Berga/Elster was a subcamp of Buchenwald located in the Greiz district of the State of Thuringen about 30 miles east of Weimar. The inmates were involved in digging tunnels and laying railroad tracks for the Schwalbe V Project, which was a joint venture between the SS and an industrial complex for the construction of underground armaments factories.
Below are thumbnails of the front and back of a Lordahl type L1a lettercard from a Jewish prisoner at Berga/Elster, Lajos Weiss, postmarked Berga January 17, 1945, to the Judenrat in Prague. In the text, the prisoner asks the Judenrat to inform his former wife that he left his home one month ago. The lettercard bears an arrival cachet of the Judenrat dated January 19, 1944 (rather than 1945).
http://www.amberroom.org/locations-tunnels-schwalbe.htm
Copyright © 2005 Edward Victor