Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Scrip used by Salomea Herszenberg while she was imprisoned in the Jewish ghetto in Łódź, Poland. When the Germans transferred Jews to the ghetto, they confiscated all currency in exchange for Quittungen [receipts] that could be spent only inside the ghetto. In February 1940, following Germany's occupation of Poland in September 1939, 14-year old Salomea and her family were forced to move there. Salomea attended school and her parents worked their same jobs; her mother was a midwife, her father delivered textiles. In spring 1944, the Germans decided to destroy the ghetto. With the assitance of Salomea's maternal uncle, they were able to get into a work detail kept behind by the Germans to clean and sort belongings. After that, they hid in the ghetto until it was liberated by the Soviet Army in January 1945.
- Date
-
issue:
1940 May 14
- Geography
-
use:
Litzmannstadt-Getto (Łódź, Poland);
Łódź (Poland)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Salomea Kape
- Markings
- front top center, black ink : QUITTUNG ÜBER / FÜNFZIG PFENNIG / WER DIESE QUITTUNG VERFÄLSCHT / ODER NACHMACHT ODER GEFÄLSCHTE / QUITTUNGEN IN VERKEHR BRINGT / WIRD STRENGSTENS BESTRAFT
back center, black ink : QUITTUNG / ÜBER / 50 PFENNIG / DER AELTESTE DER JUDEN / IN LITZMANNSTADT / (Illegible signature) / LITZMANNSTADT , DEN 15 MAI 1940
front lower center, serial number, red ink : Nº 528495
back lower center, serial number, red ink : Nº 528495 - Contributor
-
Subject:
Salomea Kape
Subject: Roza Herszenberg
- Biography
-
Salomea Herszenberg was born in May 17, 1926, in Łódź, Poland, to Calel and Roza Toronczyk. Her father delivered textiles to factories in Łódź. Her mother was a nurse/midwife, .as was her twin sister Anna;Roza also had a brother Mel. A few months after Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, her family was imprisoned inside the ghetto with the other Jews of the town. Both parents continued to work the same jobs. Roza took over Anna's job at the ghetto hospital when Anna escaped to Russian territory in the east. Salomea attended the ghetto high school, where the headmistress, Stella Rein, maintained the normal curriculum and provided a daily bowl of soup for students. Salomea was often very hungry, but a rule of the ghetto was that you did not talk about hunger. Her paternal grandmother, Cerka Herszenberg, died of starvation in 1941. In the fall of 1942, her friend, Stella Szafir, told Salomea that her family had been taken by the Gestapo; a few days later, Stella turned herself in and was taken to Chelmno killing center. In the spring of 1944, the Germans decided to destroy the ghetto. The residents were told that they were being transferred to work camps, though most were being shipped to Auschwitz death camp. Salomea’s mother decided that the family must hide and avoid the deportations. Roza's brother, Mel, had been assigned to the group of about 600 residents that the Germans kept behind to clean the ghetto and sort the remaining belongings. He was part of the work detail that cleaned stables, and he was able to get Roza and her family jobs in his group. They stayed in the ghetto until the liberation of the city by the Soviet Army in January 1945. After liberation, Salomea enrolled in medical school and received her degree in 1952. In 1957, she and her husband, Mendel Kape, whom she had married in 1951, left Poland for Israel where their son was born. In 1966, the family emigrated to New York. Salomea's parents and aunt Anna joined them in New York in 1966. Her father died in 1972/3 and her mother passed away in 1975.
Roza (Ruchla) Toronczyk and her twin sister, Anna were born on January 15, 1901, in Poland. They had a brother, Mel. Both sisters became nurse/midwives in Łódź, receiving their diplomas in 1920. Roza married Calel Herschenberg, who distributed textiles to Łódź factories. They had a daughter, Salomea, born May 17, 1926, in Łódź. Germany invaded and occupied Poland in September 1939. A few months later, Roza and her family were imprisoned in the ghetto with the other Jews of the town. Roza worked as a midwife in the ghetto hospital, replacing her twin sister, Anna, who had escaped to Russian territory in the east. Anna had suggested that Roza assume her position in the hospital, as no one would know the difference. Her mother-in-law, Cerka Herszenberg, died of starvation in 1941. In the spring of 1944, the Germans began to liquidate the ghetto.The residents were told that they were being transferred to work camps, though most were being shipped to Auschwitz death camp. Roza decided that the family had to hide and avoid the deportations. Her brother, Mel, had been assigned to the work detail of about 600 residents selected to stay behind to clean and sort the remaining materials for the Germans. He worked cleaning the stables and was able to get Roza and her family a job there. Roza would sometimes leave the cleaning crew and travel through the ghetto to help people in need. In January 1945, the town was liberated by the Soviet Army. After liberation, Salomea was able to resume her education; she graduated from medical school in 1952. Anna returned from Russia in 1947. Roza, Calel, and Roza's sister, Anna, immigrated to the United States around 1966, to join Salomea and her family. Calel passed away in 1972/3; Roza died, age 74, in 1975. Anna passed away, age 77, in 1978.
Physical Details
- Language
- German
- Classification
-
Exchange Media
- Category
-
Money
- Object Type
-
Scrip (aat)
- Physical Description
- Rectangular scrip printed in purple ink on light blue paper with black text. On the front is a purple Star of David background pattern, with the denomination in the top left and right corners. The back has a purple Star of David background pattern layered over a green lattice design. Each corner has a box with the numerical denomination in the upper right and lower left corner, and a Star of David in the upper left and right corners. A purple candelabrum is centered in the background. of the note. The serial number is on the front and back. A piece of white tape with a red 2 is adhered vertically to the back across a center seam.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 2.120 inches (5.385 cm) | Width: 3.370 inches (8.56 cm)
- Materials
- overall : paper, ink
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The Lodz ghetto scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Dr. Salomea Kape.
- Record last modified:
- 2022-07-28 18:28:52
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn517271
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Also in Salomea Herszenberg Kape family collection
The collection consists of artifacts, documents, and photographs relating to the experience of Roza Herszenberg Kape and Anna Toronczyk and their family in Łódź, Poland, before, during, and after the Holocaust, Anna's experiences as a midwife in displaced persons camps, and the family's immigration to the United States in the 1950-60s. Some of these materials may be combined into a single collection in the future.
Date: 1920-1965
Pewter medal with a red cross and caduceus, certificate and box awarded to a Polish midwife for postwar service
Object
Medal for excellent health care practice, with certficate and presentation box awarded to Anna Toronczyk in 1964 by the government of Poland for her exemplary service as a midwife. Anna was living in Łódź, Poland, when Germany invaded in September 1939. She worked as a midwife in the hospital in the Jewish ghetto until September 1940, when she escaped to the Soviet Union. Her twin sister, Roza Herszenberg, assumed her position in the hospital. Anna was in the Soviet Union until 1946-47, when she was repatriated and able to return to Łódź to be with her family. Roza, her husband Calel, and daughter Salomea escaped the destruction of the ghetto by the Germans in spring 1944 by going into hiding, then obtaining jobs on the crew assigned to stay behind to salvage materials. Following the cleanup, they hid until the city was liberated by Soviet forces in January 1945.
Bronze Krzyz Zaslugi [Cross of Merit] awarded to a Polish midwife for postwar service
Object
Bronze medal with attached ribbon, molded box, and certificate presented to Anna Toronczyk in 1956 by the government of Poland for her exemplary service as a midwife. Anna was living in Łódź, Poland, when the Germans invaded in September 1939. She worked as a midwife in the hospital in the Jewish ghetto until September 1940, when she escaped to the Soviet Union. Her twin sister, Roza Herszenberg, assumed her position in the hospital. Anna was in the Soviet Union until 1946-47, when she was repatriated and able to return to Łódź to be with her family. Roza, her husband Calel, and daughter Salomea escaped the destruction of the ghetto by the Germans in spring 1944 by going into hiding, then obtaining jobs on the crew assigned to stay behind to salvage materials. Following the cleanup, they hid until the city was liberated by Soviet forces in January 1945.
Gold Krzyz Zaslugi [Cross of Merit] with ribbon, certificate, and box awarded to a Polish midwife for postwar service
Object
Gold Cross of Merit medal with attached ribbon ribbon, case, and certificate presented to Anna Toronczyk in 1964 by Poland for her exemplary service as a midwife. Anna was living in Łódź, Poland, when the Germans invaded in September 1939. She worked as a midwife in the hospital in the Jewish ghetto until September 1940, when she escaped to the Soviet Union. Her twin sister, Roza Herszenberg, assumed her position in the hospital. Anna was in the Soviet Union until 1946-47, when she was repatriated and able to return to Łódź to be with her family. Roza, her husband Calel, and daughter Salomea escaped the destruction of the ghetto by the Germans in spring 1944 by going into hiding, then obtaining jobs on the crew assigned to stay behind to salvage materials. Following the cleanup, they hid until the city was liberated by Soviet forces in January 1945.
Short stories about the Łódź Ghetto
Document
Contains short stories relating to the Łódź Ghetto and its inhabitants by Salomea Kape. Also contains a photocopy of a worker identification card from the ghetto.
Dr. Salomea Kape papers
Document
The papers consist of documents, photographs, and identification cards relating to the experiences of the Herschenberg family [donor's family] in Łódź, Poland, during the Holocaust. Also includes identification papers, photographs, and documents pertaining to Anna Toronczyk [donor's maternal aunt] and her work as a midwife in displaced persons camps after World War II, and the Herschenberg family's experiences in the Łódź ghetto and their immigration to the United States.
Salomea Kape photograph
Document
Collection consisting of a photograph of Dr. A. Weiskopf, a physician in the Łódź ghetto.