THE banknotes of the Theresienstadtghetto are probably the best known

and most available of all camp money ofWorld War Two. Considering the pricesthat collectors are sometimes asked topay for camp notes of WWII, this is a goodthing: at least these representative notesare obtainable without too much pain onthe pocket.

The Theresienstadt ghetto was situ-ated in the town of Terezin 60 kilometresnorth of Prague in what is now the CzechRepublic.

In 1940 the Gestapo in Prague ordereda total evacuation of Terezin and thenproceeded to turn the town into a show-case ghetto and concentration camp,ostensibly where the authorities couldsend disabled war veterans and heroes,scientists, artists and other prominentidentities, in other words people whomthe Nazis needed to keep an eye on andalso, if necessary, could be paraded to theworld. The camp was also advertised asa home for the elderly (it was simplynever stated that these elderly wereJews who were on their way to Ausch-witz). There was also the Terezin “SmallFortress” which was used as a prisonwithin the camp to detain those who“broke” anti-Jewish laws or for resistanceto authorities.

Model camp for Red Cross inspectionWhen the International Red Cross

representatives came to inspect the campon July 23 1944 a completely sham per-formance was staged for their benefit.

Shops full of goods, were open and phoneyart studios, cafes and a school were seento be in operation. The currency was inplace, there were queues at the bank tomake deposits, and special souvenirstamps were given to the visitors. Specialrations were served on the day of thevisit.

Bank accounts The Nazis took elaborate steps to

create the impression of a ghetto bank.They called it the Jewish Self-Govern-ment Bank (Bank of Jewish Autonomy)and the deception went as far as creatingover 50,000 personal accounts, completewith monthly statements of deposits andcharges in the worthless camp currency.The bank even had mechanised book-keeping and 50 to 60 people to keep the

accounts. A Dr Desider Friedmann wasinstalled as the head of the bank, whichwas housed in the former town hall.

Design of Camp/Ghetto CurrencyWhen the authorities decided to insti-

tute this phoney internal monetarysystem for the ghetto, they demandedthat the notes portray Moses holding thetablets of the Ten Commandments.

The notes were duly designed in 1942by Czech artist, poet and inmate PeterKien (who died in Auschwitz in 1944).

The primary design was a vignetteof a dignified Moses holding the TenCommandments and it was approved inthe first instance by Jacob Edelstein,the Chief of Theresienstadt’s Council ofElders. From here, stories differ as to thenext stage. Some accounts say that the

Theresienstadt ghetto currencyWhat does Moses really point to? (or: repeat something often enough and it becomes fact!) by Tony James

Total number of notes printedDenomination Colour Number printed Measurements Series letters1 kronen green 2,242,000 98 x 49mm A& plate number

2 kronen red 1,019,000 107 x 53 A & plate number

5 kronen brown 530,000 113 x 57 A & plate number

10 kronen blue 456,000 124 x 62 A & plate number

20 kronen green 319,000 130 x 67 A-R & serial number

50 kronen blue 159,000 139 x 7 A-H & serial number

100 kronen tan 279,000 148 x 79 A-O & serial number

10 Kronen Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Pick 8, 8 July 1942. The normal banknotes of the occupation

Camp Commandant Siegfried Seidleapproved the designs and submittedthem to Adolf Eichmann, head of the

Gestapo Department of Jewish Affairs,who immediately rejected them sayingMoses was too Aryan and should instead

be portrayed with a prominent hookednose and curly hair. Eichmann also re-quired that Moses’ hand obscure thecommandment “Thou shalt not kill,” andthat the denominations be changed from“Ghetto Kronen” to just “Kronen.”

Another account has Kien initiallysubmitting his designs to the camp com-mandant, who then submitted them tothe SS second in command, ReinhardHeydrich, (SS Reichsprotektor of Bo-hemia and Moravia), who rejected them.Heydrich also is recorded as saying thathe thought that Moses looked too Aryan,and lacked the strongly stereotypedSemitic features that conformed to theNazi vision of Jewish appearance. Which-ever version is correct, the result wasthat the designs went back to Kien to bechanged. Jindra Schmidt, a distinguishedengraver of Czech banknotes postagestamps and fiscal papers of the time, didthe engraving and the fact that a largenumber of notes were found in the vaultsof the Czech National Bank in Pragueyears after the war would seem to con-firm that it was this bank that organisedthe printing at the State Printing Works.

Each denomination has the samedesign but is printed in different colours.Other differences lie in the size of eachdenomination, text relating to value,plate numbers on the 1, 2, 5 and 10 krand serial numbers on the 20, 50 and100 kr denominations. The paper usedfor the 20, 50 and 100 kr notes have afaint geometric watermark.

The front of the notes has a vignetteof Moses holding the tablets of the TenCommandments at left. In the centre arethe words “Quittung Über” (Receipt for),the denomination in words then thedenomination in numerals and a warning

Front, Theresienstadt 100 Kronen C4117, F&F CZ656, S&B 707.

At left: the first sketch of Moses’ head, designed by Kien and submitted to Heydrich. Atright: the second version with hooked nose and more ringlets of the hair to make Moseslook less Aryan and more Jewish. This was the one engraved by Jindra Schmidt andused for the final accepted design.

Back, Theresienstadt 100 Kronen C4117, F&F CZ656, S&B 707.

against counterfeiting. At the lower rightis the denomination in numerals and asix pointed Star of David. The back of thenotes includes the same “Quittung über”followed by the denomination. The placeand date at lower left and the title - thefirst Elder of the Jews in Theresienstadt- and signature of Jakob Edelstein areat lower right. At left is the denominationin figures and Star of David and upperleft the serial number (20, 50, 100 kr) orplate letter and number (1, 2, 5, 10 kr).

As the Axis powers took special inter-est in the design and manufacture ofthis currency the records remain fairlycomplete. The notes were dated 1st Jan-uary 1943 but the first distribution wasnot made until May 12 1943.

While the numbers of notes remainingafter the war are open to conjecture, the

original estimation of 250-350 sets hasnow been significantly increased; 941sets of 1-100 kr as well as another 9,000notes of mixed denominations 1-50 krwere sold at one auction alone in 1973.Just after the war a large number of 20kronen notes (described as “more thana suitcase full”) were discovered in theremains of a ghetto building.

Uses for the banknotesWhile the main purpose of the curr-

ency was to fool the Red Cross inspectors,the notes were also useful in giving asense of normality to the inmates, to theextent that a rate of exchange of 10 kr tothe mark was established. Everyone whoworked in the ghetto or held a promi-nent position was paid a monthly salarydepending upon job, sex and status. Men

105-295 kr, women 95-205 kr, part-time80 kr, caretakers 70 kr, war wounded105 kr, and “prominente” 145 kr. How-ever all inmates had to pay a special “freetime tax” of 50 kr to sit in a café whichalso cost 5 kr to enter and another 2 krfor a cup of ersatz coffee. The shopsstocked the prisoners’ own belongings,confiscated when they entered the ghetto.By far the most common use of thecurrency was to pay the 50 kr depositrequired to borrow “special books” fromthe library. The books were so preciousthat borrowers usually did not bother toget their deposit back, and the scrupulousrecord keeping reveals that by the endof the war the library had accumulated225,000 kr. The other common uses forthe currency were to pay the receipt taxwhen receiving a parcel, as well as the1,000 kr for the Theresienstadt parcelpost tax, before an inmate could layhands on the parcel, even if the contentshad already been pillaged by the guards.

What does Moses really point to?For years, collectors of Theresienstadt

notes have taken for granted that which-ever reference book they used for infor-mation about the vignette of Moses andthe tablets of the Ten Commandments,is correct.

Simon Holloway, a new collector, anda Biblical and Hebrew scholar, has takena closer look at these notes, revealingsome fascinating differences in whatmany authors have stated about thedetails of the notes.

Holloway has found a range of sourcesthat list the same basic details regard-ing the assertion that both Heydrich andEichmann demanded two things of PeterKien: that he should make the Moses onhis Theresienstadt banknote look “moreSemitic”, and that Moses’ hand shouldobscure the commandment “Thou shaltnot kill.“

From the web, for example, the October2005 issue of Zachor an online magazineHolloway found the picture of Kien’sMoses, alongside the assertion that hishand is covering this commandment“Thou shalt not kill.”

In an article “The Use of Banknotes asan Instrument of Propaganda” on - “TheCurrency Collector.” website, John San-drock, does not include a photograph, butnotes that Moses’ hand is obscuring thesame commandment.

The Tauber Holocaust Library makesthis claim as well, providing yet anothersource, a book entitled, Life in the Ghet-tos during the Holocaust, edited by EricSterling contains an article titled “Artand Imagery of the Ghetto – duringand after the Holocaust” by StephenFeinstein.

As Holloway says, “This provides aphoto but makes a slightly more circum-

Reference numbers from available cataloguesDenomination Colour Campbell Feller & Feller Schwan & Boling

1 kronen green 4111 CZ-650 701

2 kronen red 4112 CZ-651 702

5 kronen brown 4113 CZ-652 703

10 kronen blue 4114 CZ-653 704

20 kronen green 4115 CZ-654 705

50 kronen blue 4116 CZ-655 706

100 kronen tan 4117 CZ-656 707

Theresienstadt 1 Kronen C4111, F&F CZ650, S&B 701.

spect claim than do those who quote him:for a start, he notes that the command-ment not to murder is the sixth com-mandment, and he also makes noreference as to how the commandment isbeing obscured. The article by Feinsteinrefers to a paper “Holocaust Numismat-ics” by Joel Forman which states that thevignette was changed due to Heydrich’sorder: that Moses look more Semitic andthat his hand cover up the command-ment that stated, “Thou shalt not kill.”

Unfortunately, this is where Hollo-way’s search ends, as Forman providesno sources whatsoever for his claim. Healso finds it astonishing that nobody (notthe Simon Wiesenthal Centre, which ishosting Forman’s article, nor StephenFeinstein, who quoted it from him, northe Tauber Holocaust Library, who refer-enced Feinstein’s article, nor even Zachor,which took it as truth) has questionedthis. This is particularly so he says, sinceanybody with even a basic familiaritywith Hebrew and with Jewish traditioncan see that Moses’ hand is obscuring thefifth commandment, that is, to honourone’s parents.

Language and orderHolloway, using his knowledge of the

Bible and Hebrew, elaborates on thedetails of the vignette and shows thatonly the first two letters, לא (“Do not”)of the sixth commandment, which isobscured by the boundary of the picture,can be seen at the top left. In fact, לאruns down the whole left side (“Do not[murder]”, “Do not [commit adultery]”,“Do not [steal]”, “Do not [bear false wit-ness]”, “Do not [covet]”) and demon-strates that the artist did not break withtradition by presenting the command-ments in any fashion other than theone in which they are usually depicted.

The first three commandments on theright hand tablet are clearly visible:אנכי ה (“I am the Lord”), יהיה לא (“Thereshall not be [another god, etc]”) andתשא לא (“Do not raise [the name of Godfalsely]”). The fourth is partially obscuredby Moses’ fingers, revealing only theletters כו of the word זכור (“Remember [theday of rest to sanctify it]”) - meaning thatthe version we are looking at is fromExodus 20 and not Deuteronomy 5. SoHolloway says one way or another, thecommandment that is covered by hishand would have said את כבד (“Honour[your father and your mother]”), and hasnothing to do with murder at all.

Some answers?If nothing else, the discrepancies cer-

tainly involved some detailed researchand I have attempted to come up withsome possible explanations. Some suchexplanations can be found in Ray andSteve Feller’s book “Silent Witnesses.”Feller, while looking at the symbolism

Theresienstadt 2 Kronen C4112, F&F CZ651, S&B 702.

Theresienstadt 5 Kronen C4113, F&F CZ652, S&B 703.

of the “Moses Crowns” (the name given tothe portrait of Moses holding the tabletsof the Ten Commandments), says that theNazis, while not so much interested inthe symbolism of Moses, were concernedthere might be secret anti-Nazi propa-ganda hidden in the Hebrew on the notesand therefore sent the draft to the Uni-versity Library of Prague to have anexpert determine if the Hebrew reallywas the Ten Commandments. This con-firmation would put a stop to any secretpropaganda, but might leave open theopportunity to avoid obeying the instruc-tion to hide the commandment “Thoushalt not kill.” The positioning of thiscommandment on the tablets means thatMoses’ hand at the bottom of the righthand tablet covers the 5th commandmentand the size and shape of the vignetteobscure the 6th.

5th or 6th CommandmentAdding to the complexity of this issue

is the fact that “Thou shalt not kill” is the6th commandment for Jews and Protes-tants, but the Catholics list it as the 5th!If the instruction to the designer wasgiven by a person brought up in theCatholic faith then the 5th command-ment is covered and the instructionshave been followed. Alternatively if “Thoushalt not kill” was considered by theauthorities to be the 6th commandmentand it was that which had to be obscured,the designer achieved this objective bythe positioning of the border of the vig-nette, and the obscuring of the 5th com-mandment in this case, “Honour thyfather and mother” is incidental. Osten-sibly, the designer obeyed instructionsbut did he really? Any small victory is atriumph in adversity.

Another point that I would like tomake is that when the details are copiedfrom one text to another, mistakes oftencreep in and are perpetuated if refer-ence is not made to the original source.I have to admit that there are somesources that I am unable to access.Early periodicals from the 1980s suchas The Shekel and the ANA Journal arenot readily available. The world libraryof numismatics has fortunately becometoo large to keep copies of everything online, and in enough paper libraries, togive access to all researchers. So I guesscollectors will have to continue buyingback copies and old catalogues!

Model camp hid atrocitiesApproximately 140,000 Jews were in-

terned in Theresienstadt during the war.Of these 34,000 died in the ghetto and87,000 were transported to death camps.Of 15,000 children deported from Theres-ienstadt to Auschwitz, only 240 survived,none under the age of fifteen.The Soviet Army liberated Theresien-stadt on May 8 1945.Theresienstadt 20 Kronen C4115, F&F CZ 654, S&B 705.

Theresienstadt 10 Kronen C4114, F&F CZ653, S&B 704.