An original camp-issued currency note (Lagergeld / Gutschein) from Transit Camp Westerbork in the Netherlands.
These notes were issued to prisoners and could only be used inside the camp. They replaced real money and functioned as controlled internal payment vouchers.
Printed text reads:
“Dieser Gutschein ist nur innerhalb des Lagers gültig” (This voucher is only valid inside the camp)
Dated: Lager Westerbork – 15 Februar 1944
Signed by the camp commandant (SS-Obersturmführer).
This is a highly historical artifact directly connected to daily life inside the camp and the restricted economic system imposed on prisoners.
A rare and important original document from WWII occupation history.
Transit Camp Westerbork functioned as a deportation camp from which tens of thousands of Jews, Roma and other prisoners were transported to concentration and extermination camps in Eastern Europe.
Camp currency was introduced to control prisoners economically — confiscating normal money while forcing purchases within the camp system. As a result, these notes represent tangible evidence of the restricted and controlled daily existence of inmates.
Surviving examples are scarce because they were not meant to leave the camp.
