Description
Physical description
A 20 kronen currency note printed green on white with serial number printed in red on obverse. In good condition. The note was one of those circulated for use in Theresienstadt Ghetto during the Second World War which was located in the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. There is a central vignette of Moses holding the tablets containing the Ten Commandments on one side of the note with an inscription on the other side reading "Quittung über ZWANZIG KRONEN" with place of issue and date "THERESIENSTADT, AM 1.JANNER 1943".
History note
One of nineteen Theresienstadt Ghetto currency notes formerly belonging to the donor's late parents who were interned and survived the camp. Following their period of internment, they lived in the U.S.A. and England before returning to Frankfurt where they had originally lived.
The notes were circulated for use in the Theresienstadt Ghetto (Terezin, Czechoslovakia) and were printed by the National Bank in Prague. All notes are dated 1 January 1943 but did not see actual circulation until May 1943. The notes were worthless except to rent library books and the elaborately engraved style and inscriptions were copied from the Litzmannstadt (Lodz) Ghetto issues of 1940.
Some time after liberation, the donor's father wrote a diary of his experiences which has been retained by the family. Three non-consecutive pages have been photocopied by the family for the Museum and are currently held in the correspondence file. A roughly translated extract of one of the pages follows:
'People in the offices worked incredibly hard, as they were pushing to work their way home. Release forms were given to us by the Russians, with the intention that no one would try to escape from the Nazis. The Germans also issued certificates stating where everyone came from and where everyone wanted to get to. Everything was exactly recorded, so that cars could be requested. Everyone also received 50 DM, so that we had some money in the hand. Before all the formalities had been completed, almost four weeks had flown by. We had nothing to lose, as we had heard how things were in (Ueberra?). Despite that, one had made his way back home. Although some thought it wasn't right to go back, because they trusted that they would get out. Much was lost because of this. From the 1500 on the transport which took me to Terezin, only six of us were left. From the total of 4500 over three transports, only 80 people returned. And so finally the Frankfurt lorries were notified, which out of us they would take back. Upon our arrival in Frankfurt, the major as well as the Jewish community, welcomed us. The first thing that the state of Frankfurt did for us was to give us a quarter of a year's rehabilitation. For most it was most necessary. There, we recovered well, and after this time we went back to Frankfurt and relocated to where we lived for 42 years. Today most people have forgotten everything.'
Inscription
009942 A
Quittung über ZWANZIG KRONEN
THERESIENSTADT, AM 1.JANNER 1943
DER ALTESTE DER JUDEN IN THERESIENSTADT
Inscription
QUITTUNG ÜBER ZWANZIG KRONEN
WER DIESE QUITTUNG VERFÄLSCHT ODER NACHMACHT
ODER GEFÄLSCHTE QUITTUNG IN VERKEHR BRINGT,
WIRD STRENGSTENS BESTRAFT.