Łódź (Litzmannstadt) ghetto scrip, 5 mark coin

5 mark coin token issued in 1943 in Łódź Ghetto in German occupied Poland. Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and occupied Łódź one week later. Łódź was renamed Litzmannstadt and, by February 1940, the Germans forcibly relocated the large Jewish population of 160,000 into a small, sealed ghetto. Residents had to do forced labor, many in ghetto factories. Residents were forbidden to have German currency, and the Jewish Council was ordered to create a system of Quittungen [receipts] for use only in the Ghetto. Coins were issued in 4 denominations: 10 pfennig, and 5,10, and 20 mark. Paper scrip was issued in 7 denominations: 50 pfenning, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 marks. It acted as a labor incentive and facilitated the confiscation of money and goods from internees. There was little to exchange it for in the Ghetto. Living conditions were horrendous; the severe overcrowding and lack of food made disease and starvation common. In January 1942, mass deportations to Chelmno killing center began; half the residents were murdered by the end of the year. In summer 1944, Łódź, the last ghetto in Poland, was destroyed and the remaining Jews were sent to Chelmno and Auschwitz-Birkenau killing centers.