Kingdom of Italy, 2 lire note, acquired by a war crimes trials court reporter
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Width: 3.250 inches (8.255 cm)
Creator(s)
- Kingdom of Italy (Issuer)
- Dixie Foster (Subject)
Biographical History
Dixie Foster was born on September 6, 1912, in Cedar City, Utah, to Solon and Emma Morris Foster. Her father was a bank cashier and she had five siblings. Dixie’s mother passed away on February 20, 1920, and her father remarried that year to Helen Nelson, originally from Sweden. Dixie attended Branch Agricultural College in Cedar City. In 1940, Dixie worked as a court reporter for the Public Service Commission in Salt Lake City. The United States entered World War II on December 8, 1941, and declared war on Nazi Germany on December 11. On May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies, ending the war in Europe. The 1943 Moscow Declaration had determined that those responsible for war crimes would be tried for those crimes after the war. In addition to the trials of major war criminals by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, the Allies held trials in their zones of occupation. A US Military Tribunal was held at the site of the former Dachau concentration camp in Germany to try concentration camp guards and other persons who had committed crimes against Jews and others in the area. The evidence and eyewitness testimonies presented at these trials brought to view the extent of the Nazi concentration camp system. Dixie obtained a position as a civilian court reporter for the US Military Tribunal known as the Dachau war crimes trials. She was present at the following judicial proceedings: a US prisoner of war trial, US v. Heinrich Birnbreier et al, on April 21-25, 1947, a Mauthausen-Gusen camp trial, US v. Karl Glas et al, on August 11-12, a Dachau camp trial, US v. Johannes Berscheid et al, on August 21-25, and a Mauthausen-Gusen trial, US v. Karl Moegle, on September 8-9. Dixie returned to the United States in January 1948. The Dachau Trials adjourned in August 1948. Dixie passed away on April 4, 1998, at the age of 85, in Utah.
Archival History
The paper currency was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Gretchen Davenport, the great-niece of Dixie Foster.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Gretchen Davenport
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
Italian 2 lire bank note acquired by Dixie Foster when she worked as a civilian court reporter during the US War Crimes Tribunal at the former Dachau concentration camp in Germany, also known as the Dachau war crimes trials. The trials were conducted in the American postwar occupation zone by the US Army from November 1945 to August 1948. The Kingdom of Italy had a Fascist government from 1922-1943, led by Benito Mussolini. It was closely allied with Nazi Germany and lost control of most of the country in 1943. Not long after the war ended on May 7, 1945, a constitutional referendum was held in June 1946 and Italy abolished the monarchy and became a republic.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Rectangular, offwhite paper currency. The face has a graphic design in purple ink on a pale purple background with a central crest. On the left is a rectangle with fasces, a bound bundle of wooden rods with an axe, with acanthus leaves; on the right is a rectangle with the denomination 2 LIRE on a wheat stalk. The center has Italian text and 3 engraved signatures, with printing information on the lower border. The back has a graphic background design in brown ink with a central rectangle with an image of Julius Caesar, standing in a breastplate and togo, flanked by the denomination 2 interlaced with the letter L; above and below are repeated series and serial numbers in black ink. On the lower left and right are small rectangles with Italian text.
Corporate Bodies
- Allied Military Government
Subjects
- Paper money--Italy--History.
- War crime trials--Germany--Dachau.
- Dachau Trial, Dachau, Germany, 1946.
- Law reporters--Germany--Biography.
Genre
- Object
- Exchange Media