SCRIP FOR DISPLACED GERMAN JEWS AFTER WWII

The headline is Yiddish and reads "Wer weys epes wegen dem?" (Who knows something about this?). And in Hebrew, the question would be "lemi yesh meda al zeh?" (??? ?? ???? ?? ??? = Who has information about this?). In short, there are many unanswered questions about the banknotes issued for Jewish survivors in Germany in 1946/47.

The number of people displaced from their homelands in Germany—excluding the roughly 15 million displaced Germans—was estimated by Allied authorities to be about eight million in the spring of 1945. These were former concentration camp inmates, prisoners of war, or forced laborers who had already been liberated by Allied troops in the final weeks of the war. By fall 1945, about six to seven million of them had returned to their home countries. The approximately one million who remained had to be housed and provided for—including around 250,000 Jewish individuals.

For Holocaust survivors, reception camps—so-called DP camps—were set up in the western occupation zones by the relief organization UNRRA and its successor, the IRO, where their own camp currency was used. Known issues include those for the camps in Feldafing (UNRRA Team 109) and Deggendorf (UNRRA Team 55) in the American occupation zone. UNRRA = United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.

There is little information available about these two issues. We don't know the printed quantities or the printing company (or companies) involved.

Fig. 1: Camp currency note for 50 cents, undated (1945), obverse, 160 × 66 mm, without watermark and without serial number, with two double-circle stamps and a signature — this suggests that the notes only became valid for circulation once they were stamped and signed.

Fig. 2: Camp currency note for 50 cents, reverse. The Deggendorf camp operated as Camp 7 from May 1945 until it was dissolved on June 15, 1949, and then continued under German administration until 1952. This camp also had a "Jewish self-administration" — it was led by the Jewish Committee (secretariat, canteen, café). The departments were called Labor Center, Housing Administration, Culture, Emigration, Education, Legal Department, Police, Economic Department, Technical Department, Health Services, and Procurement.

Fig. 3: Camp currency note for 1 dollar, 1946, from the Feldafing camp, obverse, 160 × 70 mm, without watermark, without serial number, and without stamp or signature.

Fig. 4: Camp currency note for 1 dollar, reverse. The Feldafing camp was established on May 1, 1945, and was dissolved on November 30, 1951; afterward, it served as a government-run camp for "stateless foreigners" under German administration.

A consistent feature is the English text on the front: "JEWISH COMMUNITY / TREASURY". The reverse side of the Feldafing notes is more detailed, reading: "OFFICIAL / FELDAFING JEWISH COMMUNITY / CURRENCY". Notable is the similar design of the notes and the identical denominations in U.S. dollar currency: 10, 25, and 50 cents, as well as 1, 5, and 10 dollars. For the Deggendorf camp, a 5-cent note is also known — including one with a printing error on the reverse. Only the dimensions and appearance of the two camp currency issues are known.

To read the complete article, see:
Banknotes for Jewish DPs after World War II in Germany (https://www.geldscheine-online.com/post/geldscheine-f%C3%BCr-j%C3%BCdische-dps-nach-dem-zweiten-weltkrieg-in-deutschland)

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