HOLOCAUST ARTIFACTS BOOK WEB SITE Público Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 5, February 1, 2004, Article 20
HOLOCAUST ARTIFACTS BOOK WEB SITE
Chris Fuccione reports that the address of the web site
for the book by Alec S. Tulkoff which Michael Sullivan
discussed last week is holocaust artifacts.
The book was published in 2000.Michael J. Sullivan adds: "To clarify, I didn't write the
summary. It came from an E-Bay Listing ! The book
is for sale at Amazon as well."Ron Haller-Williams found the web site, too. He writes:
"There is a link to the author's description of the book at
holocaustartifacts.com/book.htmBTW, the bibliographic data was incomplete. So I quote
in full: "Counterfeiting The Holocaust: A Historical And
Archival Examination Of Holocaust Artifacts ISBN:
0-7643-1109-3 Size: 8 1/2" x 11" 88 Pages
$19.95 + S/H Illustrations: over 160 color and b/w
photographs and maps. Copyright © [July] 2000 Alec S.
Tulkoff [softbound] Schiffer Publishing Ltd
(http://www.schifferbooks.com)"On the site are links to pictures and explanatory background
of several fake items, and to an essay entitled "Who Is
Selling This Stuff And Why?" Also an e-mail link if you
want to buy the book."[The author also publishes an email newsletter on the topic:
"After completing the manuscript for my book, I continued
to monitor the counterfeits and fakes being sold on the Internet.
The large number of such items continuously appearing for
sale and auction led me to start a Newsletter dealing with
the topic.I felt it necessary to keep on top of the ever changing
counterfeit material showing up on the market. With each
new discovery or display of original artifacts brought
about the quick manufacture and distribution of
counterfeits. "
-Editor]Bill Rosenblum adds: "However please be aware the site
was last updated in January of 2002, two years ago.I have not read the book although I know it should be in
my library. I spoke with the author sometime before he
wrote the book and I was not impressed with his
numismatic knowledge. At one time his website had a
well known fake Buchenwald note shown under the genuine
items. I tried to find some coins on the website, I saw the
word once but could not find it again.From others I have spoken with I have been told that the
author is a well meaning and serious collector who was
"burnt" badly a few times on some Holocaust artifacts he
purchased. This led him to write his book and his newsletter.
However, at times he has accused well known and
knowledgeable dealers who have handled this material for
30 years with selling fakes (mostly non numismatic).
Anyone can write a book.My thoughts about the book and the website are not
meant to denigrate the book or the idea behind it. In the
early 1970's when I first started to handle this material there
was very little written about it. Most of what I learned about
the field was through reading the few works available,
talking with the few people who handled it and collected it
and speaking with the few survivors who would speak
about their experiences.Arlie Slabaugh had a small section in his POW money
pamphlet and there were some articles in the notgeld
newsletter by (I believe) David Atsimony. I'm writing this
note off the top of my head so some of the titles and
authors may be wrong. Those were in the 1960's. In 1973
Sam Simon published Handbook of the mail in the
concentration camps 1933-1945 which was mainly a postal
history but did have some numismatic information. In the
1970's more information started to appear in the first
book by Albert Pick and Carl Siemsen as well as in The
Shekel, the International Bank Not Society Journal. Also,
some articles appeared in both the newsletter of the very
short-lived Judaic Syngraphic Collectors Association and
one or two in my own house organ, the Judaic Numismatic
Newsletter. In the early 80's, two issues of The Shekel were
devoted to Numismatics of the Holocaust. Since then many
other works have appeared including, but not limited to books
by Campbell, Schwan & Boling, Franquinent, Stahl and
Burke. I'm sure I left some out.This is a very serious and important field in numismatics
as paper money (and a few metal tokens) were used in
both Ghettos and concentration camps. The Nazis did not
just murder millions of Jews (and many others) but they
used them up first. The use of money and the accompanying
financial documents show just how depraved they were and
also show the determination of the inmates and residents of
the camps and Ghettos to try to survive. Like all fields of
numismatics there are unscrupulous people who try to exploit
the novice collector. Know your source and learn for yourself.
For those of you who see me at the few shows I still set up
at, I usually have a small group of counterfeit concentration
camp notes which I do not sell but I will show any or are
interested. Unfortunately some of the more common examples
still show up at flea markets in the mid-west.Please excuse any rambling that went on above. This is an
area that I feel very strongly about. About 50 years ago I met
my cousin "Willie" at a family function. He just sat in a corner,
looking slightly out of it and never spoke a word. I remember
that and the numbers tattooed on his wrist. I was about 8 years
old but I still recall those details and I never saw him again.
And nobody said a word about him."[My only encounter with a survivor was Mr. Steiner, a man in
the neighborhood where I grew up. I delivered newspapers to
his home, where he lived with his wife. I noticed the number
tattooed on his arm. I was about 13, but knew immediately
what it meant. I could never bring myself to ask him about it.
-Editor]- 2004-02-01
- 7