F02_P04: Concentration Camp Sachsenhausen Jehovah’s Witness

Archive

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Spungen Family Foundation - Holocaust Postal Collection

1942 September 20, Front side - Letter sent by Wilhelm Becker, a Jehovah's Witness member.: Tan letter with printed text and outline in German using red ink. Cursive handwriting in German using black ink is present. In the bottom left corner is a Hannover official postal stamp. At the top right is a 12-pfennig red stamp of Adolf Hitler facing right. Overtop, a cancellation stamp from Oranienburg dated September 25th, 1942.
1942 September 20, Front side - Letter sent by Wilhelm Becker, a Jehovah's Witness member.

Tan letter with printed text and outline in German using red ink. Cursive handwriting in German using black ink is present. In the bottom left corner is a Hannover official postal stamp. At the top right is a 12-pfennig red stamp of Adolf Hitler facing right. Overtop, a cancellation stamp from Oranienburg dated September 25th, 1942.

Name/Title

F02_P04: Concentration Camp Sachsenhausen Jehovah’s Witness

Entry/Object ID

2007.2.4

Scope and Content

1942 September 20, letter sent by Wilhelm Becker, a Jehovah's Witness member.

Context

Members of the Jehovah's Witnesses religious sect (called Bibelforscher, literally “Bible student” in German) refused to perform military service and to give the Hitler salute. About 10,000 were confined in concentration camps; about 1,200 perished. A notice on this September 20, 1942, lettercard states that the sender, Jehovah’s Witness prisoner Wilhelm Becker, a “fanatical Bible student,” has restricted mail privileges.

Collection

Nazi Scourge I: Primary Exhibition

Category

Registered Letter
Philatelic Material

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Letter

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Correspondence

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Other Documents

Nomenclature Class

Documentary Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Archive Details

Date(s) of Creation

circa 1941 - Sep 1942

Primary Language

German

Ethnography

Cultural Region

Region

Central Europe

Continent

Europe

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Measurement of the full length and width of the archive.

Width

6-1/16 in

Length

8-5/16 in

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Wilhelm Becker, Gliea Becker

Related Places

Place

Nazi Concentration Camp

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, Oranienburg Concentration Camp

State/Province

Brandenburg

Region

Central Europe

Continent

Europe

General Notes

Note Type

Cataloging Note

Note

C. Walrich - Updated (Nov 3 2025) C. Walrich - Updated (Nov 24 2025) C. Walrich - Updated Title (Feb 26 2026) C. Walrich - Back-Up Material (Mar 9 2026) C. Walrich - Updated Description and PDF (Apr 30 2026)