F10_P12: Holocaust Aftermath: Setting Captives Free Jewish Displaced Persons and the Revival of Zionism
1947 May 2, Front side - Letter from Regina Wejnberg to United Nations Secretary General.
Tan letter with printed text in English and German using black ink. At the top right is a blue 75-pfennig stamp with artistic design and number "75" in the center. Overtop is a cancellation dated May 2, 1947.
Name/Title
F10_P12: Holocaust Aftermath: Setting Captives Free Jewish Displaced Persons and the Revival of ZionismEntry/Object ID
2007.10.12Scope and Content
1947 May 2, letter from Regina Wejnberg to United Nations Secretary General.Context
Jewish survivors faced severe difficulties after liberation, because most had lost their families, their homes, and all their possessions. Before World War II, political Zionism - the desire for a Jewish state in Palestine - was a minority view among the Jews of Europe. After the Holocaust, the majority of Jewish survivors cast their lot with the Zionists. In Displaced Persons camps, an organization called She'erit ha-Peletah (Surviving Remnant) urged Jews to petition Trygve Lie, Secretary General of the United Nations, for passage to Palestine. Printed form letters and pre-addressed envelopes were distributed to facilitate that aim. In the ensuing B'richa ["escape" in Hebrew], a quarter million Jews emigrated to the Holy Land, the largest organized illegal migration in modern times. In a special session, the United Nations voted on November 29, 1947, to partition Palestine into two states, one Jewish and the other Arab. In April 1948, Britain began withdrawing its forces from Palestine, and on May 14 the state of Israel was established, with a proclamation that Jewish immigration would be unrestricted. Allied Control Council 75-pfennig occupation stamp, correct surface postage to the U.S. A May 2, 1947, form letter from Regina Wejnberg, a Jewish former concentration camp inmate at Wetzlar Assembly center 538, United States occupation zone of Germany, to United Nations Secretary General Trygve Lie.Collection
Nazi Scourge I: Primary ExhibitionCategory
Letter
Philatelic Material