Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp scrip, 5 kronen note
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.250 inches (5.715 cm) | Width: 4.625 inches (11.747 cm)
Creator(s)
- Hecht (Subject)
Biographical History
Mr. Hecht, full name unknown, was interned in Theresienstadt concentration camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. The camp administration was turned over to the International Red Cross in early May 1945. The Russian Army arrived on May 9 and assumed control of the camp. After the war, Hecht emigrated to Palestine. He was a member of Haganah, a Jewish defense organization, and fought in the War of Independence that led to the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948. Haganah was transformed into the Israeli Defense Forces. Mr. Hecht married Ellen, who passed away in Florida circa 1995.
Archival History
The Theresienstadt scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2012 by Mark W. Glickman.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Mark W. Glickman
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
Scrip, valued at 5 kronen, issued in the Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp in 1943. All currency was confiscated from deportees upon entry and replaced with scrip and ration coupons that could be exchanged only in the camp. The Theresienstadt camp existed for 3.5 years, from November 24, 1941 to May 9, 1945. It was located in a region of Czechoslovakia occupied by Germany, renamed the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and made part of the Greater German Reich.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Rectangular paper scrip. The front has a graphic design in black and brown ink on a brown background. The front depicts Moses holding 2 stone tablets with the 10 Commandments in Hebrew characters within a medallion on the left, with German text on the right. The right side has a wide, off-white border with the denomination 5 in the lower corner and a 6-pointed Star of David above. The reverse has a brown geometric background design with a central orange streak, German text, and a scrollwork line. Below the text is an engraved signature. The denomination 5 is in the upper right corner. The left side has a wide, off-white border with the denomination 5 in the lower corner with a 6-pointed Star of David above. The plate letter and number is in the upper left corner. It is stained and and slightly creased.
Subjects
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Czechoslovakia--Economic aspects.
- Jewish ghettos--Economic aspects--Czech Republic--Terezin (Ustecky kraj)
- Concentration camps--Economic aspects--Czech Republic--Terezin (Ustecky kraj)
- Czechoslovakia--History--1938-1945.
- World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Economic conditions.
Genre
- Object
- Exchange Media