20 Mark Plassenburg; PoW Camp

Plassenburg, the Renaissance fortress above Kulmbach in Bavaria, was repurposed early in the war as an officers' prisoner of war camp — Offizierslager, not an enlisted men's facility, which under the Hague Conventions entitled its occupants to canteen privileges and a degree of internal economic life. Camp scrip like this 20 Mark piece was the practical result: a closed currency preventing inmates from accumulating Reichsmarks that might fund an escape attempt.

Alexander Wiede of Chemnitz handled a significant volume of German internment and PoW camp printing during the war years. Campbell 3372 is among the higher denominations documented for this issuer, suggesting officers' purchasing power within the camp was taken seriously.