Mail into the concentration camps is even rarer than mail sent out by Jews because after it was delivered to the inmates, it was collected and destroyed. The cover shown has the Israel middle name and was sent into Buchenwald. So how did this item survive? My theory is Max “Israel” Steinhauser was arrested on Kristallnacht in November 1938 and was released in June 1939, the same as the cancel on the stamp. Hitler released thousands of Jews a few months after their arrest, requiring them to leave the country. I believe that Mr. Steinhauser was one of those individuals and was able to sneak the letter out of Buchenwald when he left.
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