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2 Reichsmark Buchenwald Concentration Camp
| Issuer | SS-Standort-Kantine Buchenwald |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940 |
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| Currency | Reichsmark (1924-1948) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Standort-Kantine-Buchenwald RM. 2 RM. WERTMARKE (Translation: Location Buchenwald Canteen RM 2 RM TOKEN) |
| Reverse description | Plain pale blue-grey paper, unprinted, with the canteen legends visible in mirror image as a light bleed-through from the obverse letterpress printing. |
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| Comments |
Buchenwald's internal currency was introduced by the SS not as a welfare measure but as a control mechanism — prisoners received scrip instead of any real wage for forced labor, redeemable only at the camp canteen for a narrow range of goods. The system created the illusion of economic normalcy while ensuring no real purchasing power ever left SS hands. Similar schemes operated across the concentration camp network, but Buchenwald's issues are among the more frequently encountered today.
Survivorship is partly explained by the camp's liberation in April 1945 by U.S. Third Army troops, who documented everything. Former prisoners and soldiers alike retained scrip as evidence.