Overview
- Brief Narrative
- The Reichsbank note is part of a collection of materials documenting the experiences of Cornelia Heise during her service with UNRRA child services in Germany after World War II (1939-1945). She compiled the papers, which include letters, documents, reports, case studies, her personal notes, photographs, and postcards. The papers include both originals and copies.
The Reichsbank note, valued at 50 million marks, was distributed in Germany from September to November 1923. German efforts to finance World War I sent the nation into debt. Following their defeat, the Treaty of Versailles obligated Germany to pay reparations to several countries, which increased the nation’s financial struggles. The German government attempted to solve this problem by printing more money, which led to severe inflation. The inflation grew to critical levels between 1922 and 1923, when the exchange rate of the mark to the United States dollar went from 2,000 marks per dollar to well over a million in a matter of months. The government printed higher and higher denominations, but was unable to keep up with the plunging rates. Germans began using the worthless bills as kindling, wallpaper, and children’s crafts. The emerging National Socialist German Worker’s (Nazi) Party frequently used the bills to their advantage, writing anti-Semitic messages on them, which blamed Jews for Germany’s financial problems. In order to stabilize the economy, the German government established the Rentenbank. The new Minister of Finance, Hans Luther, created the Rentenmark, which was backed by mortgages on all real property in Germany, rather than gold. The Rentenmark was valued at 4.2 marks to one U.S. dollar, and its introduction on November 16, 1923, successfully ended the inflation crisis. Despite this, the Nazi Party continued to use people’s residual economic fears as a propaganda tool to gain power, eventually leading to Adolf Hitler becoming Chancellor in 1933. - Date
-
issue:
1923 September 01
publication/distribution: 1923 September 01-1923 November 16
- Geography
-
issue:
Germany.
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of John Arpin
- Markings
- face, upper right corner, printed, green ink : 039294 *
face, center, backprint, printed, brown & red ink : 50 MILLIONEN [50 Million]
face, center, printed, black ink : Reichsbanknote / Fünfzig Millionen Mark / zahlt die Reichsbankhauptkasse in Berlin gegen diese / Banknote dem Einlieferer. Vom 1. Januar 1924 ab / kann diese Banknote aufgerufen und unter Umtausch / gegen andere gestezliche Zahlungsmittel eingezogen / werden / Berlin, den 1. September 1923 / Reichsbankdirektorium / (12 illegible signatures) [Reichsbank note Fifty million mark The Reichsbank’s head office in Berlin pays the consignor against this banknote. From January 1, 1924 this banknote can be summoned and confiscated in exchange for other high-value means of payment. Berlin, September 1, 1923 Reichsbank directorate]
face, lower left & right, printed, black ink : Wer Banknoten nachmacht oder verfälscht, oder nach- / gemachte oder verfälschte sich verschafft und in verkehr / bringt, wird mit Zuchthaus nicht unter zwei Jahren bestraft. [Anyone who imitates or falsifies banknotes or counterfeits or falsifies procures and places them on the market is punished with a term of imprisonment of not less than two years]
face, above right seal, printed, black ink : NF – 45
face, left & right of signatures, inside seals, printed, black ink : REICHSBANKDIREKTORIUM [Reichsbank directorate] - Contributor
-
Issuer:
Reichsbankdirektorium
Physical Details
- Language
- German
- Classification
-
Exchange Media
- Category
-
Money
- Object Type
-
Emergency currency (lcsh)
- Genre/Form
- Money.
- Physical Description
- Reichsbanknote printed in black ink on lightweight, rectangular, cream-colored paper with a geometric star-patterned watermark. On the face, there is a rectangle with a brown, decorative border and repeating, geometric circular backprint that deepens into a dark red streak down the center. The denomination is printed in decorative font across the center as part of the backprint. German text is printed across the center in fraktur-style font, and in three, vertically- aligned lines on the lower left and right. There are 12 signatures centered at the bottom and flanked by the Reichsbankdirektorium seal bearing a left-facing Reichsadler surrounded by German text, on both sides. The serial number is printed in green ink in the upper right corner. The back is blank.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 3.250 inches (8.255 cm) | Width: 4.875 inches (12.383 cm)
- Materials
- overall : paper, ink
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Economics. Germany--Politics and government--1918-1933--Economic aspects. Inflation (Finance)--Germany. Paper money--Germany. Banks and banking, German
- Geographic Name
- Germany.
- Personal Name
- Luther, Hans, 1879-1962.
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The currency was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2020 by John Arpin, a relative of Cornelia Heise.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-12-08 09:04:43
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn740505
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Also in Cornelia Heise collection
The collection consists of a banknote and papers documenting the experiences of Cornelia Heise during her service with UNRRA child services in Germany after World War II (1939-1945).
Date: 1945
Cornelia Heise papers
Document
Collection of papers compiled by Cornelia Heise during her service with UNRRA child services in Germany after WWII. Included are letters, documents, reports, case studies, her personal notes, photographs and postcards. The collection includes both originals and copies.