F05_P02: The Holocaust: The Briefaktion “Operation Mail” deception
1944 October 12, Front side - Post card from the Theresienstadt Jewish ghetto to Zurich, Switzerland.
Tan post card with printed text and outline in German using black ink. Cursive handwriting in German using black ink is present. At the top right corner, a dark-red 15-pfennig stamp depicting Adolf Hitler appears. Overtop, a cancellation dated October 12, 1944 is present. At the left, an overprint stamp depicting the Reichsadler symbol in red ink appears. Underneath, an overprint stamp in German text is present.
Name/Title
F05_P02: The Holocaust: The Briefaktion “Operation Mail” deceptionEntry/Object ID
2008.4.85Scope and Content
1944 October 12, post card from the Theresienstadt Jewish ghetto to Zurich, Switzerland.Context
By mid-1944, rumors of the Holocaust had spread beyond the boundaries of the Third Reich. In an attempt to allay them, the Nazis concocted a brazen deception, forcing doomed Jews to write cards to friends and relatives stating that they were safe and in good health, just before they were gassed to death at Auschwitz. They were collected and delivered in batches, usually without postage. But when mail from this operation was addressed to foreign destinations, it was stamped and mailed at Berlin. This September 1, 1944 (date of the message), post card from herta Falkenstein, ostensibly sent from the Theresienstadt Jewish ghetto in Czechoslovakia to Louis Falkenstein at Zurich, Switzerland, was posted and canceled at Berlin six weeks later, on October 12, 1944, and censored at Munich. By then the sender had probably perished. The message reads: My dears We hope that you are healthy, just like us. Write to us frequently. Daddy is sending his best wishes. All the best yours Herta Falkenstein. The black handstamped inscription states, “Reply only on a postcard in the German language, via the Jewish Elders Council of Prague.”Collection
Nazi Scourge II: Five Frame ExhibitCategory
Post Card
Philatelic Material