war and after in commemoration
Please note: some topics, materials, or perspectives presented concerning Antisemitism and the Holocaust may be difficult to engage with.
World War II and Holocaust Remembrance in Stamps
Propaganda Forgeries
These stamps show a few examples of propaganda forgeries of British stamps released by the Nazi Germany during WWII. The first two are authentic stamps released by the British government celebrating the 25th Anniversary of King George V's reign and commemorating King George VI's coronation. The second two are the forgery stamps, in which Stalin's likeness has been inserted, and the text has been changed.
Many of these forgeries (also including the creation of counterfeit currency and propagandistic leaflets) were created under the orders of Heinrich Himmler and produced by prisoners in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Holocaust survivor Adolf Burger details his experience working in the counterfeiting operation in his memoir The Devil’s Workshop.
Nazi Germany - 1941
German-occupied Serbia issued this set to commemorate the October 1941 Anti-Freemason Exhibition in Belgrade. The exhibition was comprised of anti-Semitic propaganda, including film, posters, and pamphlets.
Nazi Germany - 1943
This stamp series was released in Nazi Germany to celebrate the third anniversary of the NSDAP's (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) occupation of Poland. After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, German and Soviet forces divided Poland into east and west territories. The General Government oversaw the German-occupied east. Each stamp highlights a city in Poland.
Jewish National Fund - 1943
A 1943 stamp released by the Jewish National Fund commemorating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Poland - 1948
Stamp from Poland commemorating the 5th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
France - 1958
Two stamps from the French "Heroes of the Resistance" series celebrating notable French citizens who fought against Nazi occupation. The first is Jacques Bingen, an agent of the Free French intelligence service created by Charles de Gaulle. The second is Simone Michel-Lévy, a resistance worker who established and operated clandestine communication networks through radio, phone, and courier systems.
German Democratic Republic (East Germany) - 1959
This stamp from the Resistance Heroes series memorializes Charlotte Eisenblatt, an anti-Nazi activist and resistance fighter who disseminated anti-Nazi literature and information from the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Rosenblatt was arrested in 1942 and sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. She was executed for treason in 1944.
German Democratic Republic (East Germany) - 1962
This stamp was one in a series released in East Germany commemorating anti-fascists and victims of Nazi concentration camps. Pictured is Pawel Finder, a Polish communist activist and leader executed by Nazis in 1944.
German Democratic Republic (East Germany) - 1963
This stamp was issued to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Kristallnacht, or "Night of Broken Glass, during which Nazis attacked synagogues and Jewish homes and businesses throughout Germany and Austria. Depicted is a representation of the compulsory yellow badge, with a burning synagogue in the background. The text to the left states, "Never again."
Poland - 1963
Stamp from Poland issued to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Israel - 1965
Israel released this stamp to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps in 1945.
France - 1965
This stamp commemorates the 20th anniversary of the return of those deported from France into Nazi labor and concentration camps. France observes an annual National Day of Remembrance to memorialize those who were deported during the German occupation.
Netherlands - 1965
This stamp from the Netherlands remembers the 1941 general strike in Amsterdam in opposition to German occupation and anti-Semitic policies.
Czechoslovakia - 1967
These three stamps are part of a series released in Czechoslovakia to commemorate Jewish culture and memorialize victims of Nazi concentration camps. The first shows the Old New Synagogue in Prague. The second is a representation of the Pinkas Synagogue in Prague and a memorial to Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The third shows the tombstone of David Gans, a Jewish mathematician, scientist, and chronicler.
Czechoslovakia - 1968
This series of stamps was released to memorialize the 30th anniversary of the Munich Agreement, which allowed for the annexation of an area of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland. The stamps feature drawings by Jewish children in the Terezín Ghetto from 1943 to 1944. The collection is now held in the Jewish Museum in Prague.
France - 1970
Stamp from France commemorating the 25th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps.
German Democratic Republic (East Germany) - 1971
This stamp series from the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) celebrates the 20th anniversary of the International Federation of Resistance Fighters (FIR), an anti-fascist coalition founded in 1951. The stamps feature sketches by Fritz Cremer, a German sculptor who created the "Revolt of the Prisoners" memorial at Buchenwald.
Czechoslovakia - 1972
Stamp from Czechoslovakia commemorating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Terezín Ghetto.
Israel – 1973
This stamp from Israel marks the 30th anniversary of the rescue of the Jews of Denmark. In 1943, after being warned of the impending deportation operation, the Danish resistance began a nationwide effort to evacuate Jews out of the country to neutral Sweden. Roughly 7,900 Jews and their spouses were successfully smuggled out of the country by sea.
Israel – 1973
This stamp from Israel was released to commemorate Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah).
Federal Republic of Germany - 1979
This stamp was issued by the Federal Republic of Germany to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Anne Frank's birth.
Luxembourg - 1982
This stamp, released in Luxembourg in 1982, highlights the National Monument of the Solidarity commemorating victims of World War II. This monument was inaugurated in 1971 by associations of the Resistance and victims of forced conscription. Luxembourg was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1940 and fully incorporated into civil administration in 1942. After this, roughly 10,000 Luxembourgers were conscripted into the German military.
Federal Republic of Germany - 1983
This stamp from the Federal Republic of Germany was released to memorialize persecution and resistance during the Nazi regime.
Federal Republic of Germany - 1988
This stamp from the Federal Republic of Germany was issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Kristallnacht. The stamp features a photo of a burning synagogue in Baden-Baden.
Italy - 1993
This stamp from Italy was issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the deportation of Jews from Rome to Auschwitz on October 16th, 1943. It features artwork by Eva Fischer, an Italian artist and survivor of the Holocaust.