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Łódź (Litzmannstadt) ghetto scrip, 5 mark coin

Object | Accession Number: 1987.90.94

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    Łódź (Litzmannstadt) ghetto scrip, 5 mark coin
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    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    5 mark coin token issued in 1943 in Łódź Ghetto in German occupied Poland. Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and occupied Łódź one week later. Łódź was renamed Litzmannstadt and, by February 1940, the Germans forcibly relocated the large Jewish population of 160,000 into a small, sealed ghetto. Residents had to do forced labor, many in ghetto factories. Residents were forbidden to have German currency, and the Jewish Council was ordered to create a system of Quittungen [receipts] for use only in the Ghetto. Coins were issued in 4 denominations: 10 pfennig, and 5,10, and 20 mark. Paper scrip was issued in 7 denominations: 50 pfenning, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 marks. It acted as a labor incentive and facilitated the confiscation of money and goods from internees. There was little to exchange it for in the Ghetto. Living conditions were horrendous; the severe overcrowding and lack of food made disease and starvation common. In January 1942, mass deportations to Chelmno killing center began; half the residents were murdered by the end of the year. In summer 1944, Łódź, the last ghetto in Poland, was destroyed and the remaining Jews were sent to Chelmno and Auschwitz-Birkenau killing centers.
    Date
    issue:  1943
    Geography
    issue: Litzmannstadt-Getto (Łódź, Poland); Łódź (Poland)
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Żydowski Instytut Historyczny im. Emanuela Ringelbluma
    Markings
    obverse, embossed : GETTO / 1943
    reverse, around the rim, engraved : DER AELTESTE DER JUDEN / ˙ IN LITZMANNSTADT ˙ [Eldest of the Jews in Litzmannstadt]
    reverse, center, embossed : 5 / MARK
    reverse, center, embossed: QUITTUNG UBER [On Receipt]

    Physical Details

    Language
    German
    Classification
    Exchange Media
    Category
    Money
    Object Type
    Tokens (lcsh)
    Genre/Form
    Money
    Physical Description
    Heavily corroded, circular, lightweight composite metal coin, possibly aluminum or magnesium, and a raised rim. The obverse has an embossed design with the denomination 5 mark in the center crossed by a banner with Quittung Uber. There is German text circling the edge near the depressed rim. The reverse has a large, smooth Star of David, overlaid by the word GETTO on the bottom right, with the year 1943 below, bordered by a circular raised line with evenly interspersed Stars of David. The rim is extremely worn. The surface is mottled, with pitting and dark corrosive encrustation with white spots.
    Dimensions
    overall: | Diameter: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm)
    Materials
    overall : metal

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    No restrictions on access
    Conditions on Use
    No restrictions on use

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1987 by the Zydowski Instytut Historyczny im. Emanuela Ringelbluma.
    Funding Note
    The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
    Record last modified:
    2024-10-03 12:09:13
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn521856

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