Catalog
1 Mark Frankfurt an der Oder; PoW Camp
| Issuer | Inspektion der Kriegsgefangenenlager im Bereich des III. Armeekorps |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress on blue guilloche underprint. A central oval vignette carries the bold denomination '1 MARK 1' flanked by geometric lathe-work panels. The upper portion bears the institutional heading of the III. Armeekorps prisoner-of-war camp inspection authority in black text over the blue underprint, with two manuscript facsimile signatures below the central vignette. A serial number appears at lower centre, with brief cautionary legends at lower left and right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Inspektion der Kriegsgefangenenlager im Bereich des III. Armeekorps. 1 MARK DER INSPEKTEUR. Waldhausen BERLIN DEN 1 OKT 1917. Zahlungsmittel für Kriegsgefangene. DER ADJUTANT. Scheine mit ganz oder teilweise fehlender Nummer können nicht eingelöst werden. (Translation: Inspection of the prisoner of war camps in the area of the III Army Corps. The Inspector, the Adjutant. Berlin, October 1st, 1917. Cash for prisoners of war. Bills with wholly or partly missing serial numbers cannot be redeemed.) |
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| Comments |
The III. Armeekorps inspection authority administered prisoner-of-war camps across a wide swath of eastern Germany, and Frankfurt an der Oder sat at the administrative heart of that network. Camp scrip of this type was issued specifically to prevent PoWs from accumulating Reichsmark currency — a security measure as much as a logistical one, since convertible cash could facilitate escape attempts or black-market dealings with local civilians.
Ambrosius & Co. in Kirchhain handled printing for several of these regional PoW issues, a small commercial house doing unglamorous but steady wartime contract work. The notes were never redeemable outside the camp system.