NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY ANTI-SEMITISM EXHIBIT

The 1000-Reichsmark bills on display at the New-York Historical Society's “Anti-Semitism 1919-1939” exhibition seem almost unused, fresh from the 1922 German mint, probably because rampant inflation quickly made them worthless. That also made them ripe for resurrection by the Nazis 10 years later, when they were overprinted with campaign slogans, swastikas and caricatures. Stamped over one bill's original engraving, Gothic German text proclaims: “The Jew takes our Gold, Silver and Bacon [Speck], and leaves us with this crap [Dreck].” The Dreck—Weimar's worthless currency—is evidence of the Jews' nefarious powers. “Come to Hitler,” the recycled banknotes urge.

Another form of currency is also displayed at this compact but powerful exhibition of more than 50 German artifacts: a five-Reichsmark “currency conversion note” issued between 1933 and 1935. Soon after Adolf Hitler took power, Jews were dismissed from the civil service, Jewish businesses were boycotted and other restrictions were imposed: As the exhibition's catalog tells us, the Nazis saw this as Wiedergutmachung—making good again—reparations for Judaic evils done to Germany. Jews emigrating surrendered German currency in exchange for these notes, supposedly good for later conversion into foreign currencies. Only they weren't. Thus, the Jew who made currency worthless got worthless currency in return. Such was Nazi  Wiedergutmachung.

But what do these unusual bills demonstrate about the nature of Nazi anti-Semitism? Is there any connection between the objects in this exhibition and contemporary Jew hatred, which is gaining respectability? This is not a simple matter, because the exhibition is so specific to its time and place. That is how it first must be understood. These artifacts were all acquired by Kenneth W. Rendell for the Museum of World War II he has established in Boston, which is planning an expansive new building. They trace, as the exhibition puts it, the “incremental stages by which anti-Semitism moved from ideology to state policy and finally, to war.”

To read the complete article, see:
‘Anti-Semitism 1919-1939' and ‘Stolen Heart: The Theft of Jewish Property in Berlin's Historic City Center, 1933-1945' Reviews (www.wsj.com/articles/anti-semitism-1919-1939-and-stolen-heart-the-theft-of-jewish-property-in-berlins-historic-city-center-1933-1945-reviews-1463002058)

For more information about the exhibition, see: Anti-Semitism 1919–1939 (www.nyhistory.org/exhibitions/anti-semitism-1919%E2%80%931939#)

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