Allied Military, 10 mark note, with inscription by a war crimes trials court reporter
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.750 inches (6.985 cm) | Width: 4.375 inches (11.113 cm)
Creator(s)
- Dixie Foster (Subject)
- Allied Forces (Issuer)
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
Allied military currency valued at 10 marks acquired by Dixie Foster when she worked as 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. It was inscribed on May 5, 1946, by Dixie and a US Colonel with whom she worked in Germany.
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 black ink on a blue floral background. On the right is a medallion with the letter M; above and below is the numeric denomination 10. On the left is scrollwork bordering the denomination 10; above is the denomination 10 within an oval. In the upper and lower right corners are an acanthus leaf and scrolls. On the upper border and on the center is German text; the serial number in black ink is near the center. The back has a graphic design in light brown ink with scrollwork near the corners. In the center is a large medallion with the letter M surrounded by scrolls and acanthus leaves. On the upper center is German text; on the right and lower border is handwritten text in black ink.
back, right, vertically, black ink : Bus Ke[illegible]y / Col US Army / Y. B[illegible] / [illegible] / Lt Col US Army back, lower border, upside down, black ink : Dixie Fosters’ sh[illegible] - 5 May 1946
Corporate Bodies
- Allied Military Government
Subjects
- Law reporters--Germany--Biography.
- Dachau Trial, Dachau, Germany, 1946.
- War crime trials--Germany--Dachau--Biography.
- Military currency--United States.
Genre
- Exchange Media
- Object