F05_P09: Concentration Camp Auschwitz
1941 February 28, Front side - Envelope from prisoner number 205 to Tarnów, Poland.
Green envelope with printed German in black ink. Cursive handwriting in black ink is also present. There is a red 12-pfennig stamp depicting President Paul von Hindenburg facing to the left. Overtop, a cancellation from Auschwitz dated February 28, 1941.
Name/Title
F05_P09: Concentration Camp AuschwitzEntry/Object ID
2007.5.9Scope and Content
1941 February 28, envelope from prisoner number 205 to Tarnów, Poland.Context
Just as in Germany and Austria previously, Nazi rule required concentration camps in Poland. Nazi leaders chose the peaceful agrarian village of Oświęcim, located along an important railroad line, as the location for the Auschwitz concentration camp. Auschwitz became synonymous with mass murder, the place where an estimated 1.6 million people were put to death in the Holocaust from 1941 to 1945. Its infamous commandant, Rudolf Höß (Hoess), arrived to establish the facility on April 29, 1940, and the first transport of prisoners, consisting of 708 Poles and 20 Jews from Tarnów, arrived May 30. Auschwitz opened officially on June 14, 1940, and was liberated by the Red Army on January 27, 1945. A February 28, 1941, formular envelope mailed by prisoner number 205 (first transport) to Tarnów. Boxed red censor mark on the back.Collection
Nazi Scourge I: Primary ExhibitionCategory
Cover
Philatelic Material