Theresienstadt Ghetto On November 24, 1941, the Germans established a Jewish ghetto in the fortress town of Terezin, Czechoslovakia. Known by its German name, Theresienstadt, it functioned as a ghetto and transit camp on the route to Auschwitz, until its liberation on May 8, 1945. Currency used in Theresienstadt (Terezin) was designed by Czech artist Peter Kien, who was interned there and later died in Auschwitz. On the front of each bill was an engraved portrait of Moses holding the Ten Commandments in Hebrew. "When Kien initially submitted his designs to Reinhard Heydrich, they were rejected. Because Heydrich objected to the fact that Moses looked too Aryan, the notes were modified to show Moses with more strongly stereotyped Semitic features; the design had to conform to the Nazi vision of Jewish appearance. The final design shows Moses with a long hooked nose and curly hair. Heydrich also demanded that the hand of Moses cover the commandment that stated "Thou Shalt Not Kill." (From Life in the Ghettos During the Holocaust, edited by Eric J. Sterling.)
Theresienstadt was originally a fortress in Czechoslovakia built in 1870, which later became a town of 3,500 inhabitants. Unfortunately the Nazis crammed up to 53,000 in this small area at one time - this caused disease and great suffering for the unfortunate detainees. Out of the 144,000 that passed into this camp during the war, there were only 17,247 survivors. 15,000 children also lived at the camp - very few survived. It was at first a 'model' camp to make the world believe that this was merely a holiday camp for cultured Jews. Later it became a transition camp - 88,000 people were transported to extermination camps from here. In the summer of 1942, the Nazis decided to create a ghetto bank, with each resident receiving a fixed amount of money depending in which of five categories such resident belonged. The currency was designed by Peter Kien and printed by the National Bank in Prague. Reinhard Heydrich was SS Deputy Reich Protector in Bohemia & Moravia and he ordered that the picture of Moses be changed to conform to the Nazi caricature of a Jew. The other side of the scrip contains the printed signature of Jakob Edelstein as the "Eldest of the Jews in Theresienstdat." The notes are dated January 1, 1943, but did not go into circulation until May, 1943.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
THERESIENSTADT CONCENTRATION CAMP
20 KRONEN BANKNOTE
1943
CATALOGUE NUMBER: CAMPBELL 4115
CONDITION: VERY FINE
met het 6e gebod: "Gij zult niet moorden." of in de Islam "8....dat wie een ander doodt... het ware alsof hij het gehele mensdom had gedood (Soera De Tafel 32)" zichtbaar
133 mm, 67 mm
ebay, 01 feb 2014 US $26,25 (EUR 19,10), mrspitz