German issued Greek currency, 25,000 Drachmai note

Identifier
irn524902
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2003.413.70
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • Greek
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 2.500 inches (6.35 cm) | Width: 5.500 inches (13.97 cm)

Creator(s)

Archival History

The currency was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2003 by Joel Forman.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Joel Forman

Scope and Content

German-issued Greek National currency valued at 25,000 Drachmai. The Greek currency, called Drachma, can be traced back to the 6th century BC. The currency was discontinued after the Roman conquest of Greece, and reissued after Greece gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. Many of the reissued notes included figures and images from Greek mythology. Featured on this note is Deidamia of Scyros, wife of the hero, Achilles, and mother of his son, Neoptolemus. The image on the reverse is likely the Temple of Hera, one of the oldest monuments in Greece. On October 28, 1940, Italy invaded Greece, but they were repelled by the Greek forces. On April 6, 1941, Germany invaded Greece to support Italy and forced the Grecians to surrender by the end of the month. Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria collectively occupied Greece until Italy’s surrender to the Allies in September 1943. Then Germany occupied all of Greece, and forced the Greek government to pay for the occupation by printing more paper money with higher denominations. The excess Drachmai caused hyperinflation, and the price for goods and services rose dramatically. During the occupation, the price of corn was 9 million Drachmai per pound. The essentially worthless paper bills gave way to bartering of supplies such as olive oil, cigarettes, and wheat. Due to the invasion and the harsh economic policies, hundreds of thousands Grecians died from lack of food during the German occupation.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Conditions Governing Reproduction

No restrictions on use

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Greek currency printed on lightweight, off-white rectangular paper. The face has a large, centered, rectangular, green and red printed area with a black undulating border and white, spirographic lines throughout. The numeric denomination is located in each corner. On the left is a bust of Deidamia of Scyros. She is in right profile with the top of a tunic over her shoulder and a sakkos covering her hair, which is in a bun. The image is inside a vertical, rectangular frame overlaid on a background of lines layered in a sinuous, latticework design. To the right, is a black ribbon with Greek text inside, and several lines of Greek text with the denomination below. Above, and to the right of the text is a red serial number. The text is overlaid on a light green and red-colored latticework background. The reverse features a light green, rectangular latticework background overlaid with a centered image of two columns standing amid the rubble of a building. The image is flanked by the numeric denomination in black, which is overlaid on a sinuous design of layered oval shapes with pinched ends inside an ornate, black border with spirographic white lines. An ornate, green border with sinuous white interior lines surrounds the image and denominations. Above the image is a ribbon with black Greek text inside, and below the image is a line of black text.

face, upper right, stamped, red ink : AE 693446

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.