Lot 42265 – INTRODUCTION THE ERIC WEISSENBERG COLLECTION OF

INTRODUCTION THE ERIC WEISSENBERG COLLECTION OF HOLOCAUST MAIL AND COLLATERAL ITEMS. An exceptional and most extensive collection of holocaust mail and collateral items from the period 1939 to 1945 housed in 23 albums. Already in 1933, the Nazi regime had established the first concentration camp. The system grew to include about 100 camps divided into two types: camps for slave labour working in nearby factories and death camps for the systematic extermination of Jews and others such as Gypsies, homosexuals, political opponents and mentally disabled. Only a limited amount of mail was allowed to be sent and received by prisoners at Nazi concentration camps. These letters were subject to a severe scrutiny of regulations. Generally, letters had to be written in German, censored by camp personnel and sent on special pre-printed stationery. Sending money was permitted but packages was not. In theory, the inmates were allowed to send or receive two letters and cards each month, but this allowance was frequently suspended arbitrarily and without notice. Newspapers were permitted but only if ordered through the concentration camp post office. Needless to say that requests to speak to or visit prisoners were prohibited. The exceptional assembly of this wide range of items not only make tangible the ordeal of the persecuted within the camps but also show all the propaganda which lead to the holocaust. Over 1’800 items of great historical importance and philatelic value