Pre-overprinted parcel card for civilian internees

Preserved concentration camp mail is rare, but parcel cards are even rarer. I have encountered them only for a few parcels, all addressed to major camps in Italy. Most were returned to the sender because the addressee was unavailable—either transferred to another camp or deceased.

Recently, I discovered an intriguing parcel card pre-overprinted with the Italian Red Cross symbol and with some fields already prefilled in red. The field "Valore" (= Value) contains the inscription: "Pacco per prigioniero internato civile di guerra" (= Parcel for Interned Civilian Prisoner of War). The overprint was done using the letterpress technique, suggesting a large circulation. However, to date, I have only come across this single example.

Ljubljana Province, parcel card, pre-overprinted for Red Cross usage, for a 5kg parcel, sent from Ljubljana to Concentration Camp Arbe. The parcel was handed over to Ljubljana 2 Post Office on 9.11.42 and forwarded on 11.11.42. It passed through customs in Trieste on 13.11.42 and was delivered to the Arbe Post Office and the Concentration Camp on 17.11.42. However, because the addressee was unavailable, the parcel was marked for return to Ljubljana with the manuscript annotation "Al Mittente Retour Lubiana." The parcel returned to Ljubljana 2 Post Office on 26.12.42 and transferred to Ljubljana 1 Post Office on 28.12.42 with the label "Esente da diritti doganali / Prosto carine" (= Free of customs). On 29.12.42, a warehousing fee of 80 cents was applied before it was handed over to a representative of the Red Cross.

Political confinement - Pisticci

Political confinement was a specific form of repression used by the Italian authorities during WWII against Slovenes, particularly those who were considered politically dangerous or suspicious. Unlike internment, which involved the mass imprisonment of people in camps, confinement was an individual measure where individuals were forcibly relocated to remote towns or villages in Italy, where they were under constant police supervision. Confinees were not placed in camps, but their movements and communication with the outside world were strictly limited, with their mail being closely monitored and censored.

30 cent Stationery, sent from Bonifico di Pisticci, MA (5.3.42) to Ljubljana. Censored in Pisticci "CONFINO POLITICO PISTICCI / VERIFICATO PER CENSURA" and in Ljubljana "Commisione provinciale di censura / LUBIANA".

Pisticci is located in the far south of Italy, more than 1100 kilometers from Ljubljana.

Getting help from AI

I was at a local philatelic meeting today. As always, it was nice to meet fellow philatelists and browse through piles of letters, stationery and stamps. 

The lively event at the meeting.

Among other things, I also found interesting military stationery from the Second World War sent from a 331st Special Work Battalion. 

Military stationery sent from the 331. Compagnia Speciale Lavoratori (= 331st Special Work Battalion).

On the other side of the stationery is written date 12.9.43 and the illegibly written name of the city. I started looking for information about this battalion, but since it is a narrow area and a rare example, I needed help finding something concrete. I could not even decipher the name of the city. So I decided to try the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Below is a conversation between me and an OpenAI chat system that impressed me.

A conversation between me and the OpenAI chat system helped me discover the city from where the stationery was sent. 

Palermo Court Prison

So far, I have not found any relevant information about the Palermo Court Prison. Concluding from the stationery below, this prison also served as a transit point before being transferred to Ustica concentration camp...

Stationery, written in Palermo Court Prison (15.III.42), censored by prison censor (17.MAR.42) and sent through Palermo Ferrovia (18.III.42) to Split. From the message: "... I am in the transit for the Ustica concentration camp ...".

POW Camp Osnabrück

Oflag VI C in Osnabrück (Lower Saxony, Germany) was an officer's camp of Yugoslav prisoners of war with about 6000 officers captured in 1941. Most were imprisoned until the end of WWII. After the capitulation of Germany on May 9, 1945, the officers remained in the camp for a long time. The main reason was the logistical difficulties in returning to Yugoslavia, as well as the fact that not all officers wanted to return to the country where communism came to power. Ex-inmates continued to live in the camp, so they organized their own rules...

Identification card, issued by ex-inmates of Oflag VI C POW camp in Osnabrück (20.V.1945) with provisional circular cachet "YUGOSLAV ARMY" and five-lines provisional cachet "CAMP / OF / YUGOSLAV OFFICERS / No ____ ★ ____ 1945 / OSNABRUCK". Exciting item.

Confinement Ponza

Confinements and other forms of restriction of the movement were usually in hard-to-reach areas. Remote islands such as Ponza were often used. 

Stationery franked with 50 cents, written by academic writer Dr Niko S. Martinović in Ponza (27.12.1942), sent from Naples railway (7.II.1943) to Cetinje (19.II.1943), censored by DIREZIONE COMANDA CONFINO / PONZA and QUESTURA DI NAPOLI.

Island Ponza, provinca Littoria (= today Latina, Lazio).

As a curiosity: On July 25, 1943, Benito Mussolini, fascist dictator of Italy, is voted out of power by his own Grand Council and arrested upon leaving a meeting with King Vittorio Emanuele. Two days after his arrest, Mussolini was sent to the island Ponza. Fearing that the Germans would discover his location, Mussolini was transferred to the island of La Maddalena near Sardinia on August 6.

Concentration camp Mlini

There were a few smaller concentration camps in the vicinity of Dubrovnik all managed by the VI Army Corps. Most were intended for the internment of Jews. One of such camps was in Mlini (sometimes called Milini or Melini in Italian) where the well-supervised hotel Mlini was used due to the lack of other facilities. The camp operated from November 1942 to February 1943, when most of the internees were transferred to other camps, mostly to nearby Kupari.

Letter franked with 3,50 kn, sent from Sarajevo (7.I.43) to the concentration camp in Mlini, censored by Italian military censorship (COMMISSIONE CENSURA POSTA MILITARE / 39). From well known Goldberg correspondence. Very few postal items are preserved.

Report on the internment of Jewish in concentration camps in the Dubrovnik area. Source: campifascisti.it

(click on image to enlarge)

323rd Special labour battalion

Due to the fear of anti-Italian activities, Italian soldiers of Slovenian and Croatian nationality were transferred to newly established Special labour battalions (IT = Compagnia speciale lavoratori) where they were used as workers and unskilled labour. Later, some confined prisoners, internees and political prisoners were also included in these battalions. They were stationed mostly in southern Italy, Sicily and Sardinia as there was considered to be the smallest chance of escape.

Military stationery postcard sent from the 323rd Special labour battalion at Isola Capo Rizzuto, province Catanzaro (30.7.43) to Gorizia.

Concentration camp Lipari

Lipari is an island northwest of Messina, Sicily. From 1934, the island served as a training site for Ustaša Croats. A concentration camp for civilians was established in October 1941. The capacity was around 350 internees, mostly Croats, Slovenes, Albanians and Montenegrins. The camp operates until July 1943 when internees were transferred to the camps of Coroppoli and Scipione.

Lipari island.

Stationery franked with 80 cent., sent from the concentration camp for civilians Lipari, Messina (13.5.42) to Zagreb, censored by the camp censor.

Confinement Padova

Confinement is a way of internment where an individual was forced to stay in a particular place, mostly under the control of the local Police Headquarters (Italian = Questura). 

Typically, confinement postal items were sent by ordinary mail, but in some cases, the mail was travelled directly between two Police Headquarters and dispatched to the postal service at the destination.

Letter, franked with 50 cent., sent from Padova (13.IV.43) directly to the Police Headquarter in Ljubljana, verified by police (cachet R. QUESTURA / LUBIANA, manuscript Verificato and signature), dispatched to the post office Ljubljana 1 where it was censored (censor 14 and 25) and sent to the addressee (19.4.43).

Note: I do not have enough information on confinement and postal usage and I do not know the literature on this field, so I ask all who come to know this to contact me on alesmarinsek67@gmail.com.

Confinement colony of Pisticci

Pisticci concentration camp was the first Italian confinement colony established as a center of agricultural work (centro di lavoro agricolo). The total capacity was 1000. Internees and detainees were exclusively male, mostly Slovenian and Croatian civilians as well as some Greeks and Poles.

Postcard sent from confinement colony of Pisticci region Matera (28.6.42) to Ljubljana, censored by the administration of the colony. 

Concentration camp Melada

Concentration camp Melada was established in the bay of Jaza on the island Melada (today Molat). The camp was in operation from 29 June 1942 to 8 September 1943. Very few postal items are preserved while I saw only one letter...

Letter franked with 50 cent., sent from Oltre / Preko, island of Ugljan (13.3.43) to the concentration camp on island Melada / Molat, censored in Oltre or Zara, returned to Oltre (24.3.43).

Campo di concentramento di Melada.

Concentration camp Klos

Concentration camp Klos A n.1 (Albania) operated from summer 1941 to April 1943. The majority of internees were members of the Yugoslav communist party and Montenegrins and Serbian Kosovar Jews...

Registered letter sent from Podgorica (21.VIII.42) to Concentration Camp Klos A n.1., franked with 1,75 Lire, travelled through Cetinje (22.VIII.42) and Shkoder (24.8.42). Censored in transit "VERIFICATO / PER / CENSURA" and at the arrival to the concentration camp "VERIFICATO PER CENSURA / Campo Concentramento A n. 1". Recipient's acknowledgement for money check for 300 lire is handwritten on the cover.

Labor camp Lambrate

Vinceremo (we win) stationery sent on the day of the Italian capitulation...

15 cent Vinceremo stationery, sent from Monfalkone / Tržič (8.9.1943) to 214th labor camp for civilian internees in Lambrate near Milano, censored by province censorship. The stationery could not be delivered (IMPOSSIBILE RECAPITO), so it was returned to the sender (AL MITTENTE).

Casa Penale Capodistria

Italian prisons served also as temporary detention of the interned before being transferred to a concentration camp...

Registered letter sent from Zwischenwässern - Medvode (11.8.43) to Casa Penale Capodistria - Koper, franked with 42pf, returned back to Zwischenwässern (23.9.43). Censored by Germans.

Concentration camp Corropoli

Concentration camp Corropoli (province Teramo) operated from January 1941 to May 1944. The maximum capacity was 150 internees, mostly Slavic and Italian communists as well as Jews.

Letter sent from Corropoli - province Teramo (27.6.42) to Lubljana, free of charge as internee mail, censor mark 15. Very interesting content where the son asks his mother not to write to him in Slovene because the censorship makes the delivery of the mail very late.

Concentration camp Aprica

In the town of Aprica (province Sondrio) was a small concentration camp where the Yugoslav Jews were deported. The camp is known for the great escape when more than 200 internees fled to Switzerland in the fall of 1943. Mail from this camp is very rare.

Picture postcard of Aprica, sent from Sondrio (12.5.43) to Nova vas (Lubiana), free of charge as internee mail, censored in Sondrio with Police headquarters censor mark.

Concentration camp telegram

A telegram sent to a concentration camp is something rather unusual...

Telegram sent (13.V.42) from Kotor, Montenegro (Cattaro) to concentration camp Tollo.

Telegram form.

Concentration camp Mamula

In April 1942, concentration camp Mamula was established in the far south of Dalmatia. It was a small camp in a fort on the island Mamula with a capacity of fewer than 500 internees and prisoners, mostly anti-fascists from Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro. 

Mamula fort today.

During the summer of 1943, internees were transferred to other camps - most of them to the Visco near Udine.

30 cent stationery sent from Risano (26.VIII.43) to concentration camp Mamula, censored by Italians and Germans. Since the recipient was already transferred, the stationery was returned to Risano (AL MITTENTE & Retour marks). 

Concentration camp Ragusa

In the autumn of 1942, Italians established few small transitional camps in the surroundings of Dubrovnik (Ragusa). They were mainly intended for Jews from Croatia and Bosnia. These are camps on island Lopud (Mezzo), in Gruž (Gravosa) and Kupari. Probably all were under the same administration in Ragusa. In 1943, most of the internees were moved to the camp on island Rab (Arbe).

Letter with instructions for the establishment of Italian camps in the area of Ragusa.
General Giuseppe Amico, Division Marche

(click for larger image)

Mail from or to these camps is extremely rare.

NDH stationery, sent from Ragusa (26.V.43) to Sarajevo, franked with 2 kn, canceled with "INTERNATO DI GUERRA / (FRANCHIGIA POSTALE)", rectangular and two round censorship stamps and 35/IV censor mark. Signed Ercegović.