Coins with history
The money of
Litzmannstadt
Ein numismatisches Zeitdokument
Dear collectors,
in 2024 the liquidation of the Litzmannstadt ghetto marked its 80th anniversary. The ghetto money of Litzmannstadt is among the most powerful numismatic testimonies of this period. The notes and coins recall a system of disenfranchisement, Control and exploitation. At the same time, they document the attempt of those confined there to preserve a minimum of everyday life, order, and hope under inhuman conditions.
The history
8. September 1939
Łódź is occupied by German troops. The city is an important industrial center with a large Jewish community.
Anfang 1940
Around 160,000 Jewish residents are forced into a sealed-off district. The ghetto is closed off.
Ab 1940
The Reichsmark is taken out of circulation in the ghetto. The authorities introduce their own ghetto money, initially banknotes.
Ab 1942/1943
Small coins are produced, including 5-mark pieces made of magnesium from 1943 onward.
1940 bis 1944
The ghetto is under German control. Daily life, labor, and monetary circulation remain strictly regulated.
Sommer 1944
The ghetto is liquidated; most of the remaining people are deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Many people know the term ghetto from the history of National Socialism. Less well known is that in Łódź, renamed Litzmannstadt by the German occupiers, a particularly unusual chapter of monetary history unfolded. After the occupation of Poland, the city was incorporated into the annexed Warthegau.
On September 8, 1939, Łódź was occupied by German troops. At the time, the city was an important industrial center with a large Jewish community. In early 1940, around 160,000 Jewish residents were forced into a sealed-off district.
Ein Geld ohne Freiheit
With the sealing off of the ghetto, monetary circulation was also controlled. The Reichsmark was invalidated within the ghetto; possession and use of regular currency were prohibited. Instead, the authorities introduced their own ghetto money.
Control and exploitation
This money was not a normal means of payment in the free sense. It was valid only within the ghetto and was part of a system that economically isolated the residents. Nevertheless, it was needed in everyday life.
Administration, forced labor, and hope
The administration of the ghetto was under German control. Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, appointed by the occupiers as the "Elder of the Jews", organized a Jewish ghetto administration. His strategy was to make the labor of those confined indispensable to the Germans. This hope was fulfilled for only a few.
Special witnesses: 5-mark coins made of magnesium
The 5-mark coins made of magnesium are rare witnesses today. Magnesium was an unusual coin material and difficult to work with. That usable coins were nevertheless produced under the conditions of the ghetto makes these pieces remarkable both numismatically and historically.
Authenticity and responsibility
The coins of Litzmannstadt are today among the most frequently counterfeited pieces in this collecting area. Authenticity, provenance, and expert examination are therefore especially important. Every offered 5-mark coin is supplied with a certificate of authenticity.
Small coins were produced from 1942 onward, including 5-mark pieces made of magnesium from 1943. Many examples were lost; surviving pieces are therefore not only collectibles, but also memorials to a destroyed world.
Such a piece belongs in responsible hands. It is a historical document that should be preserved, understood, and passed on with respect.
