In yet another example of anti-Semitism in Europe, an ultra-Orthodox man in Krakow, Poland, last Friday was handed a $5 bill stamped with a Nazi symbol. The incident, which took place in currency exchange shop, began when the Jewish customer, dressed in haredi attire, asked to exchange a torn $5 bill. The money changer, according to the haredi man, was angered by the request. Shortly thereafter, when he arrived in Warsaw, he looked at the bill he received in Krakow and saw it was stamped with a red Nazi Imperial Eagle, known in German as the "Reichsadler." Appalled at the sight, the haredi man turned to From the Depths, an organization that works to preserve the memory of the Holocaust, which in turn plans to file a complaint with the Krakow police against the money exchanger. The organization will also contact Polish government officials in the hopes that they condemn the incident. Speaking to Israel Hayom, From the Depths Executive Director Jonny Daniels described the incident as "extremely anti-Semitic." The money exchanger, according to Daniels, "did it on purpose, because he saw the customer was a haredi person. These types of things are unacceptable. We will ask the Polish government to stand against this phenomenon, and we will submit a complaint with the Krakow police department against the money exchanger." Daniels continued: "This incident has to be uprooted and we cannot remain silent in the face of such a display of anti-Semitism." Poland, Daniels said, "is now the safest place for Jews and Israelis in Europe. Additionally, there has also been a discernible rise in the number of Israeli tourists visiting Poland this year. With that, we must speak out against such occurrences and make sure they don't happen again." Dr. David Silberklang, a senior historian at the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem, said the "stamp looks inauthentic to me, because it has two Stars of David on it. The Star of David does not appear on any Nazi document. It's possible the stamp is based on something authentic." Silberklang also noted that "the stamp contains the word 'Generalgouvernement.' The translation of the word is general government, which refers to the German name for the territory of Poland. They treated this area, of which Krakow was the capital, as occupied territory. The policies there were cruel toward Jews. What's written at the bottom [of the stamp] is 'Mayor of the city of Krakow.' Allegedly, this stamp was used by the German mayor of the Polish city, but the stamp is fabricated."
