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50 Mark Avignon POW Camp Notgeld
| Issuer | Gefangenen Gemeinde in Avignon (Prisoners' Community, Avignon POW Camp) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
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| Currency | Franc (1795-1959) |
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| Obverse description | Two-colour (dark blue and yellow) letterpress Notgeld. Twin diamond vignettes flank the central Gothic-script legend: left shows German POW figures in a snow-covered camp (labelled "PG"), right shows civilian figures at a post. Top border reads "EINLÖSUNG: DER TAG DER FREIHEIT"; lower panel bears handwritten authorisation signatures and an official camp stamp box. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | Ehr gibt eine Mutter ihr Leben preis Deutschland, Deutschland, Als daß sie die Kinder in Knechtschaft weiß, O Mutter Deutschland. – Und suchst Du die Ehre im Freiheitssturm, Bei den Kindern such, im Gefangenenturm: Dort liegt sie in Ketten, in Schande, in Graus, Dort rufe zuerst Deine Freiheit aus; Und schreite, Deine Kinder zur Seite, Aus der Tiefe empor ins Weite… 20.11.21. |
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| Comments |
Prisoner-of-war camp currency issued in France in 1921 presents an immediate puzzle: the armistice came in November 1918, yet German prisoners remained confined in France for years afterward, some used as forced labor under war reparations provisions. The Avignon camp was among the last still operating, and this Notgeld was produced by the prisoners themselves — the "Gefangenen Gemeinde" designation indicating a degree of internal self-organization that French authorities permitted in some camps during the wind-down period.
Camp-issued Notgeld of this late date is genuinely uncommon. Most German POW currency dates from 1914–1918; 1921 examples document a detention that outlasted the war by nearly three years.