Łódź (Litzmannstadt) ghetto scrip, 5 mark note, acquired by a Jewish Polish survivor
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.750 inches (6.985 cm) | Width: 5.000 inches (12.7 cm)
Creator(s)
- Beno Helmer (Subject)
- Der Aelteste der Juden in Litzmannstadt (Issuer)
Biographical History
Beno Helmer was born in 1923 in Teplice-Sanov, Czechoslovakia, to Isaak and Dora Helmer. As a young man, Beno used his foreign language skills to land small movie roles. He and his family attempted to settle in Hungary. In 1939, because they did not have legal immigration papers, they were deported to Łódź, Poland. In February 1940, the German authorities set up a ghetto where Beno and his family and all Jewish residents were forced to move. In 1942, Beno had to perform forced labor outside the ghetto. Through an underground contact, he got a job under a false identity, posing as a non-Jewish German. He assisted the resistance by collecting information. He also helped commit acts of sabotage, and became an expert at derailing trains. Beno returned to the ghetto when his father became sick. He remained with his family until they were deported. In spring 1944, the Łódź ghetto was liquidated and the family was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. Beno was separated from his family. He was sent to a series of German concentration camps, including a subcamp of Gross-Rosen associated with the metalworks factory, Krupp Bertha-Werk, at Laskowitz-Meleschwitz, then to Buchenwald, and to Ludwigslust, a subcamp of Neuengamme. He was liberated by American soldiers while in a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp. In an attempt to get back to Poland, he joined a Polish forced labor group that was later drafted into the Soviet Army. The war ended in early May 1945 when Germany surrendered. All of Beno's family was killed, except one sister, who he found after the war. He spent time hunting for Nazi war criminals. Beno remained in Europe for several years, but eventually immigrated to the United States
Archival History
The Theresienstadt scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988 by Beno Helmer.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Beno Helmer
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
Łódź Ghetto scrip, 5 [funf] mark note, acquired by Beno Helmer who was imprisoned in the Ghetto from 1941 - spring 1944. Ghetto inmates were not allowed to have currency. Scrip was issued as a labor incentive and facilitated the confiscation of money and goods from internees. There was little to exchange it for in the ghetto. In 1941, Beno, 18, and his family were interned in Łódź Ghetto, set up by the Germans after their occupation of Poland in September 1939. In spring 1944, as the ghetto was liquidated, Beno and his family were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. Beno was selected for labor and sent to a subcamp of Gross-Rosen that supplied slave labor to the metalworks factory, Krupp Bertha-Werk, at Laskowitz-Meleschwitz. He was later transferred to Buchenwald, then Ludwigslust, a Neuengamme subcamp. Beno joined a Polish forced labor group that was conscripted into the Soviet Army. He was liberated by American soldiers while in a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp. The war ended in early May 1945 when Germany surrendered. All of Beno's family was killed, except one sister.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Łódź ghetto scrip printed on rectangular offwhite paper in black and orange ink. The face has a latticework underprint. The serial number is in red in the upper left corner. The denomination 5 is in the lower left corner and in the upper right corner in an orange square. There is a 1.5 inch left margin, then a rectangle with a rounded upper left corner with a pattern of interlocked Stars of David and an encircled Star of David in the upper left corner. Across the center is the denomination Funf Mark and German text. The back has a blank 1.5 inch right margin and a rectangle with a pattern of interlocked Stars of David. In the upper left corner is the denomination Funf Mark and in the lower left corner is a menorah or 7-branched candelabrum. The denomination 5 is outside the lower right corner of the rectangle; above this, near the upper right corner, is a Star of David outline in a black square. The scrip is worn, creased, and has dark stains.
face, upper left corner, stamped, red ink : No 586228
Subjects
- Holocaust survivors--United States--Biography.
- Concentration camp inmates--Germany--Biography.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Łódź--Personal narratives.
- Jewish ghettos--Poland--Łódź--Biography.
- Slave labor--Germany--Biography.
- Jews--Persecution--Poland--Łódź--Biography.
Genre
- Exchange Media
- Object