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 1: RG-06.01, Ghetto and camp money, 1942 1945

This Collection includes monetary receipts issued in camps and ghettos

Subject/Index Terms:: Lodz ghetto monetary receipts; Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts; Auschwitz camps, monetary coupons; Westerbork transit camp, monetary coupons; Flossenburg concentration camp, monetary coupons

Creators:: Beckman, Eva; Adele Kohn, Eva Beckman; multiple donators (1968 -- 2006)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 1: RG-06.01.01, One 100 Kronen bill, Theresienstadt Ghetto, 1 January 1943

One 100 Kronen bill issued on January 1, 1943 as part of a substitute currency used only in the Theresienstadt Ghetto . The bill is signed by Jacob Edelstein, Der Alteste Der Juden. On the front side there is a dipiction of Moses with the Ten Commandments.

Subject/Index Terms:: Judenraete (Jewish councils); Theresienstadt (Czechoslovakia); Theresienstadt ghetto; Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts

Creators:: Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945); Jewish ghetto administration, Theresienstadt (1940 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 2: RG-06.01.02, Fifty Kronen bill, Theresienstadt Ghetto, 1 January 1943

A fifty Kronen bill issued January 1, 1943 as part a substitute currency used only in the Theresienstadt Ghetto. The bill is signed by Jacob Edelstein, Der Alteste Der Juden. On the front side there is a depiction of Moses with the Ten Commandments.

Subject/Index Terms:: Judenraete (Jewish councils); Theresienstadt ghetto; Theresienstadt (Czechoslovakia); Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts

Creators:: Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945); Jewish ghetto administration, Theresienstadt (1940 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 3: RG-06.01.03, One 100 Kronen bill, Theresienstadt Ghetto, 1 January 1943

A 100 Kronen bill issued January 1, 1943 as part of a substitute currency used only in the Theresienstadt Ghetto. The bill is signed by Jacob Edelstein, Der Alteste Der Juden. On the head side there is a dipiction of Moses with the Ten Commandments.

Subject/Index Terms:: Judenraete (Jewish councils); Theresienstadt (Czechoslovakia); Theresienstadt ghetto; Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts

Creators:: Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945); Jewish ghetto administration, Theresienstadt (1940 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 4: RG-06.01.04, Twenty Kronen bill, Theresienstadt Ghetto,, 1 January 1943

A twenty Kronen bill issued January 1, 1943 as part of a substitute currency used only in the Theresienstadt Ghetto. The bill is signed by Jacob Edelstein, Der Alteste Der Juden. On the head side there is a depiction of Moses with the Ten Commandments.

Subject/Index Terms:: Judenraete (Jewish councils); Theresienstadt (Czechoslovakia); Theresienstadt ghetto; Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts

Creators:: Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945); Jewish administration of the ghettos (1939 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 5: RG-06.01.05,Ten Kronen bill, Theresienstadt Ghetto, Reverse side, 1 January 1943

A ten Kronen bill issued January 1, 1943 as part of a substitute currency used only in the Theresienstadt Ghetto. The bill is signed by Jacob Edelstein, Der Alteste Der Juden. Only the back of the bill is shown.

Subject/Index Terms:: Judenraete (Jewish councils); Theresienstadt (Czechoslovakia); Theresienstadt ghetto; Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts

Creators:: Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945); Jewish ghetto administration, Theresienstadt (1940 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 6: RG-06.01.06, Twenty Kronen bill, Theresienstadt Ghetto, 1 January 1943

Subject/Index Terms:: Judenraete (Jewish councils); Theresienstadt (Czechoslovakia); Theresienstadt ghetto; Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts

Creators:: Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945); Jewish ghetto administration, Theresienstadt (1940 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 7: RG-06.01.07- One Kronen bill,Theresienstadt Ghetto, 1 January 1943

A one Kronen bill issued January 1, 1943 as part of a substitute currency only used in the Theresienstadt Ghetto. The bill is signed by Jacob Edelstein, Der Alteste Der Juden. On the head side there is a depiction of Moses with the Ten Commandments.

Subject/Index Terms:: Judenraete (Jewish councils); Theresienstadt (Czechoslovakia); Theresienstadt ghetto; Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts

Creators:: Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945); Jewish ghetto administration, Theresienstadt (1940 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 8: RG-06.01.08- Four stamps, Theresienstadt, 1943

Four stamps used only in the Theresienstadt Ghetto issued in 1943. The picture is of a pastoral landscape with large trees and billowing clouds.

Subject/Index Terms:: Theresienstadt ghetto, postal stamps; Judenraete (Jewish councils); Theresienstadt (Czechoslovakia); Theresienstadt ghetto

Creators:: Jewish ghetto administration, Theresienstadt (1940 -- 1945); Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 9: RG-06.01.09, Five Kronen bill, Theresienstadt Ghetto, Front side, 1 January 1943

A five Kronen bill issued January 1, 1943 as part of a substitute currency used only in the Theresienstadt Ghetto. On the head side there is a depiction of Moses with the Ten Commandments.

Subject/Index Terms:: Judenraete (Jewish councils); Theresienstadt (Czechoslovakia); Theresienstadt ghetto; Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts

Creators:: Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945); Jewish ghetto administration, Theresienstadt (1940 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 10: RG-06.01.09.01, Five Kronen bill, Theresienstadt Ghetto, Reverse side, 1943

A five Kronen bill issued January 1, 1943 as part of a substitute currency used only in the Theresienstadt Ghetto. The bill is signed by Jacob Edelstein, Der Alteste Der Juden. Only the back of the bill is shown.

Subject/Index Terms:: Judenraete (Jewish councils); Theresienstadt (Czechoslovakia); Theresienstadt ghetto; Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts

Creators:: Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945); Jewish ghetto administration, Theresienstadt (1940 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 11: RG-06.01.10, Ten Kronen bill, Theresienstadt Ghetto, Front side, 1943

Subject/Index Terms:: Judenraete (Jewish councils); Theresienstadt (Czechoslovakia); Theresienstadt ghetto; Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts

Creators:: Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945); Jewish ghetto administration, Theresienstadt (1940 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 12: RG-06.01.11, Two Kronen bill, Theresienstadt Ghetto, 1943

A two Kronen bill issued January 1, 1943 as part of a substitute currency only used in the Theresienstadt Ghetto. The bill is signed by Jacob Edelstein, Der Alteste Der Juden. Only the front side is shown, which depicts Moses with the Ten Commandments.

Subject/Index Terms:: Judenraete (Jewish councils); Theresienstadt (Czechoslovakia); Theresienstadt ghetto; Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts

Creators:: Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945); Jewish ghetto administration, Theresienstadt (1940 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 13: RG-06.01.12, Theresienstadt Ghetto Paper Currency, 1945

There is a100 Kronen bill, a 50 Kronen bill, a 20 Kronen bill, a 5 Kronen bill and a 10 Kronen bill, which are all part of a substitute currency used only in the Theresienstadt Ghetto. All bills were issued January 1, 1945 and are signed by Jacob Edelstein, Der Alteste Der Juden. Each bill has a depition of Moses with the Ten Commandments on the head side.

Subject/Index Terms:: Judenraete (Jewish councils); Theresienstadt (Czechoslovakia); Theresienstadt ghetto; Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts

Creators:: Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945); Jewish ghetto administration, Theresienstadt (1940 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 14: RG-06.01.13, Theresienstadt Ghetto Paper Currency, 1943

One five Kronen bill and one ten Kronen bill issued January 1, 1943 as part of a substitute currency used only in the Theresienstadt Ghetto. Both bills are signed by Jacob Edelstein, Der Alteste Der Juden. Both bills also have a depiction of Moses with the Ten Commandments on the head side.

Subject/Index Terms:: Judenraete (Jewish councils); Theresienstadt (Czechoslovakia); Theresienstadt ghetto; Theresienstadt ghetto monetary receipts

Creators:: Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945); Jewish ghetto administration, Theresienstadt (1940 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 15: RG-06.01.14, Bills and coins, Lodz Ghetto, 1940--1943

A twenty Mark, two Mark, one Mark, fifty Pfennig, and four coins from the substitute currency created for the Lodz Ghetto. The bills were issued May 15, 1940 and signed by Mordechai Rumkowski, Der Alteste Der Juden in Litzmannstadt. The coins were issued in 1943.

Subject/Index Terms:: Judenraete (Jewish councils); Lodz ghetto; Lodz (Poland); Lodz ghetto monetary receipts; Paper money and coins, Lodz ghetto

Creators:: Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945); Jewish Council (Judenrat) of the Lodz ghetto (1940 -- 1944)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 16: RG-06.01.15, Westerbork Camp coupons, 15 February 1944

Coupons for 50, 25, and 10 cents from Westerbork Camp's substitute currency issued February 15, 1944.

Subject/Index Terms:: Judenraete (Jewish councils); Westerbork (Transit camp); Westerbork transit camp, monetary coupons

Creators:: Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945); Westerbork Transit Camp Authorities

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 17: RG-06.01.16, Prisoner of war camp coupons, 1933--1945

These substitute coupons for 10 Reichsmark, 5 Reichsmark, 2 Reichsmark, 1 Reichsmark, 50 Reichspfennig, 10 Reichspfennig, and 1 Reichspfennig circulated as paper money in the German prisoner of war camps for soldiers and officers. On the front of the coupons there is a note and warrant for ussage and a red triangle printed in the background. They are signed by the Army official.

Subject/Index Terms:: Germany; prisoner of war camp coupons; Prisoners of War

Creators:: German Military Authority

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 18: RG-06.01.17, Auschwitz monetary signs, 1940--1945

These are monetary signs from Auschwitz Concentration Camp. One is worth one Reichsmark and the other is worth .50 Reichmark.

Subject/Index Terms:: Auschwitz (Concentration camp); Auschwitz camps, monetary coupons; Auschwitz (Concentration camp)--Complex of concentration and extermination camps

Creators:: Auschwitz-Birkenau German camp administration (circa 1942--1944)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 19: RG-06.01.18, Flossenburg concentration camp monetary signs, 1939--1945

Monetary sign for one Reichmark from Flossenburg Concentration Camp.

Subject/Index Terms:: Flossenburg (Germany: Concentration Camp); Flossenburg, German Concentration camp; Flossenburg concentration camp, monetary coupons

Creators:: Flossenburg concentration camp German authority

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 20: RG-06.01.19, Lodz (Litzmannstadt) Ghetto currency, five mark coin, 1943, 1943

Currency created for the Lodz Ghetto, issued by the ghetto administrations instead of real currency for internal usage in ghetto, 1943.

Arrangement: Item level - coin

Extent: 1 coin

Language: 1 coin

Subject/Index Terms:: Lodz ghetto, 1940 -- 1944; Lodz Ghetto (Litzmannstadt Ghetto); Jewish Council (Judenrat) of the Lodz Ghetto; Judenrat (Jewish council), Lodz ghetto; Lodz ghetto; Ghetto currency Lodz (Litzmannstadt); Lodz Ghetto, currency, 1940 -- 1944

Creators:: Jewish Council (Judenrat) of the Lodz ghetto (1940 -- 1944); Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 21: RG-06.01.20, Lodz (Litzmannstadt) Ghetto currency, ten mark coin, 1943, 1943

Currency created for the Lodz Ghetto, issued by the ghetto administrations instead of real currency for internal usage in ghetto, 1943.

Arrangement: Item level - coin

Extent: 1 coin

Language: German

Subject/Index Terms:: Lodz ghetto; Lodz (Poland: Ghetto); Ghetto currency Lodz (Litzmannstadt); Lodz Ghetto, currency, 1940 -- 1944

Creators:: Jewish Council (Judenrat) of the Lodz ghetto (1940 -- 1944); Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 22: RG-06.01.21, Lodz (Litzmannstadt) Ghetto currency, twenty mark coin, 1943, 1943

Currency created for the Lodz Ghetto, issued by the ghetto administrations instead of real currency for internal usage in ghetto, 1943.

Arrangement: Item level - coin

Extent: 1 coin

Language: German

Subject/Index Terms:: Lodz ghetto; Lodz (Poland: Ghetto); Lodz Ghetto (Litzmannstadt Ghetto); Lodz Ghetto, currency, 1940 -- 1944; Ghetto and concentration camp currency, 1939 -- 1945

Creators:: Jewish Council (Judenrat) of the Lodz ghetto (1940 -- 1944); Jewish Councils (Judenrate) (1939 -- 1945)