The mere threat of war caused financial chaos across Europe during the last week of July. As individuals began hoarding money, local governments and private businesses were forced to introduce short-term certficates to make up for the shortage of small change. Thus, German communities introduced Notgeld (emergency money) into circulation, often with an expiration date. Response to the impending war was swift. Some communities actually issued notgeld before the war even began (see Preussisch Holland, below). Issuance occurred not only in Germany, but also in Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Russia, Poland, etc. There was a break in the wave of issues in Germany at the end of 1914. However, the massive numbers of POWs caused the need for money for those prisoners... Lagergeld, 1914-1918 Beginning with the invasion of northern France and the victory of Tannenberg, hundreds of thousands of POWs fell into the Germans' hands. Subsequent battles would net the Germans and Austrian many millions of Entente prisoners. This necessitated the creation of a monetary system for the camps. Beginning in 1915, many dozens of camps operated both by Army Corps and by industries would produce Kriegsgefangenlagergeld, until the end of WWI... http://www.geocities.com/enver1908/notgeld.html
