Chaplain
דו ביסט אינפארמירט פון די זעלביגע גוטע מקורות ווי אחמעדניזאש מיט רב בעק אליין
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כא כא כא דענק נאר צו פרעגן ביי דיין זיידן אויב ער ווייסט דערוועגן בעוד מועד, אפשר וועסטו
נאך קויפען דעם לאקש
http://www.wintersonnenwende.com/orium/english/archives/articles/ccmoney.html
Concentration Camp Money
'Lagergeld' used to Pay Prisoners for Their Work
Far from being the "death camps" as you have heard so often, places like Auschwitz, Dachau
and Buchenwald were not in the business of extermination. They were work camps, critical
to the German war effort. But did you know that the Jewish workers were compensated for
their labor with scrip printed specifically for their use in stores, canteens and even
brothels? The prisoner monetary system was conceived in ghettos such as Lodz, carried to
camps such as Auschwitz and Dachau and still existed in the displaced persons camps that
were established by the Allies after World War II. Here is the story of the money the
court historians do not want you to even suspect existed.
Piles of incinerated corpses were indicting images at Nuremberg, used to prove that the
German-run concentration camps during World War II were intended for purposes of
exterminating the Jews of Europe. However, a plethora of documentary evidence, long
suppressed, shows that prisoners were relatively well-treated, compensated for their hard
work and allowed to purchase luxuries to which even the German public did not have ready
access. This is not the image of abject deprivation that the Holocaust lobby would like
you to entertain.
The irrefutable proof is the existence of a means of exchange for goods and services:
Money. There were at least 134 separate issues, in different denominations and styles, for
such notorious places as Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Dachau, Oranienburg, Ravensbrück,
Westerbork and at least 15 other camps. (See Paper Money of the World Part I: Modern
Issues of Europe by Arnold Keller, Ph.D., 1956, pp. 23-25 for a complete listing.)
A monetary system was also in existence in the ghettos, most notably Theresienstadt and
Lodz, which produced beautiful notes (veritable works of art) that make U.S. currency look
dull.
There are numerous dealers in rare currency and numismatics who specialize in selling
"concentration camp money" or "Holocaust money" as it has been sometimes called. But the
very fact of its existence does not seem to have raised questions - as it should have -
about what really did (and did not) happen inside the so-called "death camps" where the
Holocaust scrip was circulating in the first place.
This scrip was not negotiable outside of the camp for which it was issued. This decreased
the chance of a successful escape and made it impossible for the general public to
purchase some of the rare luxuries available in the camps. According to Albert Pick in Das
Lagergeld der Konzentrations- und D.P.-Lager: 1933-1945:
Oranienburg, 50 Pf.
Oranienburg, eine Mark
Oranienburg, eine Mark
Oranienburg was the first known camp to have Lagergeld for its prisoners. The issues for
this particular camp were in 5 Pfg. (green), 10 Pfg. (blue), 50 Pfg. (brown) and 1 Mark
denominations. (Printed 1933 - August 1934, when the camp closed.) Unlike Theresienstadt,
these notes were fairly plain without multiple colors and watermarks. Yet even these
demonstrate the care and attention given to the design of money for the workers.
Inmates were not paid for the work but were given "coupons" now and then to buy
things in the "Kantine".... As the war progressed badly and the number of workers
declined, the KZ worker potential became important. Offers of "premiums" and other
advantages were made to the inmates, tobacco was offered and even visits to bordellos....
In order that these scrips could not be used outside the camps, special money was printed.
Letter from Prisoner No. 11647 Block 28/3 Dachau KIII on September 8, 1940 to his relative
in Litzmannstadt (Lodz):
I must write you something about myself. I am very well. In the canteen I buy honey,
marmalade, cookies, fruit and other food. If you worry about me, you'll indeed be
committing a sin. I have more reason to worry about you.... (Letters from the Doomed:
Concentration Camp Correspondence 1940-1945, Richard S. Geehr.)
There was a payment schedule at Theresienstadt utilizing Th. kr. (Theresienstadt kroner)
as the unit of exchange. (The Shekel Vol. XVI, No. 2, March-April 1983 p. 29). The
breakdown looked like this:
Working men, according to their jobs: 105-205 Th. kr.
Working women, according to their jobs: 95-205 Th. kr.
Part-time workers: 80 Th. kr.
Caretakers: 70 Th. kr.
War-wounded and holders of the Iron Cross, First Class degree or higher: 195 Th. kr.
Prominente (doctors, professors, scientists, well-known cultural artists and
politicians): 145 Th. kr.
To put this in perspective, a cup of coffee cost 2 Th. kr. The circulation in
Theresienstadt was such that it was necessary to print over 5 million notes. See Papirove
Penize Na Uzemi Ceskoslovenska 1762-1975, Second Edition, 1975, Hradek Kralove, trans. by
Julius Sem, pp. 134-135.
The first worker's camp to have its own scrip was Oranienburg. Before using the camp scrip
they used German currency in nearby towns, but the authorities decided to centralize.
Currency was exchanged for camp money, less 30%. (The Shekel, Vol XVI, No. 2, March-April
1983, p. 40: "Concentration Camp Money of the Nazi Holocaust" by Steven Feller.)
Similarly at Buchenwald:
Each prisoner was allowed up to 10 marks per week to be used for the purchase of
cigarettes at the camp canteen, other canteen purchases, brothel visits, or credit to a
savings account. The regulations went on to specify that a visit to a brothel would cost 2
marks for which 1.5 marks would be kept by the SS and 0.5 marks would be used for
"expenses." (Ibid., p. 41.)
Was there a similar situation at all of the other camps - at least those that issued
currency? As this includes Auschwitz, it would be shocking indeed to even consider
marmalade and cigarettes being purchased in this "death camp." Even the existence of money
in camps gives us a look at what life was really like there, yet this information has yet
to make it to the History Channel.
עיין שם
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