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1 Dollar Lethbridge; PoW Camp
| Issuer | Internment Camp 133, Lethbridge, Alberta |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942-1945 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dollar (1858-date) |
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| Obverse description | Letterpress-printed voucher on yellow-buff paper in black ink. The denomination $1.00 is set in large bold numerals at centre, with the camp designation INTERNMENT CAMP 133 across the top and P.W.C. LETHBRIDGE, Alta. along the bottom. The printer's imprint BULMAN BROS WPG is printed vertically along the right margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Reverse is entirely plain, left unprinted on yellow-buff paper stock. |
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| Comments |
Camp 133 at Lethbridge held the largest concentration of German prisoners of war in Canada during the Second World War — at its peak, over 12,000 men were interned there. The camp operated its own internal scrip currency, printed by Bulman Brothers of Winnipeg, specifically to prevent PoWs from accumulating Canadian legal tender that might facilitate escape attempts. Geneva Convention obligations required that prisoners be compensated for labor, and scrip satisfied that requirement while keeping real money out of the compound.
The Lethbridge issues are among the better-documented Canadian PoW scrip series, partly because the camp's scale meant higher print runs than most comparable operations. Bulman Brothers also printed scrip for other Canadian internment facilities during the same period.