Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Nazi Germany, 5 [funf] mark note from the album of Hauptsturmfuhrer Gerhard Pleiss, an officer in the Waffen-SS, SS-Panzer-Division Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler," 1st Company. Notes of this type were first issued as supplemental currency at the beginning of World War I (1914-1918) and remained in circulation until the hyperinflation of 1923. In 1936, the 21 year old Pleiss volunteered for the SS and was accepted into the Leibstandart, Hitler's personal bodyguard. He was awarded for his leadership in the May 1940 invasion of France and the April 1941 Balkans campaign. In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Pleiss was killed by a mine on November 17, 1941, during the offensive on Rostov-on-Don. The note was preserved in Pleiss's photograph album, which was brought back from the war by Milton V. Elliott, an American soldier.
- Date
-
issue:
after 1939 June 15-before 1941 November
- Geography
-
issue:
Berlin (Germany)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Wendie Theus
- Markings
- face, upper left and lower right, red ink : V • 7769866
face, upper center, brown ink : Reichsbanknote / Fünf / Reichsmark [Reichsbanknote / Five / Reichsmark]
face, lower center, brown ink : Ausgegeben auf Grund des Gesetzes über / die Deutsche Reichsbank vom 15. Juni1939 / Berlin, Den 1. August 1942 / Der Präsident / der Deutschen Reichsbank / Walter Funk [Issued on the basis of the law on / the German Reichsbank of 15 June 1939 / Berlin, the first August 1942 / The President / the German Reichsbank / Walter Funk]
face, lower left corner, brown ink : 5
back, top center, brown ink : Reichsmark
back, bottom center, brown ink : Reichsbanknote
back, upper and lower left and upper and lower right, brown ink : 5
back, across bottom, brown and green ink : WER BANKNOTEN NACHMACHT ODER VERFÄLSCHT ODER NACHGEMACHTE ODER VERFÄLSCHTE SICH / VERSCHAFFT UND IN VERKEHR BRINGT, WIRD MIT ZUCHTHAUS NICHT UNTER ZWEI JAHREN BESTRAFT [WHO MIMICS OR FALSIFIES OR COUNTERFEIT OR FALSELY PROCURES AND PUTS INTO CIRCULATION THIS BANKNOTE IS PUNISHED WITH JAIL NOT UNDER TWO YEARS] - Contributor
-
Original owner:
Gerhard Pleiss
Issuer: Deutsche Reichsbank
Subject: Gerhard Pleiss
Subject: Milton V. Elliott
- Biography
-
Gerhard (Gerd) Pleiss was born on April 20, 1915, in Remscheid, Germany. He attended gymnasium in Dortmund and then began an apprenticeship with a dentist. He volunteered for the SS in April 1936 and was accepted into the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 1st SS Company. This unit was Hitler's personal bodyguard, charged with guarding Hitler, his office, and personal residences. Pleiss attended SS-Junker school in Braunschweig and, in April 1939, was promoted to Untersturmfuhrer. He participated in the invasion of France in May 1940 and was awarded the Iron Cross, 1st class. In 1941, the Leibstandarte became part of the Waffen SS, during preparations for Operation Barbarossa, the planned invasion of the Soviet Union. SS-Hauptsturmführer Pleiss was made commander, 1st Company LSSAH, for the campaign in the Balkans. In April 1941, during the Battle of Vevi in northern Greece, Pleiss's unit captured Klidi Pass from British troops, opening the way into Greece. He was wounded, but remained in command. Pleiss was awarded the Knight's Cross, the highest award for bravery and leadership, which was personally presented to him by Hitler on April 21 in Berlin. Operation Barbarossa was launched on June 22, 1941. Pleiss was mortally wounded on November 17, 1941, when he stepped on a land mine during the attack on Rostov-on-Don (Rostov-na-Donu, Russia.)
Milton Verne Elliott was born on May 25, 1921, in Thayer, Kansas, to Vern H. and Ann C. Glentzer Elliott. He had a sister Ernestine. In August 1940, Milton enlisted in the United States Army. America entered World War II in December 1941. At some point, Milton was deployed to the European Theater of Operations. He returned to the US after the war ended in May 1945. In 1948, Milton married Gladys Baldwin. The couple had one daughter. Milton, 82, died in October 2003 in Missouri.
Physical Details
- Language
- German
- Classification
-
Exchange Media
- Category
-
Money
- Object Type
-
National bank notes (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Rectangular currency on watermarked paper in red/brown ink on a green and brown background, with a wide, offwhite left margin with the serial number in red ink in the top corner, and thedenomination 5, a Reichsadler seal in the bottom corner. It has an offcenter rectangle with a patterned border, with German text, the denomination Funf Reichsmark, and a framed portrait of an idealized Hitler Youth, above the serial number in red ink. It has a green flourish and a stylized P underprint. The reverse has a blank, wide, offwhite right margin with a watermarked image of an oak leaf branch. There is an offcenter rectangle with an image of a colonnaded building with a lion statue, flanked by a woman with crops and a sickle and an aproned man with a tool and a plank, and German text. The denomination 5 is near the corners within decorated bands across the top and bottom. The red/brown latticework background has a central green streak. The paper is soiled, with folds and a side tear.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 2.750 inches (6.985 cm) | Width: 5.500 inches (13.97 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 bank note was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2013 by Wendie Theus, the daughter of Milton V. Elliott.
- 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:
- 2023-08-28 08:08:16
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn85298
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Also in Milton V. Elliot / Gerhard Pleiss collection
The collection consists of five German bank notes and a photograph album relating to the experiences of Gerhard Pleiss, an officer in the Leibstandart SS Adolf Hitler, 1st Company, in Nazi Germany, as well as the experiences of Milton Verne Elliott, a soldier in the United States Army who discovered the album during World War II.
Date: 1910-1942
Gerd Pleiss photograph album
Document
Consists of a photograph album consisting of photographs of military training, Nazi rallies, the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and Berchtesgaden, all 1936-1937. The album was compiled by Gerd Pleiss, a member of the Leibstandart SS Adolf Hitler, 1st Company, and includes amateur photographs of leading Nazi personalities.
![Imperial Germany, Darlehnskassenschein [State Loan Office] 1 mark note from the album of a Waffen-SS officer acquired by an American soldier](https://www.ushmm.org/media/emu/get?irn=85297&mm_irn=25541&file=secondary "Imperial Germany, Darlehnskassenschein [State Loan Office] 1 mark note from the album of a Waffen-SS officer acquired by an American soldier")
Imperial Germany, Darlehnskassenschein [State Loan Office] 1 mark note from the album of a Waffen-SS officer acquired by an American soldier
Object
Imperial Germany Darlehnskassenschein [State Loan Office] emergency 1 [eine] mark note from the album of Hauptsturmfuhrer Gerhard Pleiss, a officer in the Waffen-SS, SS-Panzer-Division Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler," 1st Company. Notes of this type were first issued as supplemental currency at the beginning of World War I (1914-1918) and remained in circulation until the hyperinflation of 1923. In 1936, the 21 year old Pleiss volunteered for the SS and was accepted into the Leibstandart, Hitler's personal bodyguard. He was awarded for his leadership in the May 1940 invasion of France and the April 1941 Balkans campaign. In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Pleiss was killed by a mine on November 17, 1941, during the offensive on Rostov-on-Don. The note was preserved in Pleiss's photograph album, which was brought back from the war by Milton V. Elliott, an American soldier.
Imperial Germany, 50 mark note, series 1, from the album of a Waffen-SS officer acquired by an American soldier
Object
Imperial Germany 50 [funfzig] mark note from the album of Hauptsturmfuhrer Gerhard Pleiss, an officer in the Waffen-SS, SS-Panzer-Division Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler," 1st Company. This note, issued in June 1919, bears the Imperial eagle crest and was the final issue of Imperial Germany, although that regime collapsed in November 1918, at the end of World War I. Germany then became a republic, but was in a transitional period until the new constitution was adopted in Weimar in August 1919. In 1936, the 21 year old Pleiss volunteered for the SS and was accepted into the Leibstandart, Hitler's personal bodyguard. He was awarded for his leadership in the May 1940 invasion of France and the April 1941 Balkans campaign. In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Pleiss was killed by a mine on November 17, 1941, during the offensive on Rostov-on-Don. The note was preserved in Pleiss's photograph album, which was brought back from the war by Milton V. Elliott, an American soldier.
Weimar Germany, 50000 mark note, from the album of a Waffen-SS officer acquired by an American soldier
Object
Weimar Germany emergency 50,000 [funfzig tausend] mark note from the album of Hauptsturmfuhrer Gerhard Pleiss, an officer in the Waffen-SS, SS-Panzer-Division Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler," 1st Company. Notes of this type were issued in 1922 as emergency currency during the years of hyperinflation. In 1936, the 21 year old Pleiss volunteered for the SS and was accepted into the Leibstandart, Hitler's personal bodyguard. He was awarded for his leadership in the May 1940 invasion of France and the April 1941 Balkans campaign. In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Pleiss was killed by a mine on November 17, 1941, during the offensive on Rostov-on-Don. The note was preserved in Pleiss's photograph album, which was brought back from the war by Milton V. Elliott, an American soldier.
Imperial Germany Reichsbanknote, 100 mark note, from the album of a Waffen-SS officer acquired by an American soldier
Object
Imperial Germany Reichsbanknote, 100 [ein hundert] mark note from the album of Hauptsturmfuhrer Gerhard Pleiss, an officer in the Waffen-SS, SS-Panzer-Division Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler," 1st Company. This type of note was first issued on February 8, 1908, during the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II. In 1936, the 21 year old Pleiss volunteered for the SS and was accepted into the Leibstandart, Hitler's personal bodyguard. He was awarded for his leadership in the May 1940 invasion of France and the April 1941 Balkans campaign. In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Pleiss was killed by a mine on November 17, 1941, during the offensive on Rostov-on-Don. The note was preserved in Pleiss's photograph album, which was brought back from the war by Milton V. Elliott, an American soldier.
