Seven antisemitic German Mark banknotes. Germany, 1920s and early 1930s. Banknotes deliberately printed for antisemitic purposes. On the front of each note appears a stereotypical Jewish figure along with antisemitic text. Five of the notes bear the astronomical denomination of Ten Million German Marks, and two of them are in the denomination of 500 German Marks.
Among the notes: a frightened Jew confronted by a swastika, with a caption in German written in a mock Eastern European Yiddish accent (this caricature was printed on German banknotes in the 1920s in several slightly different versions); “The Jew took our gold and silver and left us with this filth, ” “United Germany, vote Adolf Hitler, ” “The Jewish Bank, ” “Danger – the rabbi, ” and a Jew in tattered clothes with the caption: “This is how he arrived in Germany” (a rare version featuring a Star of David near the serial number of the note).
The notes were distributed to the public by members of the Nazi Party in its early stages in Germany in the early 1920s (by the end of 1920, the party had about 3,000 members. Under Hitler’s influence, the party changed its name to include the words “National Socialist” and became known as the National Socialist German Workers’ Party). On the reverse of each note is the printed text: “The main cash office of the Reichsbank in Berlin will pay the bearer upon presentation of this note. Beginning October 1, 1923, it may be redeemed for legal tender”—as if it could be exchanged for “real money.”
Light creases and stains on some of the notes. Overall good condition.
