The Mark in East Germany (GDR) was introduced as an answer to the introduction of the Deutsche
Mark in West Germany in 1948. The initial name of
this currency was "Deutsche Mark".
The currency reform in Germany's western zones came as a
surprise to the regime in the East. So initially the old German banknotes from the war
(Rentenmark and Reichsmark) were marked with
stamps as a provisional arrangement until new proper notes could be issued. These bills are called
"Kuponscheine" (coupon bills). The exchange of the old banknotes into the coupon bills was made at a rate
of 10 old Mark for 1 new Mark. The first 70 Mark, however, were exchanged at a preferential rate for private
individuals at 7 for 1.
The coupon bills were replaced in 1948 by the first issue of the
Deutschen Notenbank. They do not show a signature - like most
banknotes issued in East Germany. Banknotes with a serial number of 6 digits were printed in the Soviet Union,
while bills with a 7 digit number were printed in East Germany. The issue contained bills with the following
denominations: 50 Pfennig, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 1,000 Mark.
In 1953 a new issue of banknotes was prepared, carrying the issue year 1954. This series has never been issued,
though. Only very rare specimen exist.
Until 1957 the Eastern Mark was fully convertible. Some of currency was brought to the western part and
exchanged at a rather low rate of 4 East Mark for 1 West Mark - low in the eyes of the
East German politicians anyway. Therefore they
decided to introduce a new currency in 1957.
Stop the East Mark to go West...
The new money was printed in the Soviet Union and brought to Berlin in a very secret operation.
At 8.00am on 13. October 1957 the people
were told that they could exchange their money between 12 and 10 pm of the same day. Only citizens from East
Germany were allowed to exchange their money to avoid notes flowing in from abroad and the western parts. 300 Mark
could be exchanged without explanation. Higher amounts were considered "black market money" and had to be explained.
The new banknotes showed the issue year of 1955.
The new notes were soon accepted in West Germany as payment at a similar rate to that of the old banknotes. The
whole operation was not very successful, as the underlying economic problems were not removed.
In 1964 the currency was renamed to Mark Deutscher Notenbank.
The money now carried the insignia of the GDR
(hammer, compasses and wreath of ears) and showed the name of the country "DDR" (GDR), while all earlier
issues avoided these, due to the official political line of German re-unification propaganda.
The Mark der DDR was issued with only issue years printed on them
(1971 and 1975). These were issued by
the Staatsbank der DDR. The new series show images that are easily identified as propaganda, which is well in
line with banknotes issued in other socialist countries at the time.
The 200 and 500 Mark banknotes of 1985 were never issued and there existence was only uncovered after the wall
came down. The bills would have been useful economically, but were not wanted politically, as they could have
been seen as a proof of Inflationary tendencies.
...and make the West Mark go East
Between 1964 and 1989 visitors from "non-socialist countries" were
forced to exchange a certain amount of currency into East Mark. This was introduced by the government
to gain increased access to convertible currency, which the East Mark was not anymore.
Special shops - "Intershop" - were built for the same purpose. In these shops imported consumer goods
were available for convertible currency. Prices were shown in Deutsche Mark (West). Citizens from
East Germany were allowed to buy in these shops for convertible currency, as well. The money came
initially from East Germans working in the Western parts. After the wall was built, West money was
brought into the country mainly by relatives and friend from the West.
In the late 1970s East Germans were not allowed to pay with West Mark in the Intershops anymore. The
leaders of the country wanted to avoid a parallel currency to develop, as was the case in other socialist
countries already. So the citizen had to exchange their convertible currency into
Forum Schecks with the same face value. These were only valid
in the Intershops. West Germans could still pay with real money, but had to show their passports.
On 1.7.1990 in East Germany the West German Deutsche Mark was introduced as official currency, due to the political developments that finally
ended in the re-unification of the country.
People related to East Germany
Please have a look at some sample banknotes from East Germany.
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