us-005578-irn522149-irn516980
type: RecordSet
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Offwhite paper currency with a face watermark of an oak leaf garland on a blue background. Near the upper edge are a German word and the denomination EINHUNDERT MILLIARDEN MARK in bold, large stylized font; below are 5 lines of German text and then 3 lines of signatures flanked by a Reichsadler seal with German text and a dexter facing eagle in black ink. On the left are 6 lines of German text printed vertically. On the lower right is the numerical denomination 100. The back is blank. The note is discolored and soiled, with dark stains and multiple deep creases.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1923 October 23
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: deu
has record set type: Item
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…
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.
identifier: irn516980
is or was included in: us-005578-irn522149
record resource extent: overall: Height: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Width: 5.375 inches (13.653 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Emergency currency, valued at 100 billion marks, likely acquired by Dr. Erich Maier. The note was issued in 1923 by the German government during the period of hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic. 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 in Germany. 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: Weimar Germany Reichsbanknote, 100 billion marks, owned by an Austrian Jewish refugee