Kriegsgefangenen-Lagergeld – “POW camp allowance” – six coupons (banknotes) – three with a value of 1 Reichspfennig, and three with a value of 2 Reichspfennig, from a German POW camp, 1939.
On the coupons, it is written in German: “This voucher is valid as a means of payment for prisoners of war only. It may be issued and redeemed only within the POW camp… The exchange of this voucher for payments will be carried out in legal tender solely by the responsible administrator. Violations, errors, and forgery will be punished. The High Command of the Wehrmacht, Brosck.”
With the outbreak of World War II in the autumn of 1939, uniform camp payments were instituted for all POW camps by the High Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW). The single-sided notes were often additionally stamped on the reverse with camp markings (for example, “Stalag…” for a main camp, or “Oflag…” for an officers’ POW camp).
The Wehrmacht maintained a large number of POW camps where soldiers were imprisoned in accordance with military law. Many camps had canteens where additional food could be purchased, and some even had sports facilities and libraries. At the same time, Soviet POWs were not only held in such “civilized camps, ” but also in concentration camps, where many were forced into labor and perished. Once Soviet POWs were sent to concentration camps, they were no longer under the authority of the Wehrmacht but under the SS. Even during the transition period, POW camp money of the Wehrmacht continued to be used in Lublin.
Overall good condition.
