BOOK ON COUNTERFEIT HOLOCAUST ARTIFACTS Público Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 4, January 25, 2004, Article 6
BOOK ON COUNTERFEIT HOLOCAUST ARTIFACTS
Michael J. Sullivan submitted the following review of a
new book by Alec Tulkoff on the modern counterfeiting
of artifacts relating to the Holocaust. He writes:"While counterfeiting is a sad reality, particularly in the
context of the Holocaust, it is admirable for someone to
have dedicated 25 years to research this material to
prevent modern day exploitation of one of the worst
chapters in modern history. The book includes some
information on banknotes which may be of interest to
our E-Sylum readers.I found this book to be well written, with great illustrations
and images. It was very informative regarding this interesting
area that is ripe with forgeries. It covers everything from
stamps and currency, to uniforms and markings. Below is an
excerpt from the press release. This book is a reference and
resource guide to help determine the authenticity of these
artifacts, and provides a detailed look at various Holocaust-
related artifacts in a manner that follows the experiences of
the survivors and victims. As an example; the Germans
identified some individuals with outward markings, forced
them to register, pressed them into forced labor, ghettoized,
and eventually deported them to concentration camps or
labor facilities, and due to the different times that these
activities took place in conquered and occupied countries,
they are distinguished here by the action rather than by a
general timeline (for example, Jews in occupied Poland were
forced to wear "Jewish badges" in 1939, while this did not
occur in Germany until 1941). The Holocaust is a difficult
period of history to examine, and although some of the
photographs contained in this book are horrific in nature,
this book in no way trivializes the magnitude of the
Holocaust by discussing the collection and identification of
Holocaust-related artifacts. The issue at hand is the callous
disregard by those who profit from the Holocaust by
manufacturing and selling counterfeit and fake items.
Alec Tulkoff has been a collector of World War II militaria
for the past twenty-five years. Over the past seven years he
has taken an interest in Holocaust history and artifacts.
During the past two years, while working at the SHOAH
Visual History Foundation as a cataloguer, he compiled the
information and materials contained in this book. As a
cataloguer in the Foundation, he had the opportunity to hear
hundreds of first hand Holocaust survivor testimonies. Tulkoff
has worked hard in combating the vast amount of Holocaust
artifact fraud that has spread in the collecting community and
has posted a website dealing with this fraud and also publishes
a quarterly newsletter on this topic. Size:8 1/2" x 11"
Illustrations: over 160 color and b/w photographs Pages:
88 NEW"[Michael was unable to locate the author's web site.
Perhaps we'll have more information next week. Can any
of our readers provide more information on the book?
Thanks. -Editor]- 2004-01-25
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