us-005578-irn49917-irn59306
type: RecordSet
archival history: The Theresienstadt scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2012 by Wolfgang Rauner.
biographical history: Franz Peter Kien was born January 1, 1919, in Varnsdorf, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic), to Leonard and Olga Frankl Kien. His father Leonard was born in 1886, in Varnsdorf, and was a member of the German-speaking Jewish population in the, the Sudetenalnd, which bordered Germany. Leonard was a textile manufacturer with his own factory. Peter’s mother Olga was born in 1898, in Bzenec, Austro-Hungary (Czech Republic), to Jewish parents. After 1929, the Kien family moved to Brno. Peter enrolled at the German Gymnasium, where he excelled at drawing, painting, and writing. In 1936, he graduated and moved to Prague to study at the Academy of Fine Arts. He also attended the Officina Pragensis, a private graphic design school run by a well-known Jewish artist, Hugo Steiner-Prag. On September 29, 1938, Germany annexed the Sudetenland. On March 15, 1939, Germany invaded Prague and annexed the Bohemia and Moravia provinces of Czechoslovakia, ruled by a Reich Protector. Jews were banned from participation in government, businesses, and organization, including schools. Peter had to leave the Academy, but continued to study at the Officina Pragensis. He also taught at Vinohrady Synagogue. In September 1940, Peter married Ilse Stranska, who was born on May 9, 1915, in Pilsen, to Jewish parents. In late September 1941, Reinhard Heydrich, the SS head of RSHA, Reich Main Security Office, became Reich Protector. Soon there were regular deportations of Jews to concentration camps. At the end of November, Theresienstadt concentration and transit camp near Prague got its first shipment of Jewish prisoners. On December 14, Peter was transported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp. He was assigned to the technical department where he worked as a draftsman and designer alongside other artists, including Bedrich Fritta, Leo Haas, and Jiri Lauscher. On July 16, 1942, Peter’s wife Ilse arrived in the camp. On January 30, 1943, Peter’s parents Leonard and Olga were transported from Bzenec to Te…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Scrip printed on offwhite paper with a graphic design on the face in black and red/brown ink on a red/brown patterned background. On the left is a medallion with an image of a bearded Moses holding 2 stone tablets with the 10 Commandments in Hebrew characters, to the right is the denomination 100 and German text. In the right is a wide offwhite border with the denomination 100 below a 6-pointed Star of David in the lower corner. The reverse has a red/brown geometric background with German text and a scrollwork line. Below the text is an engraved signature. The denomination 100 is in the upper right corner. On the left is a wide, offwhite border with the denomination 100 below a 6-pointed Star of David. The serial number 016155 is in the upper left corner. The series letter K is near the lower right corner.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1943 January 01, 1941 June
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: heb
has or had some members with language: deu
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn59306
is or was included in: us-005578-irn49917
record resource extent: overall: Height: 3.000 inches (7.62 cm) | Width: 5.875 inches (14.923 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp scrip for 100 kronen owned by Wolfgang Rauner. The scrip was issued in the camp in 1943. All currency was confiscated from inmates upon entry and replaced with scrip and ration coupons that could be exchanged only in the camp. Theresienstadt was a multi-use camp, acting as a settlement, transit camp, and propaganda tool, for 3.5 years, from November 24, 1941 to May 9, 1945. It was located near Prague, in a region of Czechoslovakia occupied by Germany, renamed the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and made part of the Greater German Reich. Wolfgang and his family fled Trier, Germany, for Luxembourg in September 1935 to escape the escalating persecution of Jews by the Nazi regime which had ruled since 1933. His father worked to re-establish his food equipment and confectionary sales business. Wolfgang attended local schools as well as Hebrew school run by the close knit Jewish community. His older siblings learned trades to prepare for a future in America. In May 1940, Luxembourg was occupied by Germany. In summer 1941, with assistance from family members already in the US, Wolfgang, 13, his parents, Aron and Neddy, and his two older siblings, Edgar and Gertrude, sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, on the SS Mouzinho, arriving in New York on June 21.
title: Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp scrip, 100 kronen note, acquired by a German Jewish refugee