Censored Prisoner Letter Sheet for Polish Prisoner on First Transport to Auschwitz

Letter in purple ink on Auschwitz lined stationery. Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The first transport to Auschwitz on June 14, 1940 consisted of 728 Polish prisoners, only a few of whom were Jews. They were assigned numbers 31-758. The prisoner- or Schutzhaftling -who wrote this letter, was born in 1917, and had been assigned prisoner number 632. His block number was 10a. His name is difficult to decipher. Only 298 Polish prisoners on the first transport survived the war. Noteworthy on all concentration letter sheets are the printed regulations. While details may have changed over the years of the concentration camp system, these regulations were strictly enforced. While they were an important lifeline for prisoners, they were also formulaic and were not allowed to go into detail about camp life. The following instructions are to be observed in written communications with prisoners: 1. Each month a prisoner may receive from or send to his relatives two letters or 2 postcards. They are to be legible and written in ink with only 15 lines per side. Envelopes must be unsealed. Only five 12 pfennig stamps may be included per side. Everything else is forbidden and subject to seizure. Postcards can have ten lines. Photographs may not be used as postcards. 2. Sending money is permissible. 3. Name, birth date and prison number must be included on all correspondence, as well as the exact name of sender. Errors in the address will mean the item will be returned to sender or destroyed. 4. Only newspapers ordered through the camp post office are acceptable. 5. Packages may not be sent since items may be purchased in the camp. 6. Dismissal requests sent to the administration are useless. 7. Visits to prisoners is forbidden. The Camp Commander Auschwitz Camp censor marking hand stamped rectangular box translated Postal censor /Concentration Camp Auschwitz, Examined: initials of examiner.https://digital.kenyon.edu/bulmash/2033/thumbnail.jp