Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp scrip, 20 kronen note 1992.62.5 front
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, United States
Scrip, valued at 20 [zwanzig] kronen, issued in Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp after January 1, 1943. All currency was confiscated upon entry and replaced with scrip and ration coupons that could be exchanged only in the camp. The camp existed from November 24, 1941 to May 9, 1945, in a region of Czechoslovakia annexed by Germany, renamed the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Rose acquired the scrip from her brother-in-law Dr. Henri Brunswic, who lived in Paris, France. In November 1940, a year after the German occupation of Poland in September 1939, Raszka (Rose) Galek, her parents Moshe and Fela, and her younger sisters Deana and Sala were confined to the Warsaw ghetto. In April 1943, Raszka’s parents were shot as she watched and her sisters deported to a concentration camp and presumed killed. Raszka escaped and went into hiding. A resistance member, Jan Majewski, helped her obtain false papers as a Polish Catholic, Maria Kowalczyk. In June, she was sent as a forced laborer to a farm in Krummhardt, Germany. Raszka was liberated by US forces in April 1945. She moved to Stuttgart displaced persons camp and emigrated to the United States in 1947.
Scrip, valued at 20 [zwanzig] kronen, issued in Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp after January 1, 1943. All currency was confiscated upon entry and replaced with scrip and ration coupons that could be exchanged only in the camp. The camp existed from November 24, 1941 to May 9, 1945, in a region of Czechoslovakia annexed by Germany, renamed the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Rose acquired the scrip from her brother-in-law Dr. Henri Brunswic, who lived in Paris, France. In November 1940, a year after the German occupation of Poland in September 1939, Raszka (Rose) Galek, her parents Moshe and Fela, and her younger sisters Deana and Sala were confined to the Warsaw ghetto. In April 1943, Raszka’s parents were shot as she watched and her sisters deported to a concentration camp and presumed killed. Raszka escaped and went into hiding. A resistance member, Jan Majewski, helped her obtain false papers as a Polish Catholic, Maria Kowalczyk. In June, she was sent as a forced laborer to a farm in Krummhardt, Germany. Raszka was liberated by US forces in April 1945. She moved to Stuttgart displaced persons camp and emigrated to the United States in 1947.
- Title: Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp scrip, 20 kronen note 1992.62.5 front
- Provenance: The Theresienstadt scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1992 by Rose Galek Brunswic., The Theresienstadt scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1992 by Rose Galek Brunswic.
- Subject Keywords: Concentration camps--Money--Czech Republic--Terezín (Severocesky kraj) Concentration camps--Economic aspects., Concentration camps--Money--Czech Republic--Terezín (Severocesky kraj) Concentration camps--Economic aspects.
- Type: Exchange Media, Exchange Media
- Rights: Permanent Collection, Permanent Collection
- External Link: See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Medium: Rectangular Theresienstadt scrip on watermarked paper, 20 kronen, printed in green and black ink. The face has a background of interlocked diamonds. On the left is a depiction of a bearded Moses holding 2 tablets with the 10 Commandments in Hebrew characters within a medallion, with German text to the right. The right side has a wide, offwhite border with the denomination 2o in the lower corner and a 6-pointed Star of David above. The reverse is paler green in the center, and has a background of interlocked elongated ovals, with German text within a large scrollwork line, above an engraved signature. In the upper right corner is the denomination 20. The left side has a wide, offwhite border with the denomination 20 in the lower corner below a 6-pointed Star of David. The plate number is in the upper left corner; the plate letter is in the bottom left. It has a center crease and little wear., Rectangular Theresienstadt scrip on watermarked paper, 20 kronen, printed in green and black ink. The face has a background of interlocked diamonds. On the left is a depiction of a bearded Moses holding 2 tablets with the 10 Commandments in Hebrew characters within a medallion, with German text to the right. The right side has a wide, offwhite border with the denomination 2o in the lower corner and a 6-pointed Star of David above. The reverse is paler green in the center, and has a background of interlocked elongated ovals, with German text within a large scrollwork line, above an engraved signature. In the upper right corner is the denomination 20. The left side has a wide, offwhite border with the denomination 20 in the lower corner below a 6-pointed Star of David. The plate number is in the upper left corner; the plate letter is in the bottom left. It has a center crease and little wear.
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