Object ID
2012.1.463a-e
Object Name
Money, Paper
Date
1940
Files
Download Full Text (4.0 MB)
Content Warning
The Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection consists of images, documents, and artifacts related to the Holocaust. The collection contains materials that depict a number of topics that may be difficult for viewers to engage with, including: antisemitic descriptions, caricatures, and representation of Jewish people; Nazi imagery and ideology; descriptions and images of German ghettos; graphic images of the violence of the Holocaust; and the creation of the State of Israel. For more information, see our policy page.
Description
Five pieces of currency from Litzmannstadt. Including a pink 50 Pfennig note, a green 1 mark note, an orange 2 mark note, a green 5 mark note, and a green 20 mark note.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
The SS introduced special "Jewish currency" in many of the ghettos. The most well-known cases are from Theresienstadt (Terezin) and Litzmannstadt (Lodz) ghettos/concentration camps. The concept behind this was total segregation, so that Jews and aryans would not touch the same currency. Notes and coins were issued in the Litzmannstadt Ghetto, signed on the back by "M. Rumkowski," Alteste Der Juden (Elder of the Jews). The 10 Mark note shows a wall of barbed wire in essence made from a Star of David design. A large green six-pointed star appears in the upper left. The reverse side, shown on the 5 mark bill, has the same background, only with a six-pointed star in the upper right and menorah on the lower left. Lodz, a large industrial city, housed one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe before World War II. It was second in size only to Warsaw. Lodz was occupied by September 7, 1939 and persecution of the Jews was underway by September 14. In November of the same year Lodz was incorporated into the Third Reich (as part of Western Poland annexed as the Wartagau) and the name was changed to Litzmannstadt. This accounts for the currency being issued in "Marks" as opposed to Polish "Zloty." After November 16, Jews were forced by German occupation law to wear a band around their arm, replaced by a yellow Star of David symbol on December 12. The Lodz ghetto was established on February 8, 1940.
Dimensions
2 1/4 x 3 1/2"
Keywords
Litzmannstadt, Lodz, Ghetto, Currency, Star of David
Subcollection
Philatelic
Recommended Citation
"Litzmannstadt (Lodz Ghetto) Currency" (1940). Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection. 2012.1.463a-e.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/bulmash/1179
Rights Statement
