A history of German currency: 35 years ago the East German Mark disappeared – but not completely!

3,000 tons of East German banknotes were disposed of for good between March and June 2002

KfW was the legal successor of East Germany's State Bank

Film adaptation of the story for German cinemas

It is a special anniversary in the history of German currency: 35 years ago, on 1 July 1990, the Deutschmark was introduced in East Germany. This monetary union marked the beginning of the end for East Germany's currency. However, banknotes from the country proved to be extremely resilient. Walled up in an underground facility near Halberstadt in Saxony-Anhalt, they survived for more than a decade. It was not until mid-2002 that KfW removed the last set of banknotes from the tunnel system and finally disposed of them in a waste incineration plant.

Following the monetary, economic and social union in the summer of 1990, Staatsbank Berlin was initially responsible for disposing of now obsolete cash holdings as successor to the central bank of East Germany. The coins were melted down for metal production and sold to industry. However, around 3,000 tons of obsolete banknotes with a nominal value of more than 100 billion East German marks were stored in the underground tunnels of a facility in Halberstadt (Saxony-Anhalt) and left there to rot. KfW was not involved at that time, but became legal successor and therefore owner of the stored East German banknotes after the merger with Staatsbank Berlin in 1994.

Regular inspections did not give rise to any concerns about the safety of the storage situation, at least until 2001. However, after a break-in at the tunnels in July 2001, it became apparent that only some of the East German currency had rotted away by that point. KfW decided to permanently destroy the banknotes for security reasons.

In March 2002, KfW began disposing of the banknotes in Halberstadt. To do this, the end walls of the tunnels were broken open and the banknotes, mixed with gravel and sand, were removed from the 300-metre-long tunnel. At the end of June 2002, they were transported in 298 truckloads to the BKB Buschhaus waste incineration plant where they were incinerated, thereby removing any incentive for people to enter the underground facility near Halberstadt via dangerous and illegal routes.

KfW still holds a sample inventory of coins and banknotes in its Historical Group Archive. This unique collection provides a deep insight into a closed chapter of 20th century German monetary history. KfW regularly lends items from this numismatic heritage to various museums. For example, from 1 July onwards specimens will be on display in a special exhibition at the DDR Museum in Berlin. Last year, this unique story was told by director Natja Brunckhorst in the film “Two to One”.

You can find further information here: Das Ende des DDR-Papiergelds: Über den Schatz von Halberstadt | KfW Stories (in German)

You can download images of East German banknotes and coins, as well as of the destruction of stored cash from the KfW Photo archive: Photo archive | KfW (in German)

Please enter the term DDR in the search box.