| General |
| Main/Index |
| Research |
| Research Abstract |
| Other |
| Gallery |
 |
|
GERMAN NOTGELD notes by Charles R. Jansen, Ph.D. What is Notgeld ? How was Notgeld used? Type of Notgeld Reflections of Notgeld HOW WAS NOTGELD USED?
Morethan merely a means of exchange, Notgeld imagery between 1919 and 1923 offered a vehicle for advertising, propaganda, and regional commentary, as Guttmann and Meehan note: "These notes also served some secondary purposes.... They advertised... local industries by the use of leather, linen or silk as the basic material. One town issued money consisting of leather suitable for soling shoes as a truly inflation-proof kind of currency.... The towns and villages also indulged in a little political propaganda on their notes... And of course they also had the collector in mind..." (Guttmann and Meehan, p. 51). Thus, Notgeld offers a rich, illustrative source of information about Germany immediately after World War I and before the rise of Hitler. Monuments of local pride and politics, German folk-tales and their folk heroes, even jokes in regional dialects depicted on Notgeld all express an uncensored, popular commentary not only on the rapidly shifting political life and rapidly deteriorating economic health of the Weimar Republic, but also on the deeper psychic state of common German people. SELECTED REFERENCES Guttmann, William and Meehan, Patricia. The Great Inflation: Germany 1919-1923. London: Gordan and Cremonesi, 1976. Charles R. Jansen |