From KL-Westerbork, a pair from the several denominations of camp scrip, that was used by prisoners at the camp. Note the detail, often seen on ghetto or transit camp notes, yet never seen on the crude, basic tokens that were circulated at the extermination camps such as Auschwitz. The reason for this, in short terms, is that the SS wanted to manipulate the inmates further, and by circulating notes that on the surface at least, resembled money from the outside world, this would help to pacify a fearful and potentially disruptive prey. Meanwhile, the concentration camp prisoners who were already at their final destination, needed no further manipulation in this manner, as they were already completely broken, and merely awaiting their fate, be it death by starvation, slave labour, disease or murder. A featureless token would have no connection to the outside world, thus reminding the inmate of the hopelessness of their plight. Transit camp and ghetto notes often show scenes of industry, natural beauty or even Jewish symbolism.
Liberated prisoners, typically many miles from home, were often assigned these registration, or repatriation cards, to assist them on their return journey. Here is one such example, that belonged to a woman in Leitmeritz, site of the KL and underground facilities known as Richard.
The gates of hell were opened and we accepted the invitation to enter" 26/880 Lance Sgt, Edward Dyke. 26th Bn Northumberland Fusiliers , ( 3rd Tyneside Irish )
1st July 1916
Thought shall be the harder , heart the keener,
Courage the greater as our strength faileth.
Here lies our leader ,in the dust of his greatness.
Who leaves him now , be damned forever.
We who are old now shall not leave this Battle,
But lie at his feet , in the dust with our leader
These two letters were written by an inmate at KL-Mauthausen. The content, although generally typical of this type of correspondence in that the prisoner passes on regards to family and friends, asks after loved ones and requests supply packages etc, does have a few notable points. Firstly, a sad request within the earlier letter, dated July 1943, to hear more of his wife's funeral. The later note thanks the recipient for tending to the grave. The prisoner also mentions that he is a member of the camp orchestra too, and was writing the letter during a break in performance.
Note: Thanks to HPL for once again, kindly assisting with the translation.
Theresienstadt2Kronen, 5Kronen and 10Kronen. Later, I shall post images of the watermarked higher denominations, namely, the 20, 50 and 100Kronen notes. They were designed by Petr Klein, a Jewish Theresienstadt inmate who later died at Auschwitz. His initial designs were altered, by order of SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich, who disliked the original drawings due to their Aryan appearance. Hence the long crooked nose, curly hair and large ears present on the final examples, which were printed at the National Bank in Prague.
Re: KL Collection
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