Commemorative envelope honoring World War II bombardier Meyer Levin
Extent and Medium
Overall: Height: 3.625 inches (9.208 cm) | Width: 6.500 inches (16.51 cm)
Creator(s)
- United States. Bureau of Engraving and Printing (Printer)
- Ken Sutak (Compiler)
- Frank Ross Productions (Production Company)
- United States Postal Service (Issuer)
- RKO Radio Pictures (Distributor)
Biographical History
The Cinema Judaica Collection consists of more than 1,200 objects relating to films about World War II and the Holocaust as well as Jewish, Israeli, and biblical subjects, from 1923 to 2000, from the United States, Europe, Israel, Canada, Mexico, and Argentina. The collection was amassed by film memorabilia collector Ken Sutak, to document Holocaust-and Jewish-themed movies of the World War II era and the postwar years. The collection includes posters, lobby and photo cards, scene stills, pressbooks, trade ads, programs, magazines, books, VHS tapes, DVDS, and 78 rpm records. Sutak organized these materials into two groups, “Cinema Judaica: The War Years, 1939–1949” and “Cinema Judaica: The Epic Cycle, 1950–1972” and, in conjunction with the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Museum (now the Dr. Bernard Heller Museum in New York), organized exhibitions on these two themes in 2007 and 2008. Sutak subsequently authored companion books with the same titles.
Archival History
The envelope was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Ken Sutak and Sherri Venokur.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ken Sutak and Sherri Venokur
Scope and Content
Envelope commemorating the Jewish American bombardier, Meyer Levin, whose partnership with Presbyterian pilot Colin Kelly is related in the American short film, “The House I Live In,” starring Frank Sinatra and released by RKO Radio Pictures in November 1945, a few months after the war ended in the Pacific. The film received a special award for Tolerance Short Subject at the 1945 Oscars, and a Golden Globe for Promoting International Tolerance. “The House I Live In” was also added to the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress in 2007. Running at just 11 minutes, the narrative is bookended by Sinatra singing two songs. During a recording break, Sinatra steps outside, stops a group of boys from attacking another boy, and teaches them a lesson on religious and ethnic tolerance. The film incorporates aerial combat footage as he tells the story of the partnership between an American Presbyterian bomber pilot, Colin Kelly, and a Jewish American bombardier, Meyer Levin. The pair were part of the plane crew that bombed the first Japanese warship after the attack on Pearl Harbor. At the time, it was believed the ship sunk. However, the ship remained afloat, but the event boosted American morale, which was at a low after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This object is one of more than 1,200 objects in the Cinema Judaica Collection of materials related to films about World War II and the Holocaust as well as Jewish, Israeli, and biblical themes.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Restrictions on use. Copyright status is unknown.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Rectangular envelope made from cream-colored paper with a commemorative design printed in orange ink. On the left side of the envelope is an illustration depicting portraits of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, separated by two icons, an American flag and two rifles crossed behind a bullseye. Lines of explanatory text are printed above and below the illustration. In the upper right corner of the envelope is a red, perforated postage stamp depicting an artillery cannon partially covered by a rubber-stamped, black ink postmark. In the lower right corner of the envelope is a recipient’s name and address, printed in black ink. The back of the envelope has a triangular flap, and two centered, diagonal adhesive stains. A number is handwritten in each of the bottom corners, one in pencil and one in black ink. The unopened envelope is sealed shut.
front, top right, stamped, black ink : NEW YORK, N.Y. / JUN 5 / 930 PM / 1944 / MADISON SQUARE / STATION front, bottom right, typed, black ink : Dr. George O. Stead / U.S. Naval Academy / Dental Quarters / Annapolis, Md. back, bottom left corner, handwritten, pencil : 98. back, bottom right, handwritten, pencil : ? p back, bottom right corner, handwritten, black ink : 911
People
- Levin, Meyer S., 1916-1943.
- Sinatra, Frank, 1915-1998.
- Kelly, Colin Purdie, 1915-1941.
Subjects
- Executive departments
- Armed Forces in motion pictures.
- Antisemitism in motion pictures.
- Heroes in motion pictures.
- United States.
- Short films.
- Musical films.
Genre
- Office Equipment and Supplies
- Patriotic envelopes.
- Object