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3 Reichsmark Buchenwald Concentration Camp
| Issuer | SS-Standort-Kantine Buchenwald |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Yes |
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| Obverse description | Plain brown coarse paper stock printed in black letterpress throughout. The issuer legend runs across the top in bold sans-serif type, separated by a ruled line. The large numeral '3' is centered between 'RM.' denominations flanked by double horizontal rules, with 'WERTMARKE' and a serial number at the lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Unprinted reverse of brown coarse paper, entirely blank save for age toning, staining, and a vertical fold mark running centrally the full height of the note. |
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| Comments |
Buchenwald camp scrip was not currency in any monetary sense — it was a control mechanism. The SS introduced Prämienscheine (incentive notes) across the concentration camp system from 1943 onward as a cynical productivity measure: prisoners who exceeded work quotas could receive scrip redeemable at the Lagerkantine, theoretically for tobacco, food supplements, or brothel tokens. The Buchenwald denominations, issued through the SS-Standort-Kantine, circulated within a closed economy where the issuer also controlled everything the scrip could purchase.
Survivors' accounts consistently note that access to the Kantine was itself subject to SS discretion, making the notes' face value largely theoretical for most inmates.