1942 (10 Apr) Third Reich, Germany, Censored Postcard of Polish Camp Underground Movement Fighter from Auschwitz Concentration Camp to Wola-Solecka General Gouvernement (Poland), Censorship Postmark, More Details in Description

The image shows a pre-printed, official prisoner postcard (Postkarte) sent from the Auschwitz I concentration camp, dated April 10, 1942 to Wola-Solecka within the German-occupied territory known as the General Government 

The famous sender was Edward "Edet" Ciesielski (Prisoner Number 12969), born on November 16, 1922. At the time of writing, he was held in Block 20 (the prisoner infirmary block).

The postcard is written in German on April 5, 1942, the text contains Easter and Name Day wishes to his family and acquaintances (specifically mentioning the Włodarczyk, Staniszewski, and Maciejek families). It includes the phrase "I am healthy and happy" (Ich bin gesund und munter).
The left side of the postcard lists rigid camp rules enforced by the camp commandant (Der Lagerkommandant). These mandated that mail must be in German, legible, limited in line length, and heavily censored. Phrases indicating well-being were forced upon prisoners; any mention of the true, brutal camp conditions resulted in the immediate destruction of the mail. Partially overlapping the printed regulations, you can see the official censorship stamp applied by the SS postal inspection office (SS-Postprüfstelle) at Auschwitz.

Edward Ciesielski was not an ordinary prisoner, but a key figure in the Polish camp underground movement.
He engaged in anti-Nazi resistance early in the war. Arrested by the Gestapo, he was deported to Auschwitz on April 5, 1941 (exactly one year before writing this postcard). Because he spoke fluent German, he secured administrative jobs, eventually working as a clerk in the Block 20 hospital.
In the camp, Ciesielski joined the ZOW (Military Organization Union), a secret underground network established by the legendary Polish officer Witold Pilecki (who had deliberately allowed himself to be captured to infiltrate Auschwitz and report on Nazi atrocities).
By early 1943, the SS camp Gestapo was closing in on the resistance leaders. Pilecki decided to break out to personally deliver reports of the mass extermination to the Polish Home Army. He selected two trusted companions for the escape: Jan Redzej and Edward Ciesielski.
On the night of April 26–27, 1943, the three men were assigned to a night shift at a secured SS bakery located just outside the inner camp fence. They cut the telephone wires, quietly unlocked a heavily secured door, overpowered a guard, and escaped into the night under heavy gunfire.
Despite a massive manhunt, all three safely reached Warsaw. Ciesielski rejoined the active Polish resistance and managed to survive World War II. After the war, he published memoirs detailing his time in Auschwitz and his historic escape alongside Pilecki.

Provenance: Ex Werbizky