us-005578-irn522927-irn517271
type: RecordSet
archival history: The Lodz ghetto scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Dr. Salomea Kape.
biographical history: Salomea Herszenberg was born in May 17, 1926, in Łódź, Poland, to Calel and Roza Toronczyk. Her father delivered textiles to factories in Łódź. Her mother was a nurse/midwife, .as was her twin sister Anna;Roza also had a brother Mel. A few months after Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, her family was imprisoned inside the ghetto with the other Jews of the town. Both parents continued to work the same jobs. Roza took over Anna's job at the ghetto hospital when Anna escaped to Russian territory in the east. Salomea attended the ghetto high school, where the headmistress, Stella Rein, maintained the normal curriculum and provided a daily bowl of soup for students. Salomea was often very hungry, but a rule of the ghetto was that you did not talk about hunger. Her paternal grandmother, Cerka Herszenberg, died of starvation in 1941. In the fall of 1942, her friend, Stella Szafir, told Salomea that her family had been taken by the Gestapo; a few days later, Stella turned herself in and was taken to Chelmno killing center. In the spring of 1944, the Germans decided to destroy the ghetto. The residents were told that they were being transferred to work camps, though most were being shipped to Auschwitz death camp. Salomea’s mother decided that the family must hide and avoid the deportations. Roza's brother, Mel, had been assigned to the group of about 600 residents that the Germans kept behind to clean the ghetto and sort the remaining belongings. He was part of the work detail that cleaned stables, and he was able to get Roza and her family jobs in his group. They stayed in the ghetto until the liberation of the city by the Soviet Army in January 1945. After liberation, Salomea enrolled in medical school and received her degree in 1952. In 1957, she and her husband, Mendel Kape, whom she had married in 1951, left Poland for Israel where their son was born. In 1966, the family emigrated to New York. Salomea's parents and aunt Anna joined them in New York in 1966. Her…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Rectangular scrip printed in purple ink on light blue paper with black text. On the front is a purple Star of David background pattern, with the denomination in the top left and right corners. The back has a purple Star of David background pattern layered over a green lattice design. Each corner has a box with the numerical denomination in the upper right and lower left corner, and a Star of David in the upper left and right corners. A purple candelabrum is centered in the background. of the note. The serial number is on the front and back. A piece of white tape with a red 2 is adhered vertically to the back across a center seam.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1940 May 14
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: deu
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn517271
is or was included in: us-005578-irn522927
record resource extent: overall: Height: 2.120 inches (5.385 cm) | Width: 3.370 inches (8.56 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Scrip used by Salomea Herszenberg while she was imprisoned in the Jewish ghetto in Łódź, Poland. When the Germans transferred Jews to the ghetto, they confiscated all currency in exchange for Quittungen [receipts] that could be spent only inside the ghetto. In February 1940, following Germany's occupation of Poland in September 1939, 14-year old Salomea and her family were forced to move there. Salomea attended school and her parents worked their same jobs; her mother was a midwife, her father delivered textiles. In spring 1944, the Germans decided to destroy the ghetto. With the assitance of Salomea's maternal uncle, they were able to get into a work detail kept behind by the Germans to clean and sort belongings. After that, they hid in the ghetto until it was liberated by the Soviet Army in January 1945.
title: Łódź ghetto scrip, 50 pfennig note, saved from the ghetto