Currency used in Theresienstadt donated by Brit to Israel’s National Library
Six notes featuring a Star of David and sketch of Moses holding the Ten Commandments were received by the Israeli organisation from UK activist Ruth Brass
Currency used in the Theresienstadt Ghetto was donated to the National Library of Israel by a British Jewish activist.
The six bills featuring a Star of David and a sketch of Moses holding the Ten Commandments were received by the National Library days before Israel’s Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day.
They are worth a total of 263 Kronen, the currency of the ghetto, which was located in northwestern Czechoslovakia.
Every ghetto resident was forced to convert his money and some property into the currency of the camp or ghetto in which he was imprisoned.
If someone managed to escape, he then had no way to purchase food or clothes.
The bills were donated by Ruth Brass from the UK, in honour of her father, the late Lionel Schalit, a prominent Zionist and community activist and a leader in the Maccabi Movement.
“It seems that the bank, the bills and the ‘wages’ received by many prisoners during imprisonment in the ghetto had an additional role: they gave the impression of ‘normalcy;’ of an orderly and routine everyday life that the Nazis indeed tried to present to the official representatives of the Red Cross who visited the Terezin Ghetto. The bills present documentation of the chilling reality in the days of the Holocaust: imaginary symbols of a ‘normalcy’ that never existed, under the shadow of persecution and eradication,” according to National Library of Israel expert Dr. Stefan Litt.
Keep community journalism free.
Jewish News is free for everyone. No paywall. No barriers. Just trusted journalism for anyone who wants to stay connected to Jewish life in Britain.
If you value that, please support us.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Every day, we report on the issues that matter to our community. We celebrate achievements, support charities, challenge antisemitism and ensure Jewish voices are heard more widely.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help us continue to:
- Report on the stories shaping Jewish life in the UK and beyond
- Bring our community together through shared stories, events and campaigns
- Celebrate the people, culture and moments that define our community
- Support organisations doing vital work across Jewish Britain
You can make a one-off donation or become a regular supporter. Every contribution helps keep our journalism free, independent and accessible to all.
If everyone who values Jewish News gave a small amount, it would make a real difference to our future.
