us-005578-irn512820-irn19990
scope and content: Scrip, valued at 20 kronen, distributed in Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp and acquired post-war by Ernst (Ernest) Heppner. Currency was confiscated from inmates and replaced with scrip, which could only be used in the camp. The scrip was part of an elaborate illusion to make the camp seem normal and appear as though workers were being paid for their labor, but the money had no real monetary value. Ernst was living in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland), with his parents, Isidor and Hilda, and his half-sister, Else, who was severely handicapped from contracting polio as a young child. He also had an older half-brother, Heinz (Henry), who lived with his wife and young child. Following the Kristallnacht program and Heinz’s subsequent arrest in November 1938, the family began looking at emigration options. Else planned to immigrate to South America with her fiancée. Seventeen-year-old Ernst and his mother secured passage on a ship to Shanghai, China, where they arrived in March 1939. Ernst and Hilda survived the war in Shanghai, and immigrated to the United States with Ernst’s new wife, Illo, in July 1947. Heinz and his family immigrated to England in 1939. However, Isidor and Else were unable to escape Germany. In April 1942, Isidor was deported to Kolomyja ghetto in German-occupied Poland, and likely died that year. Else was deported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp in German-occupied Czechoslovakia in April 1943. In October 1944, she was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center in German-occupied Poland, where she was killed.
has record set type: Item
has or had some members with language: heb
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Theresienstadt scrip printed on rectangular, off-white paper in green and black ink. The paper contains a watermark in the form of a repeating geometric pattern. On the face is a rectangle with geometric patterning and a wide, off-white margin to the right. On the left, within the rectangle, is a vignette with an image of Moses holding 2 stone tablets inscribed with the 10 Commandments in Hebrew. To his right, is the denomination centered between lines of German text. In the lower right corner is a Star of David with the denomination below. The reverse has a rectangle with geometric patterning and a wide off-white margin to the left. Within the rectangle is a central yellow streak, medallion, German text centered above and below a scrollwork line, the denomination on the upper right, and signature on the lower right. In the lower left corner is the denomination below a Star of David in a striped circle. The serial number in the upper left corner and the series letter on the lower right are both in red ink.
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
has or had holder: us-005578
archival history: The scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1989 by Ernest G. Heppner.
biographical history: Ernst Günther Heppner (later, Ernest Guenter,1921-2004) was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland), to Isidor (1878-c.1942) and Hilda (nee Liffmann, 1884-1982) Heppner. Ernst had two, older, half-siblings, Else (1905-1944) and Heinz (later Henry, 1907-2005). Isidor owned one of the largest matzah factories in Germany, and the family lived a comfortable, middle-class lifestyle. The family adhered to very conservative, almost orthodox religious practices. During the summers, Hilda and Else managed their family’s strictly kosher hotel in Altheide, a resort town near the Czechoslovakian border. Hilda traveled often to visit her large family, so Ernst spent much of his time with Else, who had contracted polio as a child and required leg braces and canes. At his primary school in Breslau, Ernst was one of only two Jewish children in his class. He frequently experienced antisemitism from both teachers and other students, and got into many fights. Ernst was involved in a Jewish scouting group, which promoted paramilitary training and survival tactics. After completing primary school, Ernst was enrolled in a gymnasium (a college preparatory school). In 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor or Germany, and authorities quickly enacted anti-Jewish decrees that restricted every aspect of Jewish life. The family’s bank accounts were frozen. Ernst became ostracized at school, and was prohibited from participating with sports teams and class excursions. In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were passed, mandating the total separation of Jews and non-Jews. Ernst was expelled from school, and his parents were forced to sell their hotel to non-Jews. Ernst began attending trade classes in welding and locksmithing, and became an apprentice at an industrial machinery company owned by a family friend. On November 9 and 10, 1938, officials instigated pogroms against Jews and their property throughout Germany, known as Kristallnacht. The local synagogue was set on fire, but since Isidor…
type: RecordSet
record resource extent: overall: Height: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Width: 5.250 inches (13.335 cm)
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn512820-irn19990/acquisitions/1
is or was included in: us-005578-irn512820
identifier: irn19990
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn512820-irn19990/alternateIDs/1
has or had some members with language: deu
title: Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp scrip, 20 kronen note, acquired by a Jewish refugee
date: 1943 January 01