us-005578-irn593679-irn597314
type: RecordSet
archival history: The Theresienstadt scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Margret Hantman.
biographical history: Margret (Miriam) Hantman (née Simon) (b. 1926) was born in Berlin, Germany, to Willy Simon (1896-1944) and Ella Anita Stahl Simon (1901-1944). She had one younger sister, Eva (1928-1942). Her father ran a grocery store outside Berlin and made a comfortable living. On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany and anti-Jewish decrees were passed that restricted every aspect of Jewish life. In 1935, her father’s store was taken from him by authorities after the Nuremberg Laws were passed. The family moved to Bernau, a small town north of Berlin. Her father worked as a salesman for a margarine company, but then was forced to do hard labor carrying stones. After a couple of years, the Simon family moved back to Berlin where Margret attended public school until she was forced, by law, to attend a Temple school for Jewish children only. Her family was not religious, but Margret became very interested in the Zionist movement and went away to a Hachshara in order to prepare to make aliyah to Palestine. After returning to Berlin, Margret worked in a cable factory for six months. Her sister, Eva attended school and worked nights in a Jewish foundling home. In October 1942, the Gestapo, seeking retribution against members of the Jewish community who had gone underground, deported a group to Rīga, Latvia. Eva, who was working for the Jewish community, was taken away on this transport at the age of 15. In December, Margret and her parents received a transport summons as well. Her father had received the Iron Cross in WWI and her grandmother was not Jewish, so they were sent to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp in Czechsoslovakia. They were forced to live separately, but could see each other. Margret worked in the stabsgarten [staff garden] where they grew vegetables enabling her to sneak food to her family. In Theresienstadt, she met Lucy Steinhagen (née Fried), who became a lifelong friend. Margret’s father worked treating people who had lice and her mot…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Theresienstadt scrip printed on rectangular, off-white paper in red ink. 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. Centered within the rectangle is German text 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 plate letter and number are in the upper left corner. There are brown stains on both sides and the reverse lower left corner is creased.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1943 January 01, after 1943 May-before 1944 October
has or had holder: us-005578
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: irn597314
is or was included in: us-005578-irn593679
record resource extent: overall: Height: 2.125 inches (5.398 cm) | Width: 4.250 inches (10.795 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Scrip, valued at two kronen, issued to Margret Simon Hantman in Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp in Czechoslovakia between May 1943 and October 1944. Currency was confiscated from new inmates and replaced with scrip like this, which could only be used in the camp. Prior to the war, Margret and her family lived in Berlin, Germany, where her father owned a grocery store. In 1935, his store was taken by the authorities after the Nuremberg Laws were passed and he was forced to work as a laborer on the outskirts of the city. In October 1942, her sister Eva was sent on a transport to Rīga, Latvia, where she was murdered. In December, Margret and her parents were sent to Theresienstadt. They were forced to live separately, but could see each other. Margret worked in the stabsgarten [staff garden] where they grew vegetables enabling her to sneak food to her family. Margret’s father worked treating people who had lice and her mother did sewing. In September 1944, Margret’s father was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp in German occupied Poland, where he was murdered. The following month she and her mother were sent there as well. Margret’s mother was killed soon after they arrived. After a few weeks, Margret was sent to Sackisch‐Kudowa labor camp to work in an airplane factory. She and the other prisoners were freed in May 1945, and Margret made her way to Deggendorf displaced persons camp that summer. She met her first husband Felix Huber at Deggendorf, and in 1946 they both immigrated to the United States.
title: Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp scrip, 2 kronen note, issued to a German Jewish inmate