Half a set of US poster stamps depicting the Four Freedoms

Identifier
irn7057
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 1992.66.6
Dates
1 Jan 1942 - 31 Dec 1942
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • English
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 2.250 inches (5.715 cm) | Width: 3.000 inches (7.62 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 stamps were acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1992.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection

Scope and Content

Poster stamps distributed in 1944 and 1945 by the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe. The designs were copied from works created in 1942 by Jewish artist, Arthur Szyk, who was inspired by President Roosevelt’s January 1941 State of the Union address (also known as the Four Freedoms Speech). The stamps were used to create public interest in the Committee’s humanitarian efforts. 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 was one of the founding members. Although they were not valid for postage, poster stamps could be affixed to letters and envelopes as fundraising, propaganda, and educational tools. The Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe was founded in 1943 by Peter H. Bergson (pseudonym for Hillel Kook) and other 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

Block of two rectangular poster stamps, separated by perforated edges, on off-white paper with polychrome printed images and an adhesive backing. The left and bottom edges are unperforated. Both stamps bear different images featuring banners with text and the same man in medieval clothing, who has a short, bobbed haircut. In the left image, the man wears a red robe and sits at a table with a feast. The table has a green tablecloth decorated with a red- white-and-blue shield. On the floor next to the table is a brown, ceramic jug and a short table topped with food. In the right image, the man is dressed in armor and sits upon a white warhorse outfitted with an elaborate, tasseled caparison. The man is wearing a flowing, green cape and carrying a large red-white-and-blue shield. In the lower right corner of each image is the artist’s signature and date. The distributing organization and their address is printed in black across the bottom. The colors in each image are misaligned, making the image appear blurry.

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.