Ghetto and Camp Currency, Correspondence and Related Artifacts, 1908-1945 | Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust

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Collection Overview

Title: Ghetto and Camp Currency, Correspondence and Related Artifacts, 1908-1945

Predominant Dates:1939 -- 1945

ID: RG-06/RG-06

Primary Creator: Gutkind, Jurek

Other Creators: Conversion Office for German Foreign Debts, Jonski, Jozef (1912-), Kasimir, Fidor, Medley, Jane, Veronika (Vera) Komlos (née Somogyi), (1901-1944), Jewish female, a resident of Budapest (-- 1944)

Extent: 0.0

Arrangement:

The arrangement scheme for the record group was imposed during processing in the absence of an original order. Materials are arranged by subject/creator, then by the identifier, as assigned by the processor.

Record group is comprised of seven collections: 1. Collection of ghetto and camp money; 2. Numismatic collection; 3. Collection of camp and ghetto correspondence; 4. Eva Beckman collection; 5. Collection of Nazi Germany emigration bonds; 6. Collection of Nazi-counterfeited British bank notes; 7. Collection of Sonderkommando tags.

Subjects: Ghetto-issued monetary scripts, wartime, Lodz ghetto monetary receipts, Monetary signs, receipts, scripts as substitute matters of ghetto money, wartime, Monetary signs and receipts in the Lodz Ghetto, 1940 -- 1944, Monetary surrogates in term of scripts, receipts, ghetto paper money issued in Theresiensdatd ghetto, Paper money and coins, Lodz ghetto, Theresienstadt Ghetto issued banknotes, design and appearance, Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts

Forms of Material: A Westerbork camp coupon for 10 cent, 1944, Eine Mark (One Mark) bill, signed by Mordechaj Rumkowski, the Jewish Elder of Lodz Ghetto May 1940, Fifty Kronen bill, issued 1 January 1943, signed by Jacob Eidelstein, Der Alsteste Der Juden, Five Kronen bill, issued 1 January 1943, signed by Jacob Eidelstein, Der Alsteste Der Juden, Monetary surogate scripts issued by the Westerbork internment camp administration, 1944, One hundred Kronen bill, issued 1 January 1943, signed by Jacob Eidelstein, Der Alsteste Der Juden, One Kronen bill, issued 1 January 1943, signed by Jacob Eidelstein, Der Alsteste Der Juden, Ten Kronen bill, issued 1 January 1943, signed by Jacob Eidelstein, Der Alsteste Der Juden, Ten Mark coin, issued in 1943, authorized by Mordechaj Rumkowski, Jewish Elder of the Lodz Ghetto, Twenty Kronen bill, issued 1 January 1943, signed by Jacob Eidelstein, Der Alsteste Der Juden, Two Kronen bill, issued 1 January 1943, signed by Jacob Eidelstein, Der Alsteste Der Juden, Zwanzig Mark (Twenty) bill, signed by Mordechaj Rumkowski, Jewish Elder of the Lodz Ghetto May 1940, Zwei Mark (Two) bill, signed by Mordechaj Rumkowski, Jewish Elder of the Lodz Ghetto May 1940

Languages: German, Dutch;Flemish, Polish

Abstract

This is an authentic collection of ghetto and camp currency, notes and slips that were issued by the ghetto administrations instead of real currency for internal usage in ghettos and camps. The issuance of ghetto money had to be authorized by German authorities. The record group is subdivided into the Lodz Ghetto collection, Theresienstadt Ghetto collection, and the camp collections. This record group also includes the banknotes of several European countries issued in the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. It also contains multiple artifacts related to mundane ghetto and camp life.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The record group includes the banknotes of several European countries issued in the course of the 19th and 20th centuries; bonds issued by the Conversion Office for German Foreign Debts paid to German Jews for confiscated property; multiple artifacts related to ghetto and camp life, such as camp uniform, pottery from the Sobibor concentration camp, and Sonderkommando tags; and ghetto and camp correspondence, including letters and postcards written from the places of incarceration to relatives and friends. The camp correspondence collections includes Józef Jon ski’s correspondence from Dachau concentration camp, Jurek Gutkind’s corresponded with Anna Lipszyc from the Lublin prison and Buchenwald concentration camp, and there is a letter from Kasimir Fidor from Oranienburg concentration camp.

Collection Historical Note

This record group is comprised of collections--specifically those related to ghetto and camp scripts, a German-introduced surrogate for monetary signs. First, for example, Lodz and Theresienstadt ghettos printed the scripts of their own, while the other ghettos circulated local or German currency. Contrarily, many Nazi-German concentration camps operated with the scripts of their own. This coupon-like currency, printed by the camp administrations, was good only for inter-camp use. Also, in ghettos and camps, cigarettes and food could often serve as a currency-like commodities. (Food rarely had any true monetary value and often emerged on the initiative of the Jewish administration in Lodz and Theresienstadt.)

A monetary sub-collection contains banknotes of Weimar Republic. Once issued in the year of 1923, they illustrate an iniquitousness of hyperinflation, overwhelming the Weimar Republic. The very denominations of one hundred thousand and one hundred million serve as a proof of economic and financial crisis.

Banknotes issued in German-occupied countries and territories also exhibit differences in the status of control and occupation. Comparing the following banknotes--Five Kroner of Denmark of 1942, Five Belgian Francs of 1943, and the Five Ukrainian Karbovantsiv of 1942--one can see that Denmark and Belgian retained a currency of their own, in terms of language and design. However, the Ukrainian banknotes, issued by the German authorities in Ukraine reflects the status of an occupied territory, controlled by German military and civil administration.

Biographical Note

Jurek was a friend of Anna Lipszyc (see Anna Lipszyc Collection, RG-01.08) It is believed that he, a Polish auxiliary policeman, organized and provided all the necessary documents enabling Anna to maintain a false Polish identity. Jurek, being personally attached to Anna (or Anka), corresponded with her while she was in Germany. Jurek was falsely accused of accepting a bribe and imprisoned in Lublin by the German authority, ultimately being sentenced to a term at a concentration camp, Buchenwald. Jurek believed that he was slandered by his fellow Polish policemen. A testimony to his feelings for her, Jurek continued writing letters to Anna from Buchenwald.

Subject/Index Terms

Ghetto-issued monetary scripts, wartime
Lodz ghetto monetary receipts
Monetary signs, receipts, scripts as substitute matters of ghetto money, wartime
Monetary signs and receipts in the Lodz Ghetto, 1940 -- 1944
Monetary surrogates in term of scripts, receipts, ghetto paper money issued in Theresiensdatd ghetto
Paper money and coins, Lodz ghetto
Theresienstadt Ghetto issued banknotes, design and appearance
Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts

Administrative Information

Repository: Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust

Access Restrictions: No restrictions

Use Restrictions:

Copyrighted materials, credits to and references to the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust are required

Digital copies might be available upon request

Preferred Citation: RG-06, Ghetto and Camp Currency, Correspondence, and Related Artifacts. Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust Archive.

Processing Information: Materials are primarily described using the local descriptive standards of the LA Museum of the Holocaust.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Sub-Collection:

[Sub-Collection 1: RG-06.01, Ghetto and camp money, 1942 1945],
[Sub-Collection 2: RG-06.02, Numismatic Collection, 1919 -- 1945],
[Sub-Collection 3: RG-06.03, Correspondences of inmate like status, 1941--1945],
[Sub-Collection 4: RG-06.04, Eva Beckman Collection, 1942--1945],
[Sub-Collection 5: RG-06.05, Emigration Bonds, Nazi Germany, 1933],
[Sub-Collection 6: RG-06.06, Nazi counterfeited British bank notes, 1942 -- 1945],
[Sub-Collection 7: RG-06.07, Sonderkommando tags, 1942--1945],
[Sub-Collection 8: RG-06.08, The Last Letter of Veronika (Vera) Komlos (nee Somogyi)],
[All]

Sub-Collection 2: RG-06.02, Numismatic Collection, 1919 -- 1945

This collections contains banknotes of various European countries

Subject/Index Terms:: Monetry receipts, France; Allied Authorities, monetary coupons; Ukrainian Central Bank in Rivne, under German authorities, currency; German Empire, currency, 1910; Weimar Republic, currency, 1920s; French oversee departments, Ageria, Algerian Francs; Belgian currency; Dutch currency; Currency of Denmark

Creators:: multiple donators (1968 -- 2006)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 1: RG-06.02.01, Coupon for Ten Francs, 1944

A 1944 French coupon for ten Francs.

Subject/Index Terms:: French High Military Command; France (Europe); French monetary coupon; Reinstated French Authorities

Creators:: French authorities under German occupation (1940 --1944)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 2: RG-.06.02.02, Coupons for 5 and 1 Mark, issued by Allied Military Authorities, 1944

1944 coupons for 5 and 1 Mark issued by Allied military authorities. They are official pay notes in occupied and controlled territories, as well as in Germany.

Subject/Index Terms:: Paper money and coins, Nazi-Germany; Allied Military and Civil administration in Germany; Allied Authorities, monetary coupons; German Occupied and Controlled Territories

Creators:: German Military Authority

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 3: RG-06.02.03, Five Karbovantsiv, issued by Ukrainian Central Bank in Rowno under German occupation, 5 March 1942

A five Karbowanez (or Karbovantsiv in Ukrainian) bill issued on March 5,1942 by the Central Emission Bank of Ukraine in Rowno under German occupation. This banknote has a portrait of a Ukrainian girl and a Nazi official seal.

Subject/Index Terms:: German-occupied Ukraine; Allied Authorities, monetary coupons; Ukraine (Europe)

Creators:: Central Emission Bank of Ukraine in Rowno under German Occupation

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 4: RG-06.02.04, Five Reichsmark, 1 August 1942

A five Reichsmark bill issued in Berlin August 1,1942.

Subject/Index Terms:: Paper money and coins, Nazi-Germany; Allied Authorities, monetary coupons; Berlin (Germany)

Creators:: German Military Authority

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 5: RG-06.02.05, One Reichsmark, January 1937

One Reichsmark bill issued in Berlin January 1937.

Subject/Index Terms:: Paper money and coins, Nazi-Germany; Allied Authorities, monetary coupons

Creators:: German Military Authority

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 6: RG-06.02.06, One Hundred Mark, issued in Berlin, 21 April 1910

A one hundred Mark bill issued in Berlin on April 21, 1910.

Subject/Index Terms:: Paper money and coins, Nazi-Germany; Berlin (Germany)

Creators:: German Government (1910)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 7: RG-06.02.07, One Thousand Mark, issued in Berlin, 21 April 1910

A one thousand Mark issued in Berlin on April 21, 1910.

Subject/Index Terms:: Paper money and coins, Nazi-Germany; Berlin (Germany)

Creators:: German Government (1910)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 8: RG-06.02.08, One Hundred Mark, issued in Berlin, 7 February 1908

A one hundred Mark issued in Berlin on February 7, 1908.

Subject/Index Terms:: Paper money and coins, Nazi-Germany; Berlin (Germany)

Creators:: Pre-war German Government

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 9: RG-06.02.09, Twenty Mark, issued in Berlin, 19 February 1914

A twenty Mark bill issued in Berlin on February 19, 1914.

Subject/Index Terms:: Paper money and coins, Nazi-Germany; Berlin (Germany)

Creators:: Pre-war German Government

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 10: RG-06.02.10, Fifty Reichsmark, Weimar Republic, 1919

A fifty Reichsmark bill issued in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1919.

Subject/Index Terms:: Weimar Republic, 1918 -- 193; Weimar Republic, currency, 1920s; Paper money and coins, Nazi-Germany; Berlin (Germany)

Creators:: Government of Weimar Republic (1918 -- 1933)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 11: RG-06.02.11, Fifty Reichsmark, Weimar Republic, 30 March 1933

A fifty Reichsmark issued in Berlin during the Weimar Republic on March 30, 1933.

Subject/Index Terms:: Weimar Republic, 1918 -- 193; Weimar Republic, currency, 1920s; Paper money and coins, Nazi-Germany; Berlin (Germany)

Creators:: Government of Weimar Republic (1918 -- 1933)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 12: RG-06.02.12, One Hundred Thousand Mark, Weimar Republic, 1 February 1923

A one hundred thousand Mark bill issued in Berlin during the Weimar Republic on February 1, 1923.

Subject/Index Terms:: Weimar Republic, 1918 -- 193; Weimar Republic, currency, 1920s; Paper money and coins, Nazi-Germany

Creators:: Government of Weimar Republic (1918 -- 1933)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 13: RG-06.02.13, Twenty Million Mark, Weimar Republic, 25 July 1923

A twenty million mark bill issued in Berlin during the Weimar Republic on July 25, 1923.

Subject/Index Terms:: Weimar Republic, 1918 -- 193; Weimar Republic, currency, 1920s; Berlin (Germany); Paper money and coins, Nazi-Germany

Creators:: Government of Weimar Republic (1918 -- 1933)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 14: RG-06.02.14, One Hundred Million Mark, Weimar Republic, 22 August 1923

A one hundred million Mark bill issued in Berlin during the Weimar republic on August 22, 1923.

Subject/Index Terms:: Weimar Republic, 1918 -- 193; Weimar Republic, currency, 1920s; Paper money and coins, Nazi-Germany; Berlin (Germany)

Creators:: Government of Weimar Republic (1918 -- 1933)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 15: RG-06.02.15, One Krone, Austria, with antisemitic inscription on the back side, 2 January 1922

A one Krone issued in Austria on January 2, 1922. A one-sided banknote with an unofficial, privately made anti-Semitic inscription on the back side. The inscription translates: "The Jewish Bank has the Gold, the dreck stays in your hands."

Subject/Index Terms:: Austria (Europe); Antisemitism; Anti-Semitism in Austria; Paper money and coins, Austria

Creators:: Pre-war Austrian Government

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 16: RG-06.02.16, Twenty Belgian Francs, 1919

A twenty Belgian Francs bill issued in 1919. The head side is in French and the tail side is in Flemish.

Subject/Index Terms:: Belgian currency; Belgian National Bank; Belgium (Europe)

Creators:: Belgian National Bank

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 17: RG-06.02.17, Ten Belgian Francs, 1 February 1943

A Belgian ten Francs bill issued on February 1, 1943. The head side is in French and the tail side is in Flemish.

Subject/Index Terms:: Belgian currency; Belgian National Bank; Belgium (Europe)

Creators:: Belgian National Bank

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 18: RG-06.02.18, Five Belgian Francs, 1 February 1943

A Belgian five Francs bill issued on February 1, 1943. The head side is in French and the tail side is in Flemish.

Subject/Index Terms:: Belgian currency; Belgian National Bank; Belgium (Europe)

Creators:: Belgian National Bank

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 19: RG-06.02.19, One Gulden, the Netherlands, 4 February 1943

A one Gulden issued in the Netherlands on February 4, 1943. There is a picture of the Queen of the Netherlands on the head side. The tail side has the Royal Coat of Arms.

Subject/Index Terms:: The Netherlands (Europe); currency, the Netherlands

Creators:: National Bank of the Netherlands

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 20: RG-06.02.20, Five Kroner, Denmark, 1942

A five Kroner bill issued in Denmark 1942. The front of the bill has a Danish shore landscape with a sign reading Denmark. The tail side has had the Royal Coat of Arms.

Subject/Index Terms:: Currency of Denmark; Denmark (Europe)

Creators:: National Bank of Denmark

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 21: RG-06.02.21, Ten Kroner, Denmark, 1942

A ten Kroner bill issued in Denmark 1942. The tail side of the bill has three crowned royal lions and a profile view of an ancients mythological figure.

Subject/Index Terms:: Currency of Denmark; Denmark (Europe)

Creators:: National Bank of Denmark

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 22: RG-06.02.22, Fifty Algerian Francs, Algeria, 12 March 1928

A fifty Franc bill issued in Algeria on March 12,1928. This banknote is damaged and is missing a left end. The banknote is in French with inscriptions in Arabic.

Subject/Index Terms:: Algeria; currency of Algeria

Creators:: National Bank of Algeria

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 23: RG-06.02.23, Five Algerian Francs, Algeria, 1933

A five Franc bill issued in Algeria 1933. There is an inscription of the word Tunisie made vertically on the right edge of the bill. The note is in French with some Arabic inscriptions.

Subject/Index Terms:: Algeria; currency of Algeria

Creators:: National Bank of Algeria

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 24: RG-06.02.24, Five Algerian Francs, Algeria, 1942

A five Algerian Francs banknote issued in 1942. The banknote is in French with some Arabic inscriptions.

Subject/Index Terms:: Algeria; currency of Algeria

Creators:: National Bank of Algeria