Młynarki [mwɨˈnarkʲi] was the popular name for the currency notes of the General Government (part of German-occupied Poland) during World War II that were issued by the German-controlled Bank of Issue in Poland. They were named after the president of the bank, Feliks Młynarski.^[1]

History

After the German invasion of Poland and the ensuing occupation, the Reichsbank decided not to introduce German currency there, as it did not want to increase the money supply.^[2] Various Polish banks and credit institutions were temporarily closed, while some of their assets were nationalized by the German government. Many people lost their savings.^[2][3] On 15 December 1939, Hans Frank, the governor of the General Government, an administrative unit for most of occupied Poland, passed a decree creating a new bank, the Bank of Issue in Poland (Bank Emisyjny), which began operating in April 1940.^[2][4] The bank was headed by Feliks Młynarski with the approval of the Polish government-in-exile.^[2][1]

The official exchange rate was set at zl 2 for RM 1.^[2] The exchange system was meant to boost the German economy at the expense of the Polish economy.^[2] The black market exchange rate varied between three and four zlotys to one reichsmark.^[2]

The most famous of the notes was the 500 zloty note, the góral ("highlander" or "mountaineer") named after the image of a góral on its front.^[1] The note is still popular among currency collectors. Counterfeiting of the currency was rampant.^[5] The name was also reflected in one of the actions of the Polish resistance, Operation Góral, a 1943 heist in which the insurgents took over a currency shipment then worth over US$1 million.^[6][7] The 500 note was also the standard "unit of corruption"; the minimum bribe that representatives of the occupation authorities required to facilitate the carrying out of illicit activity.^[8] In that role, it was immortalised in a popular underground street song in Warsaw, "Siekiera, motyka".^[9]

The currency notes were used exclusively within the General Government but not the Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany.^[2] They were withdrawn from circulation between 1944 and 1945.^[2]

References

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