us-005578-irn522149-irn516966
type: RecordSet
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Offwhite paper currency with a graphic design on the face in black ink with a geometric border and a blue background. The numerical denomination 10 is in a circle in each upper corner. The center has English text and the text denomination TENPESOS; to the left is an X within a scaolloped oval in blue ink and to the right is are palm trees in black ink. The abbreviation PD is in the lower left and right in red ink. On the lower left is a small circle with Japanese characters and a scrollwork border. Near the lower edge is PESOS superimposed over 10. There is a row of Japanese characters in the border lower center. The back has a brown graphic design with scrollwork. The numerical denomination 10 is in each corner. Near the center left and right edge is an X within a scalloped oval. On the center PESOS is superimposed over TEN. Near the upper center edge is TEN and near the lower center edge is PESOS. It is discolored with ink marks and stains, very worn sides, and multiple fold creases.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: approximately 1942, approximately 1945-1946
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: spa
has or had some members with language: eng
has or had some members with language: jpn
has record set type: Item
history: The paper currency was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Robert Jonas Gross, the step-grandson of Dr. Erich Maier.
history: Erich Maier was born on August 25, 1889, to Max and Julia Kohn Maier in Neunkirchen, Austria, where his father (d. 1929) was born. The family was descended from the revered Talmudic scholar, Rabbi Eisenstadt (d. 1744, Hungary.) Erich’s mother was born on August 6, 1854, in Lajtaszentmiklos, Hungary (now Neudorfl, Austria.) Erich had five brothers: a twin Ernst, Otto, b. 1877, Leo, b. 1882, Benno, b. 1884, and Arthur, b. 1886, and three sisters: Flora, b. 1878, Helena, b. 1880, and Minna, (approximately 1892-1932.) Erich had a law degree from the University of Vienna and was active in the Jewish community. He became an associate in a law firm with Leo Hermann Gruber. Gruber, a well-known criminal defense attorney and outspoken opponent of the Nazi Party, died of cancer at age 41 on December 29, 1934. His widow, Ella (Elisabeth), who handled the firm’s business records, agreed to let Erich take over the practice. Erich and Ella married on December 15, 1935. Ella, the only daughter of wealthy parents, Jonas and Jetti Tannenblatt Hochstadt, was born in Vienna on January 16, 1908. She had married Leo Gruber on August 2, 1925, and they had two daughters, Amelia, born September 24, 1929, and Gerda, born April 25, 1931. Erich and Ella were a well-to-do Jewish family. Nazi Germany merged Austria into the German Reich in March 1938. They enacted anti-Jewish laws to disenfranchise Jews as citizens and Jews were no longer permitted to take part in many activities and professions. Erich’s law practice was forced to close in June because he was Jewish. The family’s home was often searched by the Gestapo. On one visit, they demanded to see Leo Gruber and Ella had to give them directions to his gravesite as proof that he was dead. They confiscated and stole personal belongings, including a doll carriage. The family decided to leave Austria. Ella found a cousin, Nathan Rennert, in America, who provided an affidavit of support for the family to obtain US visas. The Austrian exit fees…
identifier: irn516966
is or was included in: us-005578-irn522149
record resource extent: overall: Height: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Width: 6.250 inches (15.875 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Japanese invasion money, 10 pesos, likely acquired by Dr. Erich Maier in 1945-1946 in Germany where he worked for the US War Department and the World Jewish Congress. Japan occupied the Philippines in January 1942 and soon began issuing invasion currency. The serial letters PM, suggests an early issue. After Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in March 1938, Dr. Maier and his family decided to leave due to the anti-Jewish laws and persecution by the German authorities. In November 1938, Erich, his wife Ella, and his stepdaughters, Amelia, 9, and Gerda, 7, left for the US. He and Ella submitted several affidavits of support to help family members escape Europe, but Erich lost nearly all his family. After the war ended in May 1945, Erich worked as a censor for the US War Department in the American zone of occupation. He and Ella worked for the World Jewish Congress in New York and, while in Europe, Erich was their unofficial representative and provided aid in displaced persons camps.
title: Japanese invasion banknote, 10 pesos, acquired postwar by an Austrian Jewish refugee