Two Banknotes Issued in the Łódź (Litzmannstadt) Ghetto as Part of the First Series of Banknotes, May 15, 1940. The banknotes, valued at 1 Mark and 50 Marks, were found in the pocket of a Holocaust survivor and are preserved in plastic for protection.
The Nazis printed the Star of David and the Menorah on the Łódź Ghetto banknotes to give them a distinctly Jewish appearance. The notes also bear the printed signature of Mordechai Rumkowski, the head of the Jewish Council (Judenrat) in the ghetto. Designed by Ignatz Gutman, all seven denominations, from 50 Pfennig to 50 Marks, featured these Jewish symbols. The notes were printed by the Siegmund Manitius company outside the ghetto.
The “Jewish money” printed in the ghetto was the only legal tender allowed and was mockingly referred to by the residents as “Rumki” or “Chaimki, ” after Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski. The Germans intended to absorb all German currency held by the Jews, who were forced to exchange any foreign money they possessed for the ghetto-issued currency, which had no value outside the ghetto. Possession of foreign currency was a serious crime, and violators were harshly punished. On November 14, 1941, three individuals were tried before the Jewish court in the ghetto for counterfeiting Jewish money with a value of 2 Marks.
See also:
“Chronicle of the Łódź Ghetto, ” Volume I, p. 3, Note No. 5; also pp. 253-254, and Note No. 143.
Encyclopedia of the Łódź Ghetto, in “Yediot Beit Lohamei HaGhetaot” (5), (13), p. 63, entry “Rumki.”
The two banknotes are in very worn condition, indicating that they circulated extensively within the ghetto.
