German issued Greek currency, 50,000 Drachmai note
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Width: 5.250 inches (13.335 cm)
Creator(s)
- Trapeza te?s Hellados (Issuer)
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 50,000 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 Greek notes featured figures and images from Greek Mythology and history. Featured on this note is a bust of an athlete. Athletics has a long tradition in Greece, with many city states holding their own individual competitions and also competing against each other in the Panhellenic games and the ancient Olympics. Only Greek citizens were allowed to compete, and the victors brought honor to themselves, their families, and their hometowns. On April 6, 1941, Germany invaded Greece to support Italy and forced the Greeks 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 of Greeks 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 bust of a man with short, curly hair in right profile, against a blue woven background. The bust is inside a circular frame bordered with black, rounded lobes filled with sinuous lines and a lower banner in the same pattern. Flanking the bust are several lines of Greek text, and the numeric denomination in black. The text and center image are overlaid on a blue, latticework background. The serial number is stamped on the upper right in red ink. The background has a black border with Greek text at the top, and the numeric denomination at each corner. The reverse bears a large, centered, rectangular shape comprised of thin, sinuous lines with the numeric denomination in the center. Flanking the center are layered, flower-like shapes comprised of curving lines. All three figures are overlaid on a light brown background of small, linked circles. The background has a black border with Greek text at the top and bottom, and the numeric denomination at each corner. The edges of the paper are smudged and there are several small creases throughout.
face, top, right, stamped red ink : 943290 ΑΕ
Subjects
- Paper money--Greece--History.
- Greece--Economic conditions--1918-1974.
- Greece--History--Occupation, 1941-1944.
- Greece.
- Athletics--Greece.
- Banks and banking.
Genre
- Money.
- Object
- Exchange Media