The hypothesis of the partly inflationary character of the German internment camp money during the First World War and of its doubtful numismatical value, as set forth here, is borne out by several other observations. There were very few complete or almost complete collections of “Gefangenenlagergeld” even in Germany, the most important ones being that of the Reichswirtschaftsmuseum in Leipzig, where one specimen of each type of Notgeld was officially deposited by the Reich as issued, and that of a private collector, Doctor Arnold Keller of Berlin, the publisher of Dr. Arnold Kellers Notgeldbücher. In Holland, there was also a collection outstanding because of its completeness, namely that of Mr. Paul Daub of Utrecht, a private collector. The American Numismatic Society, in due recognition of the given situation, rightfully did not care to acquire complete sets of this money, either during or after the war, but contented itself with a few specimens only. There have been a few private collectors in the United States none of whom seems to have attained great achievements in this field. None the less, the interest is still kept alive to some degree in collectors’ circles through the “International Emergency Money Club” of New York City, the only club of its kind in existence, founded in 1936 in New York City, with an active membership of thirty in 1942.
Different Types of War Prisoner Money
Beginning as early as January 1917 the well known firm of J. Schulman of Amsterdam offered complete sets of such money in a series of consecutive catalogues on war money, entitled La Guerre Européenne 1914-1917. Here collectors could obtain almost all sets available which were probably secured from the official authorities of issuance in Germany. The international reputation of the firm of Schulman in Amsterdam is too well established to permit reflection on the ethics of its business transactions. Merely for the sake of clarity it should be stated that none is implied here.
Obviously, numismatic interest turned quickly to the items of this previously little known type of war emergency money. In the very beginning, most probably, everyone thought that it would be a quickly passing numismatic phenomenon. No one could at that time realize the dimensions that production of war prisoner money would finally reach. All this notwithstanding, the literature on this special kind of money is scarce, incomplete and widely scattered. The appended select bibliography might therefore be welcome to those interested in this field of collecting which probably will be revived soon after the return of peace. It is needless to state that no claim is being made of completeness in the bibliographical data offered below.
No doubt, in the present war, too, internment camp money has been issued. Scanty news on such money issued in Great Britain, particularly in the Isle of Man internment camp for civilian and soldier prisoners of war, has already been brought to the attention of numismatists. A member of the Czechoslovak State Council in London, Mr. Ernest Frischer, recently informed the present writer that internment camp money is in use in the ill-famed concentration camp of Terezin (Theresienstadt) in Bohemia, where about 50,000 Jews are being held by their German “Protectors.” According to information received by the War Department in Washington, on the other hand, “no special type of money is issued for the use of prisoners of war held in this country. However, prisoners of war are issued 'canteen checks,’ a form of script which is given them in lieu of cash. This script is redeemable for merchandise at prison camp post exchanges. This script is not uniform, each of the several Service Commands procuring it and issuing it to camps within its jurisdiction. No photographs of the canteen checks are available.”
Naturally, more detailed and definite information will be available only after the termination of hostilities and the restoration of unimpeded research channels.
II
European War-Prisoner Medals
With regard to war prisoner medals, the numismatic situation is completely different from that outlined here for internment camp money. True, there may have been also a “mass production” of such medallic items in Europe during the war of 1914-1918. But it never could have paralleled that of the emergency money for internment camps.
Two motives, above all, caused the issuance of war prisoner medals: the raising of funds for the support of prisoners of war or the amelioration of their condition; and the creation of the commemorative tokens or medals for presentation to captives after their liberation. It is doubtful and highly improbable, that the “mass production” of such medals ever reached in quantity a volume equal to that of war prisoners money. The number issued may well run into hundreds, at most a few thousands, but certainly not many thousands. For, to the best of this author’s knowledge, no commemorative war medal in the form of an official decoration to be given to all war prisoners in general was issued by any of the states participating in the First World War. Nor did any of the European states that remained neutral and held members of the belligerents in internment camps, issue commemorative medals for internees. This suggestion may well deserve the attention of the United Nations’ military authorities. After the present war a special commemorative medal of honor should be issued, intended for those who had to endure the great hardships of captivity for their country, often suffering undescribable physical and mental restraint. Such a token of gratitude would show to these heroes that they, too, had not been forgotten and that their sacrifice is duly appreciated and will permanently be remembered.