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Kingdom of Italy, 2 lire note, acquired by a war crimes trials court reporter

Object | Accession Number: 2004.323.2

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    Kingdom of Italy, 2 lire note, acquired by a war crimes trials court reporter
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    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    Italian 2 lire bank note acquired by Dixie Foster when she worked as a civilian court reporter during the US War Crimes Tribunal at the former Dachau concentration camp in Germany, also known as the Dachau war crimes trials. The trials were conducted in the American postwar occupation zone by the US Army from November 1945 to August 1948. The Kingdom of Italy had a Fascist government from 1922-1943, led by Benito Mussolini. It was closely allied with Nazi Germany and lost control of most of the country in 1943. Not long after the war ended on May 7, 1945, a constitutional referendum was held in June 1946 and Italy abolished the monarchy and became a republic.
    Date
    issue:  1939 November 14
    received:  approximately 1946-before 1948 January
    Geography
    issue: Italy
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Gretchen Davenport
    Markings
    face, upper center, purple ink : REGNO / D’ ITALIA / BIGLIETTO DI STATO / A CORSO LEGALE / LIRE / DVE [KINGDOM / OF ITALY / TICKET OF STATE / A LEGAL TENDER / TWO]
    face, lower center left, purple ink : IL DIRETTORE GENERALE / DEL TESORO / Grassi / VISTO PER LA [illegible]E DEI CONTI / Porena / IL CASSIERE SPECIALE / Cossu [THE DIRECTOR GENERAL / TREASURY / HAVING REGARD TO THE COURT OF AUDITORS / [THE CASHIER SPECIAL]
    face, right, vertically, purple ink : 2 LIRE
    face, lower left edge, purple ink : ISTITU[T]O POLIGRAFICO DELLO STATO [INSTITUTE OF THE STATE PRINTING OFFICE]
    face, lower center edge, purple ink : R. GARRASI DIS
    face, lower right edge, purple ink : OFFICINA CARTE-VALORI [CARDS WORKSHOP-VALUES]
    back, series number, upper left and lower right, black ink : 299
    back, serial number, lower left and upper right, black ink : 602589
    back, left and right, interlaced with L : 2
    back, lower left, within rectangle, brown ink : Italian text
    back, lower right, within rectangle, brown ink : REGIO DECRETO LEGGE / 20 MAGGIO 1935-XIII № 874 / E DECRETO MINISTERIALE / 14 NOVEMBRE 1939-XVIII [ROYAL DECREE LAW / MAY 20, 1935 № 874-XIII / AND MINISTERIAL DECREE / NOVEMBER 14, 1939-XVIII]
    Contributor
    Subject: Dixie Foster
    Issuer: Kingdom of Italy
    Biography
    Dixie Foster was born on September 6, 1912, in Cedar City, Utah, to Solon and Emma Morris Foster. Her father was a bank cashier and she had five siblings. Dixie’s mother passed away on February 20, 1920, and her father remarried that year to Helen Nelson, originally from Sweden. Dixie attended Branch Agricultural College in Cedar City. In 1940, Dixie worked as a court reporter for the Public Service Commission in Salt Lake City.

    The United States entered World War II on December 8, 1941, and declared war on Nazi Germany on December 11. On May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies, ending the war in Europe. The 1943 Moscow Declaration had determined that those responsible for war crimes would be tried for those crimes after the war. In addition to the trials of major war criminals by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, the Allies held trials in their zones of occupation. A US Military Tribunal was held at the site of the former Dachau concentration camp in Germany to try concentration camp guards and other persons who had committed crimes against Jews and others in the area. The evidence and eyewitness testimonies presented at these trials brought to view the extent of the Nazi concentration camp system. Dixie obtained a position as a civilian court reporter for the US Military Tribunal known as the Dachau war crimes trials. She was present at the following judicial proceedings: a US prisoner of war trial, US v. Heinrich Birnbreier et al, on April 21-25, 1947, a Mauthausen-Gusen camp trial, US v. Karl Glas et al, on August 11-12, a Dachau camp trial, US v. Johannes Berscheid et al, on August 21-25, and a Mauthausen-Gusen trial, US v. Karl Moegle, on September 8-9. Dixie returned to the United States in January 1948. The Dachau Trials adjourned in August 1948. Dixie passed away on April 4, 1998, at the age of 85, in Utah.

    Physical Details

    Language
    Italian
    Classification
    Exchange Media
    Category
    Money
    Physical Description
    Rectangular, offwhite paper currency. The face has a graphic design in purple ink on a pale purple background with a central crest. On the left is a rectangle with fasces, a bound bundle of wooden rods with an axe, with acanthus leaves; on the right is a rectangle with the denomination 2 LIRE on a wheat stalk. The center has Italian text and 3 engraved signatures, with printing information on the lower border. The back has a graphic background design in brown ink with a central rectangle with an image of Julius Caesar, standing in a breastplate and togo, flanked by the denomination 2 interlaced with the letter L; above and below are repeated series and serial numbers in black ink. On the lower left and right are small rectangles with Italian text.
    Dimensions
    overall: Height: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Width: 3.250 inches (8.255 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

    Provenance
    The paper currency was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Gretchen Davenport, the great-niece of Dixie Foster.
    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 11:16:03
    This page:
    http:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn521966

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