Collection of postcards - Ship models that returned the United States soldiers at the end of the First World War ...

Collection of postcards - Ship models that returned the United States soldiers at the end of the First World War, published by the Jewish Welfare Board - c. 1919

Jewish Welfare Board Ship Postcards - A collection of 33 postcards (from a series of 51 postcards issued in total) featuring ships used by American soldiers to return to the shores of the United States during World War I. Published by the National Jewish Welfare Board - JWB - All the postcards at the top right - the emblem of the organization - Star of David inside a circle. The postcards were published in the last stages of the war around 1919 - and were intended to be used by the soldiers' families.

It is known that the purpose of distributing the postcards at the time was for the families of the soldiers who were waiting for their loved ones returning from the battlefield on the shores of the United States. On each postcard is drawn one of the ships which was used for this purpose, and its name. The soldier would send his family members a postcard with the name of the ship he would be sailing on, when he arrived in the United States, and by name and shape the family could know when and where that ship was arriving. For example, the famous ship "Matsonia", which appears in the collection, made eight round trips and transferred more than 23,000 returning soldiers. Also  among other, two rare postcards of the "S.S. Agamemnon" ship and the "S.S. Leviathan" ship, which are the only ones in the collection which appeared in vertical format. Among the ships are those purchased by the United States for this purpose, as early as the beginning of the war. 

The Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) was established on April 9, 1917, three days after the United States declared war on Germany, in order to support Jewish soldiers in the U.S. Army during World War I. The organization supervised and maintained Jewish facilities within the United States Army, supported Jewish soldiers, and trained rabbis for military service. After the war, the organization was mainly engaged in social activities, education, and recreational activities.

33 postcards in total. 4 were sent by mail. Two double. Some have stains, or minor fragments. The Zeppelin ship postcard is cut in the left corner. general condition good.