Theresienstadt Ghetto money

Complete set of banknotes from Theresienstadt ghetto in the denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Kronen.

Theresienstadt ghetto was established in the fortress town of Terezin, 60 kilometres north of Prague in what is now the Czech Republic. Conditions in the ghetto were harsh, food inadequate, and disease rampant. It became a collection centre for Jews to be deported to the death camps. However, Nazi propaganda maintained the facade that Jews were living there in safety. When International Red Cross representatives came to inspect the camp on 23 July 1944, a sham performance was staged for their benefit. Shops full of goods were open, phoney studios, cafes and a school were seen to be in operation. The Nazis took elaborate steps to create the impression of a ghetto bank. On the day of the Red Cross visit there were queues at the bank to make 'deposits'.

The ghetto notes were designed in early 1942 by Czech artist, poet and inmate Peter Kien, who was murdered in Auschwitz in 1944. The design featured a vignette of Moses with a prominent hooked nose and curly hair – stereotyped Semitic features – holding the Ten Commandments, supposedly obscuring the commandment “Thou shalt not kill.”

Internal money existed in a number of ghettos and camps both in occupied territories as well as within Germany. The Lodz ghetto was the first to issue its own currency, on 15 May 1940.

In Theresienstadt, those who worked in the ghetto were paid a monthly salary, despite the fact that the currency was only valid in selected shops and completely useless outside the camp. The shops within the ghetto were stocked with items that were pilfered from the belongings of new arrivals at the camp.