us-005578-irn597340-irn628051
history: The scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Mark Roualet, great nephew of Leonie Roualet.
has or had some members with language: fra
identifier: irn628051
is or was included in: us-005578-irn597340
date: 1943 June 02
history: Leonie Berthe Roualet (1900-1978) was born in Hammondsport, New York to Leonie (née Calmesse, 1869-1942) and Henry Charles Roualet (1866-?). Leonie and Henry were both originally from France, where they worked as champagne vintners. They immigrated to New York in 1890, where they continued to work as wine merchants. Leonie Berthe was raised Catholic and had two older brothers, Georges (George, 1891-1951) and Andre (Andrew, 1894-1973), and one older sister, Henriette (1898-1969). Georges served in the U.S. Navy during World War I aboard the USS Wisconsin. After the war, the entire family moved from New York to Cleveland, Ohio. In the 1930s, Leonie’s mother, Leonie Calmesse Roualet, returned to France to take care of her ailing brother. While caring for her brother, she too became sick, and in 1939 Leonie traveled to France to take care of her mother and her uncle. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and two days later France and Britain declared war on Germany, officially starting World War II. In May 1940, Germany invaded France and occupied the northern half of the country. Leonie’s sister, Henriette, began to worry about the fate of her mother and sister as she struggled to contact them, and she wrote repeatedly to the U.S. State Department for information on their whereabouts. In November, she received a telegram stating that her mother was in a hospital in Bordeaux, while her sister was living with their uncle in Épernay. On December 11, 1941, four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Germany declared war on the United States. Following this declaration, German authorities began arresting American citizens in their occupied territories with the hope that they could exchange them with German citizens interned abroad. On September 24, 1942, the Gestapo arrested Leonie as an enemy alien and sent her to a prison in Châlons. From there she was transferred to Frontstalag 194 in the Vittel internment camp. In Vittel, Leonie lived in hotel-like acco…
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn597340-irn628051/alternateIDs/1
scope and content: Banque de France note, valued at 5 francs, distributed in Vichy France starting August 1943, and acquired by Leonie Roualet. Leonie was born in New York to Leonie Calmesse and Henry Charles Roualet, French champagne vintners who had immigrated to the United States in the 1890s. In the 1930s, Leonie’s mother returned to France to take care of her ailing brother. While caring for her brother, she too became sick, and in 1939 Leonie traveled to France to take care of her mother and her uncle. In May 1940, Germany invaded France and occupied the northern half of the country. Leonie’s sister, Henriette, began to worry about the fate of her mother and sister as she struggled to contact them, and she wrote repeatedly to the U.S. State Department for information on their whereabouts. In November, she received a telegram stating that her mother was in a hospital in Bordeaux, while Leonie was living with their uncle in Épernay. On September 24, 1942, the Gestapo arrested Leonie as an enemy alien and sent her to a prison in Châlons. From there she was transferred to Frontstalag 194 in the Vittel internment camp. She remained there for two years until the camp was liberated by Free French forces on September 12, 1944. Immediately following liberation, Leonie worked for the Red Cross and helped establish the first displaced persons (DP) camp in Paris. In December 1945, Leonie returned to the United States, accompanying a convoy of refugees at the request of the American Embassy.
type: RecordSet
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Vichy France bank note printed on lightweight, rectangular, cream-colored paper. The face has a large, central rectangle surrounded by a narrow, blank border. Within the rectangle, a portrait of a young shepherd is printed on the right. He is wearing a matching blue cap and coat, and holding a walking stick in his right hand. In the background is a village with colorful, rolling hills, and a blue sky with large white clouds. To the left of the shepherd in the clouds there is a watermarked portrait of Bernard Palissy in left profile. The numeric denomination is printed in blue ink in the top two corners, and written out in French text below the number on the left. French text is printed in red ink at the top center left border, at center left, and at lower center. Signatures in black ink are printed at center left and lower center. Date and serial information are printed in black ink below the red text on the upper border and on blue scrolls in the lower two corners. The back has a large, green, central rectangle surrounded by a narrow, blank border. Within the rectangle, a portrait of a young woman wearing a blue dress with a green shawl and large cross necklace is printed on the left. A large bouquet of colorful, diverse flowers is printed around her, leaving an open circle just to the right of her face for the watermarked portrait of Palissy. The denomination is printed in blue ink in the upper left and lower right corners. French text is printed in blue ink in the upper right corner and in a rectangle with a blue background on the lower right. The note has a large vertical crease in the center, and is creased and worn overall. There are red stains along the lower border and in the upper left corner on the face.
has record set type: Item
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn597340-irn628051/acquisitions/1
title: Vichy France currency, 5 franc note, acquired by an American internee
has or had holder: us-005578
record resource extent: overall: Height: 2.500 inches (6.35 cm) | Width: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm)
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-camps/1982
conditions of use: No restrictions on use