US anti-Nazi boycott poster stamp with a Star of David and a Nazi wolf
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm) | Width: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm)
Archival History
The stamp was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2017 by Gregg Philipson.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Gregg and Michelle Philipson
Scope and Content
Poster stamp encouraging the boycott of Nazi products, issued in the United States during the boycott movement between May 1933 and October 1941. Unlike many others issued during the boycott, this stamp makes a distinction between Nazis and Germany as a whole. On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg. The Nazi’s increasing targeting of Jews led the small, but militant, Jewish War Veterans of the United States (JWV) to hold a parade in New York City and launch the first boycott of German goods in the United States on March 23. Other organizations, including the American Jewish Congress and the American Jewish Committee, soon followed with large protest rallies. In reaction to the negative international press on April 1, the German Nazis instigated a one-day nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses and professionals. Soon after, anti-Jewish decrees were passed that restricted every aspect of Jewish life in Germany. On April 10, 1933, the JWV opened a boycott office in New York City, where they printed placards, seals, and letters. The JWV also began a stamp campaign on May 21, and the other organizations followed suit. The U.S. Post Office banned their use on the exterior of mail—due to their resemblance to postage stamps—so the JWV encouraged their use on the correspondence instead. The boycott movement in America never gained a popular following, and the U.S. Department of State opposed it entirely. By 1941, American enthusiasm for the boycott movement had waned, and the widespread efforts by the larger organizations ceased in October, shortly before the United States entered the war.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Square poster stamp with perforated edges on off-white paper and a red, white, and blue graphic design. The slogan is printed across the top in red and blue. Below, on the left, is a gate with a blue background topped by a spread-wing American eagle perched on a red-striped shield. In the center of the gate is a security bar with a long, locked chain hanging below. Below the gate is another slogan is printed red ink. On the top right is a white Star of David centered on a blue rectangle. In the bottom right are two tablets with blue Roman numerals and Hebrew text representing the Ten Commandments centered on a large, red rectangle. In front of the tablets is a snarling dog or wolf, in left profile, with a band bearing a reverse swastika around its midsection.
Subjects
- Demonstrations--United States.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Foreign public opinion, American.
- Boycotts--United States.
- Anti-German boycotts--United States.
- Anti-Nazi movement.
- United States.
Genre
- Posters
- Object
- Stamps.