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36-899: The Rote Hilfe was first organized as a result of the political repression in April 1921 following bloody strikes and communist rebellions in central Germany in March of that year. It was formed after a decision the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). In November 1921, a "Berlin Committee" was created as a central committee . The Fourth World Congress of the Comintern in Moscow from 5 October - 12 November 1922, called for "the creation of organizations to render material and moral aid to all captives of capitalism in prison." This effort later became

72-495: A Reichsmark. Made entirely of zinc , the 10 ℛ︁₰ is an emergency issue type, similar to the zinc 1 ℛ︁₰ and 5 ℛ︁₰ , and the aluminium 50 ℛ︁₰ coins from the same period. Nazi Germany had a number of mints. Each mint location had its own identifiable letter. It is therefore possible to identify exactly which mint produced what coin by noting the mint mark on the coin. Not all mints were authorized to produce coins every year. The mints were also only authorized to produce

108-675: A failed attempt by the Reichskanzler Heinrich Brüning to reduce prices through use of 4 ℛ︁₰ pieces instead of 5 ℛ︁₰ coins. Known as the Brüningtaler or Armer Heinrich ('poor Heinrich'), they were demonetized the following year. See Brüningtaler (in German) . The quality of the Reichsmark coins decreased more and more towards the end of World War II and misprints happened more frequently. Since

144-547: A mere 15,000 goldmarks . In 1925, they began also maintaining the MOPR Children's Home in Elgersburg , as well. The two homes were managed by a 46-person administrative board, which included such well-known members as Albert Einstein and Thomas Mann . The Rote Hilfe Deutschland community drew active support by about 600 notable individuals from democratic and leftist intellectual circles. Their campaigns, such as

180-404: A set number of coins with some mints allocated a greater production than others. Some of the coins with particular mint marks are therefore scarcer than others. With the silver 2 ℛ︁ℳ︁ and 5 ℛ︁ℳ︁ coins, the mint mark is found under the date on the left side of the coin. On the smaller denomination Reichspfennig coins, the mint mark is found on the bottom center of

216-599: The Papiermark . This was necessary due to the 1920s German inflation which had reached its peak in 1923. The exchange rate between the old Papiermark and the Reichsmark was 1 ℛ︁ℳ︁ = 10   ℳ︁ (one trillion in American English and French, one billion in German and other European languages and British English of the time; see long and short scale ). To stabilize the economy and to smooth

252-670: The International Red Aid , (also known by its Russian abbreviation, MOPR). The Rote Hilfe Deutschlands (RHD) was founded on 1 October 1924 as an organization affiliated with the KPD. Artist Heinrich Vogeler , was one of the founding members and was elected to the Central Committee. The first chairman was Wilhelm Pieck , later the first and only president of the German Democratic Republic . He

288-606: The National Socialists in 1933. In March 1930, the Rote Hilfe took part in the founding of a German section of the "International Juridical Union", which dealt with penal, popular, constitutional and labor rights. In 1933, the Rote Hilfe was banned, following the issuing of the Reichstag Fire Decree . Hans Litten , Felix Halle , Alfred Apfel and other lawyers were arrested the very night of

324-723: The Reichstag fire . The organization tried to continue its work through 1934, directed by exiled leadership in Paris. By 1935–1936, the Rote Hilfe had been dissolved by the Gestapo . Some members continued to work underground to help threatened individuals go into exile through the Saar (protectorate) , then still an autonomous region. Wilhelm Beuttel took over the leadership of the organization from exile in Paris in 1933–1934. The chapters of

360-871: The U.S. Treasury Department authorized the air transfer of these to the USSR. Using a printing plant in occupied Leipzig , the Soviet authorities printed large runs of occupation marks to fill Soviet coffers with dollars causing inflation and financial instability. An investigation by the United States Congress (Occupation Currency Transactions Hearings before the Committee on Appropriations, Armed Services and Banking and Currency, U.S. Senate , 1947) found that about $ 380,000,000 "more currency than there were appropriations for" had been circulated. In 1947 Rhineland-Palatinate issued 5₰ and 10₰ notes with Geldschein on them. Coins and banknotes for circulation in

396-550: The Łódź Ghetto . Special issues of Reichsmark currency were issued for use by the Wehrmacht from 1942 to 1944. The first issue was denominated in 1 ℛ︁₰, 5 ℛ︁₰, 10 ℛ︁₰, and 50 ℛ︁₰ and 1 ℛ︁ℳ︁, but was valued at 1 military Reichspfennig = 10 civilian Reichspfennig. This series was printed on only one side. The second issue notes of 1 ℛ︁ℳ︁, 5 ℛ︁ℳ︁, 10 ℛ︁ℳ︁, and 50 ℛ︁ℳ︁ were equal in value to

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432-413: The 4 ℛ︁₰ coin was only slightly larger than the 1 ℳ︁ coin and the imperial eagle looked similar, an attempt was made to pass it off as a 1-reichsmark coin by silvering the 4 ℛ︁₰ coin. The zinc 10 Reichspfennig coin was minted by Nazi Germany between 1940 and 1945 during World War II, replacing the aluminium-bronze version, which had a distinct golden colour. It is worth 1 ⁄ 10 or .10 of

468-697: The Reichsmark and the currencies of the occupied and allied countries , often set so as to give economic benefits to German soldiers and civilian contractors, who were paid their wages in local currency. The rates were as follows: After the Second World War , the Reichsmark continued to circulate in Germany, but with new banknotes ( Allied Occupation Marks ) printed in the US and in the Soviet Zone , as well as with coins (without swastikas ). Inflation in

504-631: The Reichsmark in order to finance state projects. Nominally exchangeable at a 1:1 rate for Reichsmarks but then discounted by the Reichsbank this created secret monetary expansion without formally renouncing the gold standard of the Reichsmark. With the annexation of the Federal State of Austria by Germany in 1938, the Reichsmark replaced the Austrian schilling . During the Second World War , Germany established fixed exchange rates between

540-564: The Rote Hilfe consisted of factory and neighborhood cells and were led by district chairmen who worked under a central chairman. An "auditing commission" was adjunct to the Central Committee and monitored compliance with applicable law. Each chapter had a "relief commission", which was supposed to also involve local politicians. The Rote Hilfe employed 60-80 people full-time. There were annual national congresses, at which lawyers such as Kurt Rosenfeld , Felix Halle and Hilde Benjamin gave lectures on criminal law and other legal issues. In 1933,

576-531: The Rote Hilfe had 530,000 members, of which 119,000 were also members of the KPD and 15,000 were members of the SPD. There were also 55,600 members who were also in the MOPR . From 1924 to March 1929, the Rote Hilfe supported 27,000 people and 16,000 people in prison at a cost of four million Reichsmarks (equivalent to 15 million 2021 euros). There was a drop in membership in 1929, the result of partisan fighting. In 1932,

612-659: The Rote Hilfe helped 9,000 political prisoners, 20,000 family members and 50,000 people on the left with preliminary investigations and trials. Its central committee was connected with the KPD's "juridical central office" and also worked with the Berlin MOPR. Beginning in 1923, the Rote Hilfe maintained the Barkenhoff children's home at the Worpswede artists' colony after Heinrich Vogeler conveyed his property to them for

648-536: The Rote Hilfe. In a series of major political trials during the mid-1920s and into the early 1930s, he doggedly pursued justice for the leftist victims of the growing Nazi terror, once summoning even Adolf Hitler to appear as a witness. By the end of the Weimar Republic, Litten was unable to go out in public without a bodyguard. This was provided by members of the Rotfrontkämpferbund . During

684-743: The Soviet Occupation Zone (colloquially also "Ostmark", since 1968 officially " Mark der DDR "). The 1948 currency reform under the direction of Ludwig Erhard is considered the beginning of the West German economic recovery ; however, the secret plan to introduce the Deutsche Mark in the Trizone was formulated by economist Edward A. Tenenbaum of the US military government , and was executed abruptly on 21 June 1948. Three days later,

720-537: The amnesty for political prisoners in 1928, for freedom in the arts, or in favor of liberalizing the law on abortion were supported by Albert Einstein, Kurt Tucholsky , Käthe Kollwitz , Heinrich Zille , Heinrich Mann , Erich Mühsam , Magnus Hirschfeld , Otto Dix , Max Liebermann , Erwin Piscator , Carl von Ossietzky , Heinrich Vogeler and others. Hans Litten was especially well known for his activity with

756-1200: The coin. The first Reichsmark banknotes were introduced by the Reichsbank and state banks such as those of Bavaria , Saxony and Baden . The first Reichsbank issue of 1924 came in denominations of 10 ℛ︁ℳ︁, 20 ℛ︁ℳ︁, 50 ℛ︁ℳ︁, 100 ℛ︁ℳ︁, and 1,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁. This was followed by a second issue in the same denominations, dated between 1929 and 1936. The second issue commemorated persons who made contributions to German agriculture, industry, economy, science, and architecture: 10 ℛ︁ℳ︁ issued in 1929 commemorated agronomist Albrecht Thaer ; 20 ℛ︁ℳ︁ issued in 1929 commemorated engineer, inventor, and industrialist Werner von Siemens ; 50 ℛ︁ℳ︁ issued in 1933 commemorated Prussian politician and banker David Hansemann ; 100 ℛ︁ℳ︁ issued in 1935 commemorated chemist and "father of fertilizer industry" Justus von Liebig ; 1,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁ issued in 1936 commemorated Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel . A newer version of 20 ℛ︁ℳ︁ note

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792-400: The currency of the occupied countries. The coins were originally planned in great numbers of 100 million and 250 million each of the 5 ℛ︁₰ and 10 ℛ︁₰ coins respectively. The first embossing order, which was issued in April 1940, was about 40 million × 5 ℛ︁₰ and 100 million × 10 ℛ︁₰. The total amount was divided between each of the seven German mints after the embossing key of 1939. The contract

828-627: The final months of the war had reduced the value of the Reichsmark from 2.50 ℛ︁ℳ︁ = $ 1US to 10 ℛ︁ℳ︁ = $ 1US and a barter economy had emerged due to the rapid depreciation. The Reichsmark was replaced by the Deutsche Mark at a rate of 10:1 (1:1 for cash and current accounts) in June 1948 in the Trizone and later in the same year by the East German mark in

864-569: The law for reasons of Communist activity, many becoming corporate lawyers after losing their license to practice in court. According to Josef Schwarz, 22 of its lawyers were sent to Nazi concentration camps . Only a few of the Jewish lawyers who hadn't left Germany by 1942 survived the camps. Two lawyers who moved to the Soviet Union later became victims of the Stalinist purges . Some 30 of

900-643: The lawyers who went into exile later returned to Germany, nine of them to the German Democratic Republic . Political repression Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.150 via cp1114 cp1114, Varnish XID 931316495 Upstream caches: cp1114 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:48:07 GMT Reichsmark The Reichsmark ( German: [ˈʁaɪçsˌmaʁk] ; sign : ℛ︁ℳ︁ ; abbreviation: RM )

936-588: The new currency also replaced the Reichsmark in the three Western sectors of Berlin . In November 1945, the Reichsmark was superseded by the Second Austrian schilling in Austria. In 1947, the Saar mark , later replaced with the Saar franc , was introduced in the Saar . In 1924, coins were introduced in denominations of 1 ℛ︁₰ , 2 ℛ︁₰, 5 ℛ︁₰ , 10 ℛ︁₰, and 50 ℛ︁₰ , and 1 ℳ︁ and 3 ℳ︁. 4   Reichspfennig coins were issued in 1932 as part of

972-482: The occupied territories during the war were issued by the Reichskreditkassen . Holed, zinc coins in 5 ℛ︁₰ and 10 ℛ︁₰ denominations were struck in 1940 and 1941. Banknotes were issued between 1939 and 1945 in denominations of 50 ℛ︁₰, 1 ℛ︁ℳ︁, 2 ℛ︁ℳ︁, 5 ℛ︁ℳ︁, 20 ℛ︁ℳ︁, and 50 ℛ︁ℳ︁. These served as legal tender alongside

1008-628: The period of its activity, some 330 attorneys worked for the Rote Hilfe. Of these, 60% were of Jewish background, a fact that had special significance after 7 August 1933, when the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service came into effect and many lost their license to practice in German courts. ( First World War veterans were able to continue till the end of 1941 as lay lawyers.) Other lawyers were also affected by

1044-712: The transition, the Papiermark was not directly replaced by the Reichsmark, but by the Rentenmark , an interim currency backed by the Deutsche Rentenbank , owning industrial and agricultural real estate assets. The Reichsmark was put on the gold standard at the rate previously used by the German mark , with the U.S. dollar worth 4.20 ℛ︁ℳ︁. During this period a number of shell companies were created and authorized to issue bonds outside

1080-616: The work was the support of arrested members of the Rotfrontkämpferbund , the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany , Communist Workers' Party of Germany , unionists, as well as unaffiliated individuals and their family members. The Rote Hilfe proclaimed 18 March 1923 (anniversary of the Paris Commune ) to be the "International Day of Aid for Political Prisoners" and observed this day till they were banned by

1116-957: Was introduced in 1939, using a design taken from an unissued Austrian S 100 banknote type. 5 ℛ︁ℳ︁ notes were issued in 1942. Throughout this period, the Rentenbank also issued banknotes denominated in Rentenmark, mostly in RM 1 and RM 2 denominations. In preparation for the occupation of Germany, the United States issued occupation banknotes dated 1944, printed by the Forbes Lithograph Printing Company of Boston. These were printed in similar colours with different sizes for groups of denominations. Notes were issued for 1 ⁄ 2  ℳ︁, 1 ℳ︁, 5 ℳ︁, 10 ℳ︁, 20 ℳ︁, 50 ℳ︁, 100 ℳ︁, and 1,000 ℳ︁. The issuer

Rote Hilfe - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-796: Was previously the leader of the Juristischen Zentralstelle of the Landtag of the Weimar Republic and the Reichstag faction of the KPD. After 1925, Clara Zetkin assumed leadership of the RHD. After the death of Julian Marchlewski that same year, she also led the MOPR. In the beginning, the organization was active with the campaign, "Rote Hilfe for the victims of war and work", part of an international campaign to support war victims and those disabled at work. The main emphasis of

1188-471: Was replaced by the East German mark . The Reichsmark was subdivided into 100 Reichspfennig (Rpf or ℛ︁₰). The Mark is an ancient Germanic weight measure, traditionally a half pound, later used for several coins; Reich ( realm in English) comes from the official name for the German state from 1871 to 1945, Deutsches Reich . The Reichsmark was introduced in 1924 as a permanent replacement for

1224-784: Was stopped in August 1940 as the Wehrmacht, which had requested the coins for Belgium and France, had no more need of it. When the embossing stopped, only Berlin ("A") and Munich ("D") produced significant quantities, but they still came to only a small extent of original production plans. The majority were melted down due to the limited supply of metal and thus, most mint marks are now quite rare (except for 1940 5 A and D, and 1940 10 A). Various special issues of Reichsmark currency were issued for use in concentration and prisoner of war (POW) camps ( Stalag ). None were legal tender in Germany itself. From 1942 to 1943 tokens were struck for use within

1260-599: Was the Alliierte Militärbehörde ('Allied military authorities') with In Umlauf gesetzt in Deutschland ('in legal circulation in Germany') printed on the obverse. These notes were convertible to US dollars at a rate of 10:1. Seeing an opportunity to procure foreign hard currency, the Soviet Union demanded copies of the engraving plates, ink, and associated equipment in early 1944, and on 14 April 1944 Henry Morgenthau and Harry Dexter White of

1296-527: Was the currency of Germany from 1924 until the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945, and in the American, British and French occupied zones of Germany , until 20 June 1948. The Reichsmark was then replaced by the Deutsche Mark , to become the currency of West Germany and then all of Germany after the 1990 reunification. The Reichsmark was used in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany until 23 June 1948, where it

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