Censored Postcard from Moses Berg, Buchenwald to Ottilie Berg, Beuel

Authors

Object ID

2012.1.22

Object Name

Postcard

Date

1942

Files

Content Warning

The Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection consists of images, documents, and artifacts related to the Holocaust. The collection contains materials that depict a number of topics that may be difficult for viewers to engage with, including: antisemitic descriptions, caricatures, and representation of Jewish people; Nazi imagery and ideology; descriptions and images of German ghettos; graphic images of the violence of the Holocaust; and the creation of the State of Israel. For more information, see our policy page.

Description

Postcard with printed purple postcard lines and handwritten message in purple pencil with a large red X through the front.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

The letter, in neat pencil on two sides of an official camp postcard, contains comments too truthful to have made it past the censor and, indeed, is marked with a large "x" in red grease pencil. Berg writes candidly to his wife, "Thank you for the package. Unfortunately they took the food, because at the time there are many diseases here at the camp. But after an exam, I will receive everything back..." After an illegible line or two, Berg continues: "... Brought him to the hospital yesterday. I guess he has typhus as many others here. Last week we had hundreds of typhus victims... I am well. I am working now at the library. There is at least warmth. The coldness at night is terrible! Can you send me a blanket? (Always send to camp command!!)... Take care... I am looking forward to your next mail. Yours, Moses." Regrettably, Ottilie would never receive this note. In 1943, Berg was sent to Auschwitz, where he died. Ottilie would be sent to Terezin on August 2, 1944, and to Auschwitz on October 6, 1944, where she was gassed on October 26th, 1944. Berg is listed in the German archives.

Dimensions

4 x 5 1/2"

Keywords

Censored, Buchenwald, Beuel, Auschwitz, Terezin, Moses Vandenberg, Ottlie Vanderberg, Moses Berg, Ottlie Berg

Subcollection

Concentration

Recommended Citation

"Censored Postcard from Moses Berg, Buchenwald to Ottilie Berg, Beuel" (1942). Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection. 2012.1.22.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/bulmash/682