2 Mark, Eschershausen in Braunschweig, 1921

Gutschein der Stadt Eschershausen i. Br.

common

What was happening

Eschershausen is a small town in the Weserbergland, in the former Duchy of Braunschweig (Brunswick), now the Holzminden district of Lower Saxony. Its chief claim to fame is as the birthplace of the novelist Wilhelm Raabe (1831–1910), and every denomination in this series celebrates him.

This 2 Mark note carries a quote from Raabe's Gutmanns Reisen: "Und dieses deutsche Volk glauben Sie uns unterkriegen zu können?" ("And this German people — you think you can defeat us?"). The front shows scenes of labour: farmers, miners, craftsmen — the German Volk of the quotation. The back shows Raabe's birthplace and a panorama of the town, with the denomination in a circular medallion.

Issued 1 June 1921, valid until 1 July (year not fully legible). Signed by Elsner. Artist monogram F.J. (likely F. Jüttner, who also drew the Lutter am Barenberge and Braunschweig transport series).

Symbology

"Und dieses deutsche Volk glauben Sie uns unterkriegen zu können?": "And this German people — you think you can defeat us?" From *Gutmanns Reisen* (1892) by Wilhelm Raabe. A defiant line repurposed as post-war patriotism on a note issued in the author's birthplace.
Wilhelm Raabe: Wilhelm Raabe (1831–1910), one of the most important German realist novelists. Born in Eschershausen, he moved to Wolfenbüttel and then Braunschweig, where he spent most of his career. His major works include *Der Hungerpastor* (1864), *Abu Telfan* (1868), and *Stopfkuchen* (1891). He wrote under the pseudonym Jakob Corvinus early in his career. Raabe's fiction is marked by ironic humour, sympathy for outsiders, and a deep scepticism about the Wilhelmine bourgeoisie — qualities that made him a natural patron saint for a small town's Notgeld in 1921.
Workers and farmers: The industrious German people invoked by the quotation — ploughing, mining, building.
Three shields: The arms of Eschershausen.
"F.J. 21": Artist monogram and date. Likely Friedrich Jüttner, who also drew the Lutter am Barenberge series and the Braunschweig transport note in this collection.
Elsner: The signatory, as Rat der Stadt (town councillor) of Eschershausen. The same signature appears on all three denominations (10 Pf, 25 Pf, 2 Mark) of this series.

Rarity

German municipal Notgeld survives in very large quantities. Catalogued by town in Grabowski and Mehl.

2 Mark, Eschershausen in Braunschweig, 1921

What was happening

2 copies in the collection