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US poster stamp encouraging people to donate to a humanitarian organization

Object | Accession Number: 2017.227.12

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    US poster stamp encouraging people to donate to a humanitarian organization
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    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    First-issue poster stamp, distributed in 1944 by the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe. The design is copied from a piece entitled, “Modern Moses,” created in 1943 by Jewish artist, Arthur Szyk, to develop public interest in the Committee’s humanitarian efforts. The image depicts Moses, a role model for the Zionist movement. He is flanked by a Jewish soldier prepared to fight, and an industrial worker, ready to contribute to the war economy. All three figures serve as inspiration for American Jews to make their own contributions to the war effort. 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 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.
    Date
    issue:  1944 February-1945 June 27
    designed:  1943
    Geography
    issue: New York (N.Y.)
    distribution: United States.
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Gregg and Michelle Philipson
    Markings
    front, top, printed, brown ink : SAVE HUMAN LIVES
    front, bottom, printed, brown ink : EMERGENCY COMMITTEE TO SAVE / THE JEWISH PEOPLE OF EUROPE / 1 E. 44TH ST., NEW YORK 17, N.Y.
    front, bottom right corner of image, printed, brown ink : S.A. No / UNION / L.I.P.&.B.A / LABEL / NEW YORK / REGISTERED / 142
    Signature
    front, bottom left corner of image, brown ink : Arthur Szyk / N.Y. 44.
    Contributor
    Distributor: Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe, Inc.
    Designer: Arthur Szyk
    Biography
    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.

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Classification
    Posters
    Object Type
    Poster stamps (lcsh)
    Genre/Form
    Stamps.
    Physical Description
    Rectangular poster stamp on beige paper with a brown printed image and adhesive backing. The left and bottom edges are perforated while the top and right edges are not. The image in the center features three figures. On the left is a Jewish soldier with a prayer shawl around his shoulders, wearing a combat helmet, and holding a rifle. In the center is a long-bearded Moses with his arms raised and one finger pointing to the right. On the right is an industrial worker carrying a large wrench on his shoulder. In the lower left corner of the image is the artist’s signature and date. At the lower right corner is a small, oval logo. The slogan is printed in brown across the top and the distributing organization and their address is printed across the bottom. A small patch of adhesive is missing from the back.
    Dimensions
    overall: Height: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Width: 1.625 inches (4.128 cm)
    Materials
    overall : paper, ink, adhesive

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    No restrictions on access
    Conditions on Use
    No restrictions on use

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The stamp was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2017 by Gregg Philipson.
    Record last modified:
    2024-10-03 11:58:06
    This page:
    http:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn562710

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