us-005578-irn521476-irn20211
type: RecordSet
archival history: The scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1989 by Ronald W. Schonfeld.
biographical history: Rene Wolfgang Schönfeldt (Schoenfeldt) was born on February 8, 1932, in Berlin, Germany, to Jewish parents, Hans Phillip and Hanna Goldmann Schonfeldt. Hans was born in Berlin to Willi and Marie Schonfeldt on March 14, 1902. Hanna was born on September 8, 1903 in Berlin. In January 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor and the Nazi dictatorship was firmly established by summer. The regime immediately enacted laws to persecute and disenfranchise the Jewish population. Hans, Hanna, and Rene fled to the Netherlands that year and settled in Hilversum. In May 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. The occupation government was led by SS Reich Commissar Seyss-Inquart and anti-Jewish policies were immediately put in place. On January 9, 1941, Rene and his parents were sent to an internment camp in Westerbork, first set-up to hold non-Dutch Jews. It then became a transit camp which also processed and detained Dutch Jews prior to deportation to extermination and concentration camps in the east. On April 29, 1942, all Jews were required to wear Star of David badges at all times. By summer, there were frequent departures of large scale transports of Jews to the east. On September 4, 1944, Rene, Hans, and Hanna were deported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. Soon after their arrival, on September 29, his father Hans was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Near the end of the war in spring 1945, the German were evacuating camps in the east and sending inmates to Theresienstadt. Rene searched each arriving transport, hoping to find his father, but he never saw him again. Rene and his mother were in Theresienstadt when it was liberated by Soviet troops on May 9, 1945. Rene and his mother Hanna were repatriated to the Netherlands. His father was presumed killed at Auschwitz. Hanna married Ulrich (Martin) Gross on July 16, 1947, in Hilversum. Ulrich, born July 11, 1885, was also from Berlin. The three immigrated to the United States o…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Theresienstadt scrip printed on rectangular offwhite paper in red-brown and light red ink. The face has a vignette of Moses, with a long beard and wrinkled brow, holding 2 stone tablets with the 10 Commandments in Hebrew. To the right is the denomination 2 and German text. The background rectangle has an intricate latticework pattern. The right side has a wide margin with the denomination 2 below a Star of David. The reverse has a rectangle with a background of interlocked diamonds overprinted with the denomination 2 in the upper right corner, and German text, an engraved signature, and a large scrollwork line in the center. The left side has a wide margin with the denomination 2 below a Star of David within a striped circle. The plate letter and number are in the upper left corner. It is uncirculated.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1944 September-1945 May
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 2
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: deu
has or had some members with language: heb
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn20211
is or was included in: us-005578-irn521476
record resource extent: overall: Height: 2.125 inches (5.398 cm) | Width: 4.375 inches (11.113 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Theresienstadt scrip, valued at 2 (zwei) kronen acquired there by Rene W. Schonfeldt, 12, when he was a prisoner in Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp from September 1944-May 1945. The ghetto currency was distributed from May 1943, and Rene saved one of each denomination: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100. The scrip was issued to create a false appearance of normalcy in the camp. There was nothing to obtain with the scrip. Soon after Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, Rene's parents Hans and Hanna fled Berlin with their infant son to Hilversum, Netherlands. In May 1940, Germany occupied the Netherlands. In January 1942, Rene and his parents were interned in Westerbork transit camp. In September 1944, they were deported to Theresienstadt. Soon after their arrival, his father was sent to Auschwitz and murdered. Theresienstadt was liberated by Soviet troops on May 9, 1945. Rene and his mother were repatriated to the Netherlands. They left for America in 1948.
title: Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp scrip, 2 kronen note