US poster stamp encouraging people to donate to a humanitarian organization

Identifier
irn562707
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2017.227.9
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • English
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Width: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm)

Creator(s)

Biographical History

The Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe was founded in 1943, by Peter Bergson and other young Jewish activists. The Committee formed in reaction to the first verified information of the Holocaust that reached the United States. On July 20, 1943, the group held the Emergency Conference in New York City, bringing together 1,500 delegates. The Committee was replaced by the American League for a Free Palestine in 1945.

Arthur Szyk (1894-1951) was born to Jewish parents, Solomon and Eugenia Szyk in Łódź, Poland, which at the time was part of the Russian Empire. He had his first public art exhibition at age 15, and then went to Paris, France, for formal art training at the Academie Julian. He visited Palestine in 1914 with a group of Polish-Jewish artists and studied Muslim art. Upon his return, he was conscripted into the Russian Army and served in World War I. He married Julia Liekerman in 1916, and they had a son, George, in 1917. In 1918, Poland regained independence, but continued to fight a series of regional wars to secure its boundaries. Between 1919 and 1920, during Poland's war against the Soviet Bolsheviks, Syzk served as a cavalry officer and artistic director of the Department of Propaganda for the Polish Army in Łódź. In 1921, he and his family moved to Paris where his daughter, Alexandra was born the following year. Szyk was well known for his illuminations and book illustrations, in a style reminiscent of Persian miniatures. He worked on several significant projects in France, including illustrating the Statute of Kalisz, the Haggadah, and a series of watercolors on the American Revolutionary War. The themes of his most admired works, democracy and Judaism, were already well established, earning him both fame and significant commissions. In 1934, Szyk traveled to the United States for exhibitions of his work and to receive the George Washington Bicentennial Medal, awarded by the US Congress. He resided in England from 1937-1940 to supervise the publication of the Haggadah. In 1939, following Germany's invasion of Poland, he focused on producing anti-Nazi editorial cartoons published in many Western newspapers and magazines. During the German occupation of Poland, his 70 year old mother, Eugenia, and her Polish companion were forced to live in the Łódź ghetto. In 1943, they were transported to Majdanek concentration camp and killed. In late 1940, Szyk immigrated to the United States with his family. He became a leading anti-Fascist political caricaturist as well as an advocate for Jewish rescue. In addition to his widely published satirical art, Szyk devoted a great deal of time and energy to the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe, and pushed for the establishment of an independent Jewish state in Palestine. Szyk received his US citizenship in 1948. In 1951, he was investigated by the United States House Un-American Activities Committee as a suspected Communist. His son, speaking on his behalf, declared his non-affiliation with any Communist organization. Later that year, on September 13, Szyk suffered a heart attack and died at age 57.

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

Second-issue poster stamp, issued and distributed in 1944 by the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe. The design is copied from a piece entitled “Tears of Rage,” created by Jewish artist Arthur Szyk in 1942 and used to create public interest in the Committee’s humanitarian efforts. The image depicts a Jewish soldier angered at the murder and suffering of Jews by the Nazis. Szyk was himself an immigrant born in Łódź, Poland, and lost his mother in the Holocaust. The mission of the Committee was a personal cause for Szyk, and he became one of the founding members. Although they were not valid for postage, poster stamps could be affixed to letters and envelopes as fund-raising, propaganda, and educational tools. The Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe was co-founded in 1943 by Peter H. Bergson (pseudonym for Hillel Kook) and other young Jewish activists. The Committee formed in reaction to the first verified information of the Holocaust that reached the United States. On July 20, 1943, the group held the Emergency Conference in New York City, bringing together 1,500 delegates. The Committee was replaced by the American League for a Free Palestine in 1945.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Conditions Governing Reproduction

No restrictions on use

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Rectangular poster stamp on off-white paper with a red printed image and adhesive backing. The top edge is unperforated. The image in the center features a screaming soldier wearing a combat helmet, and holding a submachine gun above his head with his right arm. His left arm is cradling a dying, elderly Jewish man with a manacle and chain around his wrist, and holding onto an elaborate Torah scroll. In front of the pair, at the bottom of the image, are four additional figures: a man with outstretched hands and wearing manacles, a woman with a scarf over her hair holding her dead child, and a sad-looking elderly woman. To the left of the image, in the center, is the artist’s signature and date. The slogan is printed in red across the top and the distributing organization and their address is printed across the bottom.

People

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.