[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
APS Dedicating Holocaust Stamps Exhibit
Museum exhibit of 11 million stamps and postal relics honors the victims of the Holocaust

BELLEFONTE, Pa., May 16, 2023 – The American Philatelic Society, in partnership with Penn State University’s Hillel and the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education Initiative, will formally dedicate the museum exhibit “A Philatelic Memorial of the Holocaust.” The event will be on May 31, 2023, at 6 p.m. at the American Philatelic Center in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

The invitation-only ceremony will include remarks from award-winning filmmaker and director of the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education Initiative Boaz Dvir; Penn State Hillel; American Philatelic Society Executive Director Scott English; and educator Charlotte Sheer, who initiated the Holocaust Stamps Project with her students at Foxborough Regional Charter School. Tours of the exhibit will be offered after the ceremony.

In 2018, K-12 students of Foxborough completed a nine-year project collecting 11 million stamps representing the victims of the Nazi regime. Donations came from Holocaust survivors, their families, and others from 48 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and 29 countries. Known as the Holocaust Stamps Project, the educational initiative included peer-to-peer teaching tools created by students on various aspects of the Holocaust.

The American Philatelic Society built the exhibit “A Philatelic Memorial of the Holocaust” from the Project’s 11 million stamps and educational materials. The exhibit also includes actual postal relics sent to and from concentration camps and ghettos during the Holocaust.

“A 2020 survey showed nearly two-thirds of millennials and Generation Z lacked basic knowledge of the Holocaust,” said Scott English. “This exhibit brings to life the tragedy of the Holocaust using the voices and artifacts of the victims. We have a duty to connect the past to the future so that it never happens again.”

“A postcard mailed from a Poland ghetto might be the only surviving, tangible evidence of the life and death of a Jewish victim of the Nazi regime. To touch history like that makes it real,” said APS exhibit coordinator Susanna Mills. “The American Philatelic Society is proud to safeguard and share those stories told by stamps and postal relics.”

The American Philatelic Center is open to the public for tours on Monday to Friday, 8:30 – 5:00 pm.

A public open house for “A Philatelic Memorial of the Holocaust” will be held on June 11, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the American Philatelic Center. The open house will feature discussions of Holocaust-era postal history, the creation of the exhibit, the founding of the Holocaust Stamps Project, and the importance of human rights education. All are welcome to attend.

About the American Philatelic Society
With members in more than 110 countries, the American Philatelic Society is the largest, non-profit organization for stamp collectors in the world. Founded in 1886, the APS serves collectors, educators, postal historians and the general public by providing a wide variety of programs and services. Resources include the American Philatelic Research Library; the monthly magazine The American Philatelist; stamp authentication services; adult and youth education initiatives; and more at www.stamps.org.

About PSU Hillel and the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education Initiative
The Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education Initiative at Penn State enables K-12 educators to effectively teach difficult topics such as racism and trauma. The Initiative offers sustained and customized professional learning programs and online modules. Through a trauma-informed lens, the Initiative guides teachers in helping students develop insight into the human condition and life skills such as empathy, active listening, critical thinking, civic discourse and agency by applying inquiry approaches to the instruction of difficult topics.

Penn State Hillel is the foundation for Jewish Campus Life at the Pennsylvania State University. Penn State Hillel’s mission is to enrich the lives of the estimated 5,000 Jewish students at Penn State, encouraging students to pursue tzedek (social justice), tikkun olam (repairing the world), and Jewish learning, and to support Israel and global Jewish peoplehood.