Rimon Auctions
Auction 16 14 Sep 2022
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Holocaust concentration camps money - Czechoslovakia - 6 Banknotes 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 Kronen 1943 - Theresientadt Ghetto - UNC
The first camp in which the Nazis issued banknotes for internal use by the Jews was Oranienburg-Sachsenhausen, which was located close to Berlin. Each camp prisoner, and then each ghetto resident, was required to exchange his money and some of his property for banknotes for the camp or ghetto in which he was confined. Owners of the banknotes were not allowed to acquire anything with the local money outside of the ghetto boundaries, as it was valid only within the ghetto. The Nazi's purpose in this was to prevent an event in which prisoners would succeed in escaping from the camps, so that they would have no means with which to buy food or clothing. This made plans to escape significantly more difficult. It was also the reason the banknotes were of strictly Jewish character. On the Theresienstadt ghetto banknotes, a star of David was printed, and picture of an illustration of Moshe Rabbeinu holding the Ten Commandments. The reason the banknotes were valued in krone [the Czech currency] and not in German marks was due to Theresienstadt's geographic location in Czechoslovakia (which was mostly occupied by the Nazis before WWII), with the value of the Czech currency. In general, the banknotes of higher values were not used, as buying expensive items was inconceivable in the ghetto. The Nazis just issued banknotes of high values to give the "Jewish economy" the appearance of a regular, flourishing economy, by giving the impression of the "normalcy" of regular, orderly daily life, which the Nazis took pains to present to the representatives of the Red Cross who visited the ghetto.
The first camp in which the Nazis issued banknotes for internal use by the Jews was Oranienburg-Sachsenhausen, which was located close to Berlin. Each camp prisoner, and then each ghetto resident, was required to exchange his money and some of his property for banknotes for the camp or ghetto in which he was confined. Owners of the banknotes were not allowed to acquire anything with the local money outside of the ghetto boundaries, as it was valid only within the ghetto. The Nazi's purpose in this was to prevent an event in which prisoners would succeed in escaping from the camps, so that they would have no means with which to buy food or clothing. This made plans to escape significantly more difficult. It was also the reason the banknotes were of strictly Jewish character. On the Theresienstadt ghetto banknotes, a star of David was printed, and picture of an illustration of Moshe Rabbeinu holding the Ten Commandments. The reason the banknotes were valued in krone [the Czech currency] and not in German marks was due to Theresienstadt's geographic location in Czechoslovakia (which was mostly occupied by the Nazis before WWII), with the value of the Czech currency. In general, the banknotes of higher values were not used, as buying expensive items was inconceivable in the ghetto. The Nazis just issued banknotes of high values to give the "Jewish economy" the appearance of a regular, flourishing economy, by giving the impression of the "normalcy" of regular, orderly daily life, which the Nazis took pains to present to the representatives of the Red Cross who visited the ghetto.