New Year Illustration, Artwork on Concentration Camp Mail
1943 January 9, Reverse side - Letter with colored artwork from Sachsenhausen concentration camp.
Tan letter with printed text and outline in German using red ink. Cursive handwriting in German using black ink is present. At the center, a depiction of a man in a dark suit and top hat rides atop the back of a pig. The man is carrying a ladder and rides underneath a golden horseshoe. A banner spans the drawing and reads, "Ein gesundes neues Jahr!" or "A happy new year!"
Name/Title
New Year Illustration, Artwork on Concentration Camp MailScope and Content
1943 January 9, letter with colored artwork from Sachsenhausen concentration camp.Context
Nazi concentration camp artwork was a means for prisoners to engage in some sense of normalcy. The art depicted cultural traditions, holidays, landscapes, and tokens of meaning. Art was not to be religious or depict the atrocities of the concentration camps. Those who were found with secretive and inappropriate art were executed or transfered to execution camps. Art on concetration camp mail proved resilience in prisoners and offered hope to themselves and the receipients of the postage.Collection
ArtworkCategory
Letter
Philatelic Material