NEW BOOK: EMERGENCY MONEY IN GERMANY IN 1945

Caught between the front lines. Emergency paper money in Germany in 1945.
By Michael H. Schöne.

Reprint with additions and corrections.

2025. Self-published by the author.

Softcover, spiral binding. 80 + XI pages, 29.7 x 21.5 cm, full color throughout.

Price 24 EUR plus postage, to order from the author: michael@schoene-pirna.de

The German emergency money issues from 1914 to 1923 are still the subject of intensive research and comprehensively cataloged. In contrast, the emergency money issues within the territory of the German Reich in April 1945 are likely unknown to many collectors.

Michael H. Schöne's 2015 catalogue, now reprinted with additions, sheds light on this particular area of ??collecting. It builds upon the 1979 catalogue by Albert Pick and Carl Siemsen on emergency money during World War II, published by Battenberg Verlag in Munich, and his own catalogue "Paper Money in Occupied Germany 1945 to 1949," published by Gietl Verlag in 1994, both of which are now out of print.

Even before the outbreak of war in August 1939, the responsible authorities foresaw a situation in which parts of the Reich territory might be evacuated by German troops and cut off from the Reichsbank's cash supply. Fundamental considerations for issuing municipal emergency currency were developed for this eventuality. In the autumn of 1944, the situation became critical: In a secret circular dated September 14, 1944, the German Reichsbank issued its first guidelines for issuing emergency currency in the event that German territories were evacuated by German troops and the German administration, and the demand for cash could no longer be met.

While Pick and Siemsen cataloged only 21 issuing points for emergency money with a 1945 issue date in 1979, Schöne's expanded catalog now lists 40 issuing locations. In some cases, emergency money issues were only planned and were not implemented before the Allied troops marched in; in other locations, notes had already been designed or printed and were never issued. Some issues were only in circulation for a few days before their circulation was prohibited by the Allies. The longest-lasting issue was probably the 20 Reichsmark note issued by the Saxon State Bank on April 26, 1945, which remained in circulation until the currency reform in the Soviet Occupation Zone in June 1948.

The cataloging was done alphabetically by issuing location. Emergency banknotes were issued in April 1945, primarily in northern and northwestern Germany, Württemberg, and Saxony. All known banknotes are shown in color, with both the front and back. Collectors receive comprehensive information on variants and print runs. Where known, issue and exchange figures have also been published to allow for an assessment of rarity. Appraisals for condition grades I and II are also provided, where issues actually existed.

What makes Schöne's catalogue so valuable is not merely its cataloging of known editions. The detailed information provided regarding printers, print runs, and circulation figures—to the extent that it could be ascertained—is remarkable and of paramount importance from a historical perspective. The author's research thus extends back to the early 1980s. Decades of archival and correspondence work have gone into this publication. In some cases, it was possible to draw on known collections and eyewitness accounts, many of whom have long since passed away. Without Schöne's records, this knowledge would have been lost. The work is further enriched by numerous original documents and maps depicting the front lines in Western Europe in the spring of 1945, allowing the reader to understand the dynamics of these historical events.

This applies to this work, as to all works edited by Michael H. Schöne: The author presents a well-founded and meticulously researched compendium that places the emergency money issues in their historical context and provides a wealth of background information on the individual banknotes. The well-written research findings often read like a detective novel.

Anyone interested in German monetary history will find this catalog essential reading. Local history collectors will discover fascinating information within its pages. It is indispensable as a reference work for the emergency issues of 1945. Buy it now before the new edition sells out.

To read the complete article, see:
Zwischen den Fronten. Papiernotgeld 1945 in Deutschland. (https://www.geldscheine-online.com/post/zwischen-den-fronten-papiernotgeld-1945-in-deutschland)

 

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