Rating  - No Longer Silent Witnesses
This is an exceptional book filling an important niche is the scope and reach of the Second World War. It is much more than a currency catalog. It is a history. The connecting narrative equals, at least, the detail and qualiity of the excellent images of camp money. The images are bright, clear and in color where appropriate. This book can be read as a history, regardless of numismatic interest. The scope of the use of camp money will be a surprise to the previously uninitated. The associated implications of human suffering are mind-boggling. I can do no less than give "Silent Witnesses" my whole hearted recommendation.
Rating - Silent Witnesses: Civilian Camp Money of World War II
Readers may find this excellent new catalog of World War II paper both evocative and disturbing. I thoroughly recommend as an essential addition for all collectors' numismatic libraries. It is a book I am glad to have read.
The civilian internment camps of the Second World War have become the by-word for man's inhumanity to man. Along the way, they spawned a considerable output of camp currency as internees struggled to retain some semblance of social normalcy. Thanks to the efforts of daughter and father team, Ray and Steve Feller, a comprehensive and highly readable catalogue of this remarkable currency is now available at modest cost.
The format of the Feller's book is similar to Schwan and Boling's World War II Remembered. It serves as a companion piece to that opus. However, unlike its predecessor, Silent Witnesses comes with 755 full glorious colour illustrations
Following a couple of introductory chapters, the book documents the issues of:
* concentration camps of the German Reich
* concentration camps of the German occupied countries
* ghettoes and their civilian authorities
* axis, allied and neutral internment camps
* post-war displaced person camps
The general circumstances behind each group of issues is reviewed and the specific issues emanating from each camp summarized, preceded by a warts-and-all potted history of the camp involved, its administration, and what is known of the design, printing, and issuance of its notes. Numerous contemporary black and white WWII photographs accompany each section along with the coloured note illustrations.
A catalogue number is assigned to each note, prefixed by two letters indicating the country of origin. These will presumably become the essential reference numbers for these notes, for some years to come. Prices are given for VG, VF and New grades.
All camps with a known currency are documented, both the infamous and the near-forgotten. Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Dachau are there, as is Sacsenhausen along with its Operations Andrews and Bernhard.
The entries for Canada, India and the Isle of Man filled in a lot of gaps for me. There is, however, little from the USSR or the USA bit I gather there is not much known to tell. The Swiss section and the post-war Displaced Persons chapter were a revelation. In Joe Boling's words, "I doubt that anyone could pick up this book and not learn something."
Last but by no means least there is a superb bibliography.
Rating - Great for the novice and expert alike
A book on Holocaust numismatics might seem forbidding to many readers, but this book--which I picked up on the "this just in!" shelf at my local library on a total whim--is totally absorbing, visually stunning, and quietly moving. It's one of those things you'd never ask yourself about: how did money change hands among displaced, abused, and oppressed peoples during world war II? This book, with its high quality of research and masterful prose, can introduce you to a strikingly new world you never thought would have existed. It's hard to know whether to laugh or cry when discovering the small border on Australian prison camp money that reads: "we're here because we're here because we're here because..."
The lesson here? Always take a chance on a book that looks interesting. This is a long way from my usual fare of romance and fantasy, but this was one of the most absorbing historical books I have ever experienced. My only regret is that, according to amazon, Ray Feller hasn't written anything else. I'll be first in line for whatever's next!
Rating - innovative, interesting and unusual
Silent Witnesses is an excellent book. It is also unusual in many ways. Ostensibly it is a catalog of money used in camps housing civilians in World War II. This in itself is unusual and introduces an aspect of the war not known to many people. These were not your YMCA camps.
Several categories of civilians were held in camps during and after the war. For that matter a few camps are listed from before the war as well.
Basically, the camps covered are internment camps. These were NOT camps for prisoners of war. POWs were held in very similar camps and in some cases POWs and internees might have been held in the same or nearby camps, but still they were different.
By definition, prisoners of war are military personnel held by the enemy. The treatment of POWs is carefully proscribed by international law. The majority of the personnel covered by this book were not military personnel, therefore they could not be POWs. When a belligerent country finds that it has civilians from their enemy within their own borders, the question of what to do with them arises. They cannot be left to roam for fear of espionage and sabotage. Usually, it is not possible or easy to send them home. They are kept in internment camps.
Similarly, neutral counties found themselves in the custody of combatants for either or both sides. What to do with them. They were not POWs either because they were not being held by an enemy country. These personnel were also held in internemnt camps.
It is amazing that German officials issued special money for use within the camps. These historic relics are compelling evidence of the horror of the camps.
All of the above types of money are described, evaluated, and illustrated in this new and innovative book. Yes, the book lists values in the collector markets for these issues, but it is far more than a mere catalog. The authors have included much additional material to put the issues in perspective.
The authors have traveled the world in search of material for this book and it shows in many small and large ways. Hundreds of high quality and full color photographs illustrate the book. You will like this book.
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