Theresienstadt Ghetto money
Object numberM2000/027
TitleTheresienstadt Ghetto money
DescriptionBanknote, one Krone issued 1.1.1943. The banknote has the 'Star of David' at the lower right hand corner.
The banknotes of Theresienstadt ghetto are probably the best known of all camp Money of WWII. The ghetto was situated in the town of Terezin 60 kilometres north of Prague in what is now the Czech Republic. The Gestapo turned the town into a showcase ghetto and concentration camp. When the International Red Cross representatives came to inspect the camp on 23 July 1944 a sham performance was staged for their benefit. Shops full of good were open, phoney studios, cafes and a school were seen to be in operation. The currency was in place, there were queues at the bank to make deposits and special souvenir stamps given to the visitors. The Nazis took elaborate steps to create the impression of a ghetto bank. When the authorities decided to institute this phoney internal monetary system for the ghetto they demanded that the notes portray Moses holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments. The notes were designed in 1942 by Czech artist, poet and inmate Peter Kien (who was murdered in Auschwitz in 1944). The design of a vignette of Moses with a prominent hooked nose and curly hair - stereotyped Semitic features - holding the Ten Commandments, supposedly obscuring the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" was approved by Jacob Edelstein, the Chief of Theresienstadt's Council of Elders.
The banknotes of Theresienstadt ghetto are probably the best known of all camp Money of WWII. The ghetto was situated in the town of Terezin 60 kilometres north of Prague in what is now the Czech Republic. The Gestapo turned the town into a showcase ghetto and concentration camp. When the International Red Cross representatives came to inspect the camp on 23 July 1944 a sham performance was staged for their benefit. Shops full of good were open, phoney studios, cafes and a school were seen to be in operation. The currency was in place, there were queues at the bank to make deposits and special souvenir stamps given to the visitors. The Nazis took elaborate steps to create the impression of a ghetto bank. When the authorities decided to institute this phoney internal monetary system for the ghetto they demanded that the notes portray Moses holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments. The notes were designed in 1942 by Czech artist, poet and inmate Peter Kien (who was murdered in Auschwitz in 1944). The design of a vignette of Moses with a prominent hooked nose and curly hair - stereotyped Semitic features - holding the Ten Commandments, supposedly obscuring the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" was approved by Jacob Edelstein, the Chief of Theresienstadt's Council of Elders.
Production placeTheresienstadt ghetto
Production date
Subject, concentration camp experiences
Object nameghetto money
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 100.00 mm
height: 55.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection