Objekt des Monats
Jedes Objekt in der Sammlung des Deutschen Auswandererhauses erzählt eine ganz persönliche Auswanderungs- oder Einwanderungsgeschichte. In dieser Rubrik stellen wir Ihnen jeden Monat ein anderes Objekt vor – eine Fotografie, ein Dokument oder ein persönliches Erinnerungsstück.
December 2021
Reichsbanknote 100 Marks from the year 1910
Historical Context
A multitude of different German state currencies has expressed Germany’s political fragmentation since the Middle Ages. When the German Empire was founded in 1871, the unification of the currency system became one of the state’s most important tasks. At that time, five different currencies still existed, each with its own accounting systems; additionally, notes from 33 private banks as well as paper money from 20 federal states and three corporations were also in circulation.
On December 4, 1871 – 150 years ago – the issuance of imperial gold coins was mandated by law. The currency unit was determined to be the Mark, divided into 100 Pfennige, seen as a compromise between the northern German thaler and the southern German gulden. The state coins based on the old coin systems continued to be in circulation temporarily but were no longer allowed to be minted; commemorative coins were an exception. This coexistence ended when Emperor Wilhelm I signed a coin law on July 9, 1873: The state currencies were abolished, and their state coins were gradually withdrawn.
In addition to the reform of the currency system, there was also one for paper money. The paper money issued by the federal states as well as all notes not denominated in imperial currency below 100 Marks were gradually withdrawn by the end of 1875, with the issuance of imperial paper money announced. The completion of the monetary reform came with the bank law of March 14, 1875, which simultaneously marked the birth of the central German central bank: As of January 1, 1876, only the new currency was valid throughout the imperial territory.
Short Biography
In 1923, the young Weimar Republic is shaken by a severe economic crisis. The 17-year-old Martha Hühner from Geestemünde has a job, but her wages barely suffice for the essentials of life. Since the age of 15, Martha has been employed as a nanny and housekeeper in the family of a carpenter. With the little she earns, she supports her parents and her two younger sisters.
Her two aunts, Käthe and Johanne, who have emigrated to America, report in letters about prosperity and good earning opportunities. They encourage their niece to follow them to the USA. Indeed, Martha decides to depart in the summer of 1923. Her aunt Käthe arranges the sponsorship, pays for the passage, and sends Martha some travel money.
In America, Martha meets the German-American baker Willy Seegers and marries him in her second year in the USA. Together, they open a bakery in New Jersey in 1932. Martha’s life remains eventful, marked by ups and downs. In the 1980s, after her husband’s death, the elderly lady feels homesick, so her sister Hanna and her husband soon bring her back to Bremerhaven. Just two days after her birthday, Martha Seegers dies childless at the age of 81 on July 3, 1987, in the home of her other sister Käthe.
Significance of the object
Migration and money have always been closely linked. Money represents possession, work, a (good) living – the hope of achieving all this is the motivation for many people to migrate. Many later support their relatives who stayed behind with remittances once they have settled in – as did Martha Hühner. However, money mainly determines who can emigrate at all and to where. If the available financial means are insufficient, emigration remains just a dream.
Do You Also Have …
… a story of emigration or immigration in your family that you would like to share with the German Emigration Center together with the related objects and documents for its collection? Then please contact Dr. Tanja Fittkau by phone at +49 471 / 90 22 0 – 0
or by e-mail at: t.fittkau@dah-bremerhaven.de