Lodz (Litzmannstadt) ghetto scrip, 20 mark note, given to a US soldier by a refugee 2004.660.4 front

20 mark note receipt from the Lodz ghetto, one of 5 pieces of scrip given to Igor Belousovitch, a US soldier, in early April 1945 by a refugee walking west on the same road Igor's unit was taking east across Germany near Leipzig. As Igor was looking at the line of refugees, one looked over at him and they made eye contact. The man, emaciated and dressed in rags, walked over to Igor, reached in his pocket, pulled out several bills, and gave them to Igor. They exchanged a few words and then both continued on their way. The scrip was created in the Lodz ghetto, renamed Litzmannstadt, in German occupied Poland beginning in May 1940. When the Germans incarcerated Jews in the ghetto, they confiscated all currency in exchange for Quittungen [receipts] that could be spent only inside the ghetto. The scrip, designed by the Judenrat [Jewish Council], is decorated with traditional Jewish symbols. Igor, age 21, enlisted in the US Army in 1943. He was assigned to the 273rd Regiment, 69th Infantry Division. Igor, a native Russian speaker, was the translator at the historic April 25, 1945, meeting of American and Soviet forces at the Elbe River in Germany where they celebrated their successful efforts to destroy Fascism in Europe.

20 mark note receipt from the Lodz ghetto, one of 5 pieces of scrip given to Igor Belousovitch, a US soldier, in early April 1945 by a refugee walking west on the same road Igor's unit was taking east across Germany near Leipzig. As Igor was looking at the line of refugees, one looked over at him and they made eye contact. The man, emaciated and dressed in rags, walked over to Igor, reached in his pocket, pulled out several bills, and gave them to Igor. They exchanged a few words and then both continued on their way. The scrip was created in the Lodz ghetto, renamed Litzmannstadt, in German occupied Poland beginning in May 1940. When the Germans incarcerated Jews in the ghetto, they confiscated all currency in exchange for Quittungen [receipts] that could be spent only inside the ghetto. The scrip, designed by the Judenrat [Jewish Council], is decorated with traditional Jewish symbols. Igor, age 21, enlisted in the US Army in 1943. He was assigned to the 273rd Regiment, 69th Infantry Division. Igor, a native Russian speaker, was the translator at the historic April 25, 1945, meeting of American and Soviet forces at the Elbe River in Germany where they celebrated their successful efforts to destroy Fascism in Europe.