1943 (3 Sep) Third Reich, Germany, Censored Folded Letter of a Political Resistance Member from Groß-Rosen Concentration Camp to Bohemia and Moravia, Censorship Postmark, More Details in Description

This complete letter represents a rare and historically significant set of prisoners' mail (Häftlingspost) from World War II. It details the correspondence of a Czech political prisoner held in the German concentration camp system.

The letter was sent on September 3, 1943, from the Groß-Rosen concentration camp (located in Lower Silesia, present-day Poland). Because the camp did not have its own independent civil post office, mail was routed through the nearest regional hub, marked "Groß Rosen über Striegau".
The letter was addressed to Marie Vstianská in the village of Drnovice (House No. 106, near Lysice), located in the Nazi-occupied territory of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
The sender is identified as Vlastimil Vstianský (signing affectionately as "Vlastik"). He was classified by the Nazi regime under the euphemistic category of "Schutzhäftling" (protective custody prisoner)—a term used for individuals detained indefinitely without trial, typically for political resistance. He was assigned a relatively low prisoner number, No. 3288, indicating he was imprisoned during the earlier phases of the camp's independent existence. He was assigned to Block 3.

The letter, dated August 29, 1943, was written under strict camp regulations, which are explicitly detailed in the printed header of the stationary:
Language Restriction: Letters had to be written exclusively in German so the SS could read them; illegible or non-German letters were immediately destroyed.

The text shows a striking contrast between the brutal reality of the camp and the mundane topics discussed. Vlastimil asks about family health, local harvests (potatoes and garlic), and photographs taken of the children by a local doctor (Dr. Bobek). He explicitly notes that he does not need money sent to the camp for the next two months. This forced focus on everyday trivialities was a direct result of strict SS censorship; mentioning hunger, forced labor in the granite quarries, or abuse was strictly forbidden.
The purple ink stamp on the front and back ("Postzensurstelle K.L. Groß-Rosen / zensiert") confirms that the letter successfully passed the official SS camp censorship board before being mailed out with a standard 12-pfennig Hitler stamp.

Provenance: Ex Werbizky.