Ostarbeiter [Eastern worker] Sparmarke [savings stamp] block, 3 Reichsmark

Identifier
irn523550
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2005.506.13
Dates
1 Jan 1942 - 31 Dec 1944
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • German
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 6.880 inches (17.475 cm) | Width: 4.750 inches (12.065 cm)

Archival History

The postage stamp sheets were acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005.

Acquisition

Forms part of the Claims Conference International Holocaust Documentation Archive at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This archive consists of documentation whose reproduction and/or acquisition was made possible with funding from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Scope and Content

Savings stamp block of 50 stamps issued as wages in place of currency to some Ostarbeiters [Eastern workers], forced laborers, usually Russian or Ukrainian, forcibly recruited by the Germans to work in Nazi controlled territories. They could be exchanged for limited goods available in the work camps. Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union in the spring of 1941, and the need for forced labor to support the war effort and to keep the German economy functioning was an urgent necessity. Millions of forced laborers were deported from the Soviet Union to work in factories. They were housed in so-called residence camps which were often surrounded by barbed wire and staffed by SS guards. They were required to wear OST badges to keep them separate from the general population and to mark them as second class citizens. After the war ended in 1945, nearly 6 million eastern workers were repatriated to the Soviet Union where they often were discriminated against and accused of being traitors to their country.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Conditions Governing Reproduction

No restrictions on use

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Rectangular perforated white paper postage stamp sheet with a graphic design in green ink. There are 50 stamps in 2 rows, with 5 stamps in each row. The denomination 3 is printed on the left; on the right is an image of an airplane propeller within a sunburst. There is German text in the top and bottom borders. The back is coated in adhesive. The stamps are not canceled.

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.