Postage stamp features Brazilian who helped rescue Jews from the Nazis
The stamp with the face of Aracy Moebius de Carvalho Guimaraes Rosa was released on Wednesday
One of Brazil’s two Righteous Among the Nations — non-Jews recognised by the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem for saving Jews from the Nazis — is featured on a new postage stamp in the South American country.
The stamp with the face of Aracy Moebius de Carvalho Guimaraes Rosa, who obtained visas that paved the way for several Jews to take refuge in Brazil, was released on Wednesday. She also is known by the nickname “Angel of Hamburg.”
Aracy de Carvalho served as head of the passport section of the Brazilian consulate in Hamburg, Germany. The Brazilian president at the time, Getulio Vargas, restricted the entry of Jews into the country.
“One of the tactics adopted to camouflage her actions was to omit the letter J, in red, on passports, a mark imposed by the German government as a way of identifying the Jew,” historian Maria Luiza Tucci Carneiro told the UOL news website.
One of Brazil’s two Righteous Among the Nations, Aracy Moebius de Carvalho Guimaraes Rosa, is featured on a new postage stamp of @CorreiosBR. She obtained visas that paved the way for several Jews to take refuge in #Brazil. https://t.co/JeF6WdmMD2 pic.twitter.com/ol0RG0YMtL
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) December 14, 2019
Born in Brazil to a German mother, Aracy de Carvalho moved to Germany in 1936. She took the job at the Brazilian consulate and married assistant consul Joao Guimaraes Rosa, who later would become a famed Brazilian writer with his masterpiece “Grande Sertao: Veredas.”
The couple remained in Germany until 1942, when Brazil broke relations with Germany and joined the Allies. Aracy de Carvalho was recognised by Yad Vashem in 1982. She died in 2011.
Brazil’s other righteous gentile is the diplomat Luiz Martins de Souza Dantas, who worked in France during World War II.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.