F02_P03: Concentration Camp Sachsenhausen, Secret Note
1942 August 16, Front side - Letter from Lorenz Janowski to his wife, Johanna Janowksi with secret note.
Tan letter with printed text and outline in German using red ink. Printed handwriting in pencil is present overall. The top of the letter has the date handwritten with ink as 16 VIII 42. To the right is the secret note written in Polish that was covered with 6-pfennig stamps (not on the archive). Covering the stamps was a cancellation stamp though only the bottom part remains. There is a purple overprint Sachsenhausen stamp at the bottom left.
Name/Title
F02_P03: Concentration Camp Sachsenhausen, Secret NoteEntry/Object ID
2007.2.3Scope and Content
1942 August 16, letter from Lorenz Janowski to his wife, Johanna Janowksi with secret note.Context
Although mail between concentration camp prisoners and their families was limited to one or two letters or cards per month each way, and Nazi censors checked all incoming and outgoing mail, some inmates occasionally managed to slip secret messages past the censors, risking severe punishment. Lorenz Janowski concealed a note to his wife beneath a pair of 6-pfennig stamps on this August 16, 1942, letter. Written in Polish, the secret message acknowledged receipt of clothing and asked for bread. The normal letter inside, written in German as required, contained only the permissible platitudes. Prisoners were allowed to request parcels from their loved ones, but they were not permitted to request specific items.Collection
Nazi Scourge I: Primary ExhibitionCategory
Registered Letter
Philatelic Material