Republic of Czechoslovakia, 20 korun note, acquired by a war crimes trials court reporter
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Width: 4.625 inches (11.748 cm)
Creator(s)
- Dixie Foster (Subject)
- Republic of Czechoslovakia (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
Czechoslovakian 20 korun 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. During World War II, Czechoslovakia ceased to exist as the country was partitioned and absorbed by Nazi Germany and its allies. In April 1945, Germany was losing the war and the Third Republic of Czechoslovakia was created. This currency was issued on November 1, 1945, by the new 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 with a geometric border in blue ink on a green/yellow background. On the left is a realistic portrait of a man, Karel Havlicek Borovsky, with a mustache in a military uniform with a draped cape; his name is below the image. To the right are Czech text and an engraved signature superimposed on a floral design with the numeric denomination 20 in the background. On the upper and lower center is text. The denomination 20 is in the lower left and upper right corners. The back has a graphic design in blue ink on a yellow background. In the center is a rectangle with a checked border and the numeric denomination 20 with letters on either side; the rectangle has Czech text above and is within a floral design. On the lower center is a rampant lion within a shield, the Coat of Arms of Czechoslovakia. The denomination 20 is in the lower left and right corners.
Corporate Bodies
- Allied Military Government
Subjects
- Law reporters--Germany--Biography.
- Paper money--Czechoslovakia--History.
- Dachau Trial, Dachau, Germany, 1946.
- War crime trials--Germany--Dachau.
Genre
- Object
- Exchange Media