us-005578-irn42228-irn42780
type: RecordSet
archival history: The postage stamp was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2010 by Elise Kann Jaeger.
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Stamp; perforated rectangular blue frame with transluscent white center;"PERSOONSBEWUS / 50 CEN" printed twice around frame.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: approximately 1942-1944
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: nld
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn42780
is or was included in: us-005578-irn42228
record resource extent: overall: Height: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Width: 1.900 inches (4.826 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Postage stamp for use by Gerry van Heel to forge documents for the Dutch resistance and for Jewish people living in hiding in Eindhoven, Holland. On May 10, 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. By summer 1942, the Germans were deporting Jews to concentration camps. Gerry and his wife Molly aided resistance efforts by hiding wounded English pilots, Dutch Army officers, and Jews. In the fall of 1942, Molly urged her friend, Dora Kann, to go into hiding. Molly and Gerald hid Dora's young daughters, 12 year old Elise and 8 year old Judith; their brothers, 14 year old Otto and 5 year old Jacob, were hidden in different homes. Gerry stole legal identification cards and official administrative stamps and used them to forge ID cards. He replaced the photos and personal information and made his own ink and paper. On September 18, 1944, Eindhoven was liberated by the US 101st Airborne Division. Elise and Dora's mother had died of tuberculosis and their father, Jacob, was killed in Auschwitz-Birkenau. After the war ended in May 1945, Molly sent Elise and Judith to live with their maternal grandmother, Juliette Spanjaard-Polak, where they were reunited with their brothers.
title: Postage stamp for use by a Dutch resistance member to forge identity cards