Auction 78 - Rare and Important Items
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Auction 78 - Rare and Important Items
May 25, 2021
Opening: $2,000
Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000
Sold for: $2,500
Including buyer's premium
Some 90 postcards related to the Dreyfus affair. Various publishers, France, Germany, Italy and elsewhere, late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most with undivided backs.
The collection includes postcards issued by Dreyfus's supporters and postcards by anti-Dreyfusards, featuring caricatures, illustrations and photographs. Including: portraits of Dreyfus, Emile Zola, Esterhazy and other figures related to the affair; antisemitic caricatures; a hand-colored postcard printed on high-quality paper (numbered: no. 66/100); a postcard printed in French Guinea, near Devil's Island, the French penal colony, with a drawing of Dreyfus's hut on the island (drawn by hand); and more.
Many Dreyfus-related postcards, featuring various photographs and illustrations, were printed during the duration of the Affair, some siding with Dreyfus, and others against him. The postcards gained popularity, served as an important propaganda tool and were instrumental in forming public opinion.
Approx. 90 postcards, including duplicates. Approx. 30 postcards were used. Condition varies.
Enclosed: a printed anti-Dreyfusard card. One side features four portraits – incriminators of Dreyfus in the affair; the other side features an advertisement for toothpaste.
The collection includes postcards issued by Dreyfus's supporters and postcards by anti-Dreyfusards, featuring caricatures, illustrations and photographs. Including: portraits of Dreyfus, Emile Zola, Esterhazy and other figures related to the affair; antisemitic caricatures; a hand-colored postcard printed on high-quality paper (numbered: no. 66/100); a postcard printed in French Guinea, near Devil's Island, the French penal colony, with a drawing of Dreyfus's hut on the island (drawn by hand); and more.
Many Dreyfus-related postcards, featuring various photographs and illustrations, were printed during the duration of the Affair, some siding with Dreyfus, and others against him. The postcards gained popularity, served as an important propaganda tool and were instrumental in forming public opinion.
Approx. 90 postcards, including duplicates. Approx. 30 postcards were used. Condition varies.
Enclosed: a printed anti-Dreyfusard card. One side features four portraits – incriminators of Dreyfus in the affair; the other side features an advertisement for toothpaste.
Category
Antisemitism, The Holocaust and She'erit Hapletah
Catalogue
Auction 78 - Rare and Important Items
May 25, 2021
Opening: $5,000
Estimate: $10,000 - $20,000
Unsold
Two postcards handwritten by Mala Zimetbaum. Sent from Auschwitz-Birkenau (one from the punishment barracks) to Antwerp, [1942-1944]; five photographs of Mala taken before her deportation to Auschwitz.
1-2. Two postcards written by Mala Zimetbaum in Auschwitz-Birkenau, addressed to a friend in Antwerp (written in German). One postcard was sent from Block 11 (the punishment barracks) in Auschwitz I, presumably in 1944, after Mala's escape from the camp, before her execution.
In her letters, Mala laconically reports on her situation and inquires about her family: "You are surely glad to receive a sign of life from me… I am healthy and think about you a lot, and hope to hear good news from you"; "I already wrote to your parents… but I did not receive a reply. Please write to me where my dear parents are". The postcards were clearly written under the constraints of censorship.
The postcards were written in pen and pencil, and bear various inked stamps. One bears a German postage stamp with a picture of Hitler.
3-7. Five group photographs featuring Mala Zimetbaum; taken before her deportation to Auschwitz.
Mala (Malka) Zimetbaum (1922-1944) was born in Poland. As a child, her family relocated to Antwerp. In 1942, some two years after Belgium was conquered by the Germans, she was deported to the Kazerne Dossin transit camp in Mechelen, from where she was transported to Auschwitz. After the initial selection, she was sent to the women's camp at Birkenau. Due to her proficiency in languages – German, Flemish, French, Italian and Polish – she was assigned work as a translator, a position which gave her a certain freedom of movement, and helped her earn the trust of both the S.S. guards and the inmates. Unlike other prisoners who held official positions in the camp, Mala did not abuse her privileged standing. Testimonies of her activities in the camp depict her as a courageous, generous woman, who attempted to help the camp inmates to the best of her ability, at great risk to her life. According to several reports, Mala was involved in underground activities in Auschwitz – smuggling arms and money from "Kanada" (the camp's warehouses, used to store the stolen belongings of prisoners) into the camp itself, accumulating documents providing proof of the extermination in order to reveal to the world the Nazi crimes (as two other inmates who escaped Auschwitz successfully – Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, likewise did).
On Saturday, 24th June 1944, Zimetbaum succeeded in escaping the camp together with her partner Edek Galinski, a Polish political prisoner. There are several different accounts of their escape, including a first-hand testimony delivered by Raya Kagan during the Eichmann trial, as well as a hearsay testimony recorded in the book The Drowned and the Saved by Primo Levi. The facts in both testimonies are similar: Mala and Edek escaped together, disguised as S.S. guards (it is uncertain whether they smuggled documents out of the camp attesting to the mass-murder taking place there). Two weeks later, they were caught by the Slovakian border control and were taken to Block 11 in Auschwitz I, the punishment barracks, where they were tortured. They were later returned to Birkenau and executed at the same time.
Raya Kagan reported in her testimony that she came close to Mala's barrack while she was awaiting interrogation, and inquired how she was, "serenely and heroically she said, somewhat ironically: 'I am always well'".
The prisoners were assembled to witness Mala's execution. Reputedly, Mala succeeded in disrupting the execution. She smuggled a razor, which she used to cut her veins while she was being brought to the gallows. When a S.S. guard tried to stop her, she slapped him in the face with her bloody hand, proclaiming "I will die like a hero, and you will die like a dog".
Two postcards, 10.5X15 cm. Fair-poor condition. Closed and open tears to margins, slightly affecting text. Tears across both postcards; one postcard torn into two. Wear. Text partially faded and difficult to read.
Three photographs – approx. 6X9 cm; two photographs – approx. 14X9 cm (with postcard backs). Good condition. Minor blemishes.
1-2. Two postcards written by Mala Zimetbaum in Auschwitz-Birkenau, addressed to a friend in Antwerp (written in German). One postcard was sent from Block 11 (the punishment barracks) in Auschwitz I, presumably in 1944, after Mala's escape from the camp, before her execution.
In her letters, Mala laconically reports on her situation and inquires about her family: "You are surely glad to receive a sign of life from me… I am healthy and think about you a lot, and hope to hear good news from you"; "I already wrote to your parents… but I did not receive a reply. Please write to me where my dear parents are". The postcards were clearly written under the constraints of censorship.
The postcards were written in pen and pencil, and bear various inked stamps. One bears a German postage stamp with a picture of Hitler.
3-7. Five group photographs featuring Mala Zimetbaum; taken before her deportation to Auschwitz.
Mala (Malka) Zimetbaum (1922-1944) was born in Poland. As a child, her family relocated to Antwerp. In 1942, some two years after Belgium was conquered by the Germans, she was deported to the Kazerne Dossin transit camp in Mechelen, from where she was transported to Auschwitz. After the initial selection, she was sent to the women's camp at Birkenau. Due to her proficiency in languages – German, Flemish, French, Italian and Polish – she was assigned work as a translator, a position which gave her a certain freedom of movement, and helped her earn the trust of both the S.S. guards and the inmates. Unlike other prisoners who held official positions in the camp, Mala did not abuse her privileged standing. Testimonies of her activities in the camp depict her as a courageous, generous woman, who attempted to help the camp inmates to the best of her ability, at great risk to her life. According to several reports, Mala was involved in underground activities in Auschwitz – smuggling arms and money from "Kanada" (the camp's warehouses, used to store the stolen belongings of prisoners) into the camp itself, accumulating documents providing proof of the extermination in order to reveal to the world the Nazi crimes (as two other inmates who escaped Auschwitz successfully – Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, likewise did).
On Saturday, 24th June 1944, Zimetbaum succeeded in escaping the camp together with her partner Edek Galinski, a Polish political prisoner. There are several different accounts of their escape, including a first-hand testimony delivered by Raya Kagan during the Eichmann trial, as well as a hearsay testimony recorded in the book The Drowned and the Saved by Primo Levi. The facts in both testimonies are similar: Mala and Edek escaped together, disguised as S.S. guards (it is uncertain whether they smuggled documents out of the camp attesting to the mass-murder taking place there). Two weeks later, they were caught by the Slovakian border control and were taken to Block 11 in Auschwitz I, the punishment barracks, where they were tortured. They were later returned to Birkenau and executed at the same time.
Raya Kagan reported in her testimony that she came close to Mala's barrack while she was awaiting interrogation, and inquired how she was, "serenely and heroically she said, somewhat ironically: 'I am always well'".
The prisoners were assembled to witness Mala's execution. Reputedly, Mala succeeded in disrupting the execution. She smuggled a razor, which she used to cut her veins while she was being brought to the gallows. When a S.S. guard tried to stop her, she slapped him in the face with her bloody hand, proclaiming "I will die like a hero, and you will die like a dog".
Two postcards, 10.5X15 cm. Fair-poor condition. Closed and open tears to margins, slightly affecting text. Tears across both postcards; one postcard torn into two. Wear. Text partially faded and difficult to read.
Three photographs – approx. 6X9 cm; two photographs – approx. 14X9 cm (with postcard backs). Good condition. Minor blemishes.
Category
Antisemitism, The Holocaust and She'erit Hapletah
Catalogue
Auction 78 - Rare and Important Items
May 25, 2021
Opening: $15,000
Estimate: $20,000 - $25,000
Unsold
Collection of documents from the Holocaust, mostly travel papers, documenting The journey of Hersz Praszkier (Hersh Prashker) from occupied Poland to the Far East; including life-saving visas issued by the Righteous Among the Nations Chiune Sugihara and Jan Zwartendijk, rare visas from the Japanese authorities and documents issued by the Jewish community in the Far East. Europe, Japan and China, 1939-1942. Japanese, Polish, English and some German.
The collection includes:
Sugihara's visa: document issued to Praszkier, confirming his Polish citizenship (presumably issued by the British legation in Lithuania as a replacement for a passport), containing two visas: a transit visa via Japan issued by Chiune Sugihara, dated 5.8.1940, stamped with Sugihara's stamp and other stamps (with the addition of some Japanese script); entry visa to the Dutch colonies in South America issued by Jan Zwartendijk, with his hand signature, dated 1.8.1940.
Chiune Sugihara (1900-1986) was a Japanese diplomat who served as vice-consul for Japan in Kaunas during the Holocaust. Between July and September 1940, he issued over 2000 transit visas via Japan, which saved the lives of the recipients and their families (according to some estimates, some 10,000 people were saved thanks to these visas). Sugihara issued these visas during a period of three months, defying the orders of his superiors and ignoring the required criteria, until the closure of the embassy. Even after boarding the train to leave Kaunas, he continued issuing improvised visas and threw them through the window to the crowds waiting on the platform.
About half of the visas issued by Sugihara included another life-saving visa, issued by Jan Zwartendijk (1896-1976), Dutch consul in Kaunas. These visas were issued to Jews whose passports did not have an entry visa to a third country (the Japanese visas were only valid for transit via Japan, and an additional entry visa was required), and stated that the holder was allowed to enter Dutch colonies in South America. These Dutch visas allowed Sugihara to issue transit visas to Jews who did not have any other entry visas. With the closure of the Dutch consulate, Zwartendijk destroyed evidence of his activities. Sugihara and Zwartendijk were bestowed the title of Righteous Among the Nations for their WWII activities.
Already during the war, Sugihara handed his superiors a list of the recipients of the visas he issued, containing 2139 names ("Sugihara's list"). The present visa is listed 1048.
Ten documents from Praszkier's journey through the Far East, issued in Japan and China by the Japanese authorities, the Jewish community and the Polish embassy: • Permit for stay in Japan, printed on a bilingual form (English and Japanese), and filed-in by hand in Japanese, issued on 3.4.1941. Numbered 2703. • Official notification from the Jewish Community of Kobe (Ashkenazim): "Your permit to stay in this Country has been handed… to the Police Authorities here to arrange for the permit's further extension". Stamped and signed by the secretary of the community. 19.8.1941. (English). • Authorization with the rare stamp of the Jewish community: "The Jewish Community in Kobe (Ashkenazim), Kobe District" – presumably a ticket for a train journey, issued by the head of the Department for Foreign Affairs in the Hyogo district (Japan). • Polish consular passport issued to Praszkier in Tokyo, on 9.12.1941, with the stamp of the Polish embassy in Tokyo and Shanghai. • Transit visa or pass issued by the Japanese authorities in Shanghai, with a passport photograph of Praszkier. • Two receipts from the Committee for Assistance of Jewish Refugees from Eastern Europe (established in 1938 by the leaders of the community of Jewish refugees in Shanghai). June-July 1942. • And more.
Three documents documenting Praszkier's escape from Poland with the outbreak of the war: • Exit permit from Włocławek (Poland), signed by the region commander and dated 5.10.1939 (approximately one month after the town was captured by Nazi Germany). • Exit permit from Ciechanów (Poland), signed by the region commander and with a Nazi German inked-stamp, 14.10.1939. • Authorization issued by the Committee for Aid to Refugees in Vilna, confirming that Praszkier was listed as refugee 4474. With the inked stamp of the Jewish community in Vilna. 26.10.1939.
Six documents pertaining to the death and burial of Praszkier in Shanghai, 1944: • Form from the Kitchenfund Hospital, confirming Praszkier's admittance to the hospital and the diagnosis of typhus (1944). • Death certificate under Praszkier's name issued by the Chevra Kaddisha in Shanghai, confirming that Praszkier was buried on 15.5.1944 in the Baikal Road Jewish cemetery (1944). • Contract for the preparation of Praszkier's tombstone (1945). • Handwritten note, containing two versions of Praszkier's epitaph (Hebrew). • And more. Some documents mention the name of the Jewish refugee Hinda Milgrom (this surname also appears in Sugihara's list), Praszkier's wife in Shanghai, who took care of his burial arrangements.
Altogether 20 documents. Size and condition vary.
Enclosed: photograph and thirteen personal documents of Praszkier from before the war (mostly in Polish), and an identity card issued for Hinda Milgrom in Shanghai.
The collection includes:
Sugihara's visa: document issued to Praszkier, confirming his Polish citizenship (presumably issued by the British legation in Lithuania as a replacement for a passport), containing two visas: a transit visa via Japan issued by Chiune Sugihara, dated 5.8.1940, stamped with Sugihara's stamp and other stamps (with the addition of some Japanese script); entry visa to the Dutch colonies in South America issued by Jan Zwartendijk, with his hand signature, dated 1.8.1940.
Chiune Sugihara (1900-1986) was a Japanese diplomat who served as vice-consul for Japan in Kaunas during the Holocaust. Between July and September 1940, he issued over 2000 transit visas via Japan, which saved the lives of the recipients and their families (according to some estimates, some 10,000 people were saved thanks to these visas). Sugihara issued these visas during a period of three months, defying the orders of his superiors and ignoring the required criteria, until the closure of the embassy. Even after boarding the train to leave Kaunas, he continued issuing improvised visas and threw them through the window to the crowds waiting on the platform.
About half of the visas issued by Sugihara included another life-saving visa, issued by Jan Zwartendijk (1896-1976), Dutch consul in Kaunas. These visas were issued to Jews whose passports did not have an entry visa to a third country (the Japanese visas were only valid for transit via Japan, and an additional entry visa was required), and stated that the holder was allowed to enter Dutch colonies in South America. These Dutch visas allowed Sugihara to issue transit visas to Jews who did not have any other entry visas. With the closure of the Dutch consulate, Zwartendijk destroyed evidence of his activities. Sugihara and Zwartendijk were bestowed the title of Righteous Among the Nations for their WWII activities.
Already during the war, Sugihara handed his superiors a list of the recipients of the visas he issued, containing 2139 names ("Sugihara's list"). The present visa is listed 1048.
Ten documents from Praszkier's journey through the Far East, issued in Japan and China by the Japanese authorities, the Jewish community and the Polish embassy: • Permit for stay in Japan, printed on a bilingual form (English and Japanese), and filed-in by hand in Japanese, issued on 3.4.1941. Numbered 2703. • Official notification from the Jewish Community of Kobe (Ashkenazim): "Your permit to stay in this Country has been handed… to the Police Authorities here to arrange for the permit's further extension". Stamped and signed by the secretary of the community. 19.8.1941. (English). • Authorization with the rare stamp of the Jewish community: "The Jewish Community in Kobe (Ashkenazim), Kobe District" – presumably a ticket for a train journey, issued by the head of the Department for Foreign Affairs in the Hyogo district (Japan). • Polish consular passport issued to Praszkier in Tokyo, on 9.12.1941, with the stamp of the Polish embassy in Tokyo and Shanghai. • Transit visa or pass issued by the Japanese authorities in Shanghai, with a passport photograph of Praszkier. • Two receipts from the Committee for Assistance of Jewish Refugees from Eastern Europe (established in 1938 by the leaders of the community of Jewish refugees in Shanghai). June-July 1942. • And more.
Three documents documenting Praszkier's escape from Poland with the outbreak of the war: • Exit permit from Włocławek (Poland), signed by the region commander and dated 5.10.1939 (approximately one month after the town was captured by Nazi Germany). • Exit permit from Ciechanów (Poland), signed by the region commander and with a Nazi German inked-stamp, 14.10.1939. • Authorization issued by the Committee for Aid to Refugees in Vilna, confirming that Praszkier was listed as refugee 4474. With the inked stamp of the Jewish community in Vilna. 26.10.1939.
Six documents pertaining to the death and burial of Praszkier in Shanghai, 1944: • Form from the Kitchenfund Hospital, confirming Praszkier's admittance to the hospital and the diagnosis of typhus (1944). • Death certificate under Praszkier's name issued by the Chevra Kaddisha in Shanghai, confirming that Praszkier was buried on 15.5.1944 in the Baikal Road Jewish cemetery (1944). • Contract for the preparation of Praszkier's tombstone (1945). • Handwritten note, containing two versions of Praszkier's epitaph (Hebrew). • And more. Some documents mention the name of the Jewish refugee Hinda Milgrom (this surname also appears in Sugihara's list), Praszkier's wife in Shanghai, who took care of his burial arrangements.
Altogether 20 documents. Size and condition vary.
Enclosed: photograph and thirteen personal documents of Praszkier from before the war (mostly in Polish), and an identity card issued for Hinda Milgrom in Shanghai.
Category
Antisemitism, The Holocaust and She'erit Hapletah
Catalogue
Auction 78 - Rare and Important Items
May 25, 2021
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000
Sold for: $3,500
Including buyer's premium
Babylonian Talmud – complete set. Munich-Heidelberg, 1948. "Published by the Union of Rabbis in the American Occupation Zone in Germany".
After WWII, the demand for Talmud and holy books by surviving Jews congregated in the DP camps exceeded the few copies that were available for the refugees. From 1946, the Union of Rabbis in Germany, with the assistance of the American army and the JDC, began to print volumes of Talmud for survivors. At first, only a few tractates were printed in various formats. In 1948, the present edition – a complete edition of the Talmud – was printed for the first time. Each volume contains two title pages. The first title page was especially designed to commemorate the printing of the Talmud on the scorched soil of Germany; on its upper part is an illustration of a Jewish town with the caption "From slavery to redemption and from darkness to great light"; on its lower part is an illustration of barbed wire fences and a labor camp, with the captions: "Labor camp in Germany during Nazi era", "They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts" (Psalms 119).
19 volumes. 39 cm. Brittle paper in some volumes. Overall good condition. Stains. Creases and tears to several leaves, with no damage or loss to text. Original bindings and spines, with minor damage.
After WWII, the demand for Talmud and holy books by surviving Jews congregated in the DP camps exceeded the few copies that were available for the refugees. From 1946, the Union of Rabbis in Germany, with the assistance of the American army and the JDC, began to print volumes of Talmud for survivors. At first, only a few tractates were printed in various formats. In 1948, the present edition – a complete edition of the Talmud – was printed for the first time. Each volume contains two title pages. The first title page was especially designed to commemorate the printing of the Talmud on the scorched soil of Germany; on its upper part is an illustration of a Jewish town with the caption "From slavery to redemption and from darkness to great light"; on its lower part is an illustration of barbed wire fences and a labor camp, with the captions: "Labor camp in Germany during Nazi era", "They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts" (Psalms 119).
19 volumes. 39 cm. Brittle paper in some volumes. Overall good condition. Stains. Creases and tears to several leaves, with no damage or loss to text. Original bindings and spines, with minor damage.
Category
Antisemitism, The Holocaust and She'erit Hapletah
Catalogue