Sunday, April 16, 2006

Judenpost

lodz magen david money

Photo is courtesy of David Diamant and if you have more information about this banknote please drop him a note at 313diamant@gmail.com

These stamps were of 10 marks, 5 marks and 20 marks stamps. Each stamp had a Star of David under its upper left corner and on its right side there was the image of Mordechai Chaim  Rumkowski,  the head of the Jewish Council in Lodz Ghetto who was appointed by the Nazis.

Rumkowski established post offices and ran a contest for stamps to be used for interior correspondence. The first Ghetto stamps were ready on March 9, 1944. Soon after the stamps were printed the Germans decided these stamps wouldn't be permitted, and only a small amount was sold by the Ghetto post office. It is unclear to this day what happened to these stamps.

 5Pf  Rumkowski stamp


10Pf  Rumkowski stamp-1


 10Pf  Rumkowski stamp-2




 5Pf  Rumkowski stamp



More than 200,000 Jews of the Lodz Ghetto were murdered. When Lodz was finally liberated on January 19, 1945 only 877 Jews were still alive, some of them still wearing the Star of David on their chests.

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