1 Mark Helmstedt; PoW Camp

Offizier-Gefangenen-Lager Helmstedt was an officer prisoner-of-war camp in Lower Saxony, and like most German PoW installations during the First World War, it operated its own internal currency to prevent captives from accumulating Reichsmark that could fund escape attempts. These camp marks were only redeemable within the canteen system — useless outside the wire by design.

The Lagergeld series at Helmstedt is catalogued under Campbell but remains poorly documented in terms of print quantities or the camp's precise inmate population. Officer camps (Offizierlager) were typically smaller than enlisted installations, which likely kept circulation numbers low.