Weimar Germany, 10 billion mark note, saved by German Jewish refugee

Identifier
irn44477
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2011.259.19
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • German
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 4.125 inches (10.477 cm) | Width: 6.000 inches (15.24 cm)

Creator(s)

Archival History

The money was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2011 by Ron Lenneberg, the son of Carl Werner Lenneberg.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ron Lenneberg

Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Scope and Content

Weimar Germany 10 billion mark note saved by Carl Werner Lenneberg. This currency was issued by the new democratic government that ruled Germany after World War I (1914-1918), when it was in a period of hyper inflation that threatened the stability of the country. During the war, Lenneberg was a soldier in the 8th (Rhenish) Foot Artillery Battalion, XVI Army Corps, German Army. In January 1933, Hitler and the Nazi regime took power. Anti-Jewish policies put increasingly harsh restrictions on Jewish life. Werner and his brother Georg were arrested during Kristallnacht, November 9-10, 1938, and sent to Dachau concentration camp. After release, they left Germany on the ill-fated voyage of the MS St. Louis to Havana, Cuba, May 13-June 17, 1939. Upon the ship's forced return to Europe, Carl and George were in the group given asylum in Belgium. In April 1940, they sailed from Antwerp to New York.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Conditions Governing Reproduction

No restrictions on use

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

10 billion German mark note printed on one side of rectangular white paper in brown, red-brown, and black ink. On each side is a vertical panel with an intricate Art Nouveau geometric background and scalloped edges. The left has the denomination 10 Milliarden Mark; the right has 2 lines of small text. In the center is a square with a central abstract floral embellishment on a background of 10s alternating with small flowers overprinted with the denomination Zehn Milliarden Mark and German text, with 2 Reichsbank seals in the bottom corners and the serial number in red ink in the bottom right. The back is blank. The note is wrinkled, torn, and soiled along the edges.

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.