Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp scrip, 1 krone note

Identifier
irn519099
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2007.237.2
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • German
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Width: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm)

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Alfred Herzka was born on June 10, 1930, in Sonntagberg, Austria. He was the only son of Friedrich Herzka and Berta Schiller. His father had served in the Austrian Army on the Italian front during World War I, 1914-1918. He received a doctorate in engineering from the University of Vienna in 1928 and from 1929 was employed in the steel mill in Gerstl bei Waidhofen. His paternal grandmother had died in the 1920s; his paternal grandfather, Felix Herzka, was an accountant. His maternal grandfather, Simon Schiller, was a master tailor, and lived in Vienna with his wife, Ernestine, born October 14, 1867. In March 1938, the Anschluss occurred. German troops marched into Austria on March 12 and the next day, Austria was incorporated into Nazi Germany. The Germans soon enacted anti-Jewish legislation to exclude Jews from the economic and social life of Austria. Alfred’s father was dismissed from his job for being Jewish and the family moved to Vienna. The November 8-9 Kristallnacht pogrom was exceptionally brutal there – the synagogues were burned, Jewish businesses and homes were vandalized, and there was widespread violence. The persecution of Jews continued to intensify and in 1939, Alfred’s parents sent him to a children’s home in Montmorency, France. Later that year, his parents received permission and visas to emigrate from Austria to Chile and the family sailed on the MS Virgilio in 1940. All their property, including stocks, autos, and other materials goods, was confiscated by the German government. Alfred’s paternal grandfather was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp where he perished in 1942. His maternal grandfather, Simon, died in Vienna of natural causes in 1938, but his grandmother, Ernestine, was deported and imprisoned in Theresienstadt from 1942-1945. In 1946, she joined the family in Chile; she passed away at age 97, on October, 7, 1964. Alfred’s parents relocated to Cologne, Germany, many years after the war. Alfred became a journalist and in 1966, when he was stationed in Hamburg, Germany, married Ingrid Seeman (d. 1972), a German Protestant.

Ernestine Debora Winter was born on October 14, 1867, in Czechoslovakia. She married Simon Schiller, a master tailor, and they lived in Vienna, Austria. They had a daughter, Berta, who married Friedrich Herzka, an engineer in a steel plant in Sonntagberg, and they had one son, Alfred, born on June 10, 1930. Her husband died in 1938. That year, Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in March and anti-Jewish legislation was immediately enacted. Berta and her family moved to Vienna after her husband was fired from his job for being Jewish. The Kristallnacht pogrom that November was especially brutal in Vienna and the persecution of Jews continued to worsen, with frequent arrests and deportation to concentration camps. Berta, Simon, and Alfred were able to emigrate to Chile in 1940. Ernestine was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp on October 10, 1942. She was liberated on July 6, 1945, and by the next year joined her daughter and her family in Chile. Ernestine passed away on October 7, 1964, age 97 years, and was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Santiago.

Archival History

The Theresienstadt scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007 by Alfred Herzka, the grandson of Ernestine Schiller.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Alfred Herzka

Scope and Content

Scrip received by Ernestine Schiller when she was imprisoned in the Theresienstadt concentration camp from 1942-1945. Ernestine was a 75 year old Jewish resident of Vienna, Austria, who was deported to Theresienstadt on October 10, 1942. She was a prisoner in the camp until it was liberated in May 1945. The next year, she left Austria to join her daughter, Berta Herzka, and her family in Santiago, Chile, where they had fled from Vienna in 1940.

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 green ink on a green 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 1 in the lower corner and a 6-pointed Star of David above. The reverse has a green geometric background design with German text and a scrollwork line. Below the text is an engraved signature. The denomination 1 is in the upper right corner. The left side has a wide, off-white border with the denomination 1 in the lower corner with a 6-pointed Star of David above. The plate letter and number is in the upper left corner.

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.