Under Nazi rule, Jews were imprisoned in ghettos and camps and their access to information was tightly controlled. One way of doing this was through tight censorship of mail. Jews imprisoned in camps and ghettos could write to the outside world, but there was no guarantee that their mail would reach the intended recipient, particularly if the letters contained descriptions of the harsh conditions or cruel imprisonment. As such, many of the letters that survive do not provide us with accurate information about conditions in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Another cruel trick played by the Nazis involved forcing Jews to write letters describing their situation in glowing terms, when this was not at all the case. Or in some cases, letters were typed and the recipients could not be sure that the sender actually wrote them at all or was even still alive.