Bidspirit auction | Debt payment demand from a

Debt payment demand from a Nazi company in the occupied territory of Alsace-Lorraine. October, 1942 - A meticulously organized Nazi collection system issues a debt demand to the owner of a factory in the occupied territory of Alsace-Lorraine, from the company’s collection center in the city of Hanau, Germany (near Frankfurt), in the midst of World War II. October 10, 1942. A payment demand letter sent from Nazi Germany, from the city of Hanau in 1942, on behalf of a company named Quarzlampen Gesellschaft m.b.H. – Quartz Lamp Limited Company – addressed to a small firm named Firma Paul Groß, located in Mühlhausen, in the then-occupied Alsace-Lorraine region.  The letter states: “Your account still shows an outstanding balance of 115.30 Reichsmarks, as detailed below.” It continues by noting that the debt should have already been paid according to the agreement, and urges the recipient to promptly transfer the remaining sum to the company’s postal account in Frankfurt. The letter is signed with the official Nazi salutation “Heil Hitler!”, and includes the handwritten signature of the company representative.” Below appears a table detailing the debt, which was later marked “paid” in handwriting.  Mühlhausen was part of Alsace-Lorraine, annexed by Nazi Germany in 1940 after the occupation of France. This is a rare example of an almost unfathomable reality: in the midst of a global war unlike any other, an industry such as quartz lamps -essential to the German war effort, was operating at full capacity, yet still found time to pursue debt collection from a private customer in occupied territory. At the same time, corporations such as Krupp, Daimler-Benz, Siemens, Mannesmann, and others were thriving thanks to direct contracts with the Nazi Armaments Ministry, while hundreds of medium and small businesses functioned as subcontractors to the Third Reich. It was a chilling business-as-usual under a totalitarian regime - while the Nazi extermination machine operated in parallel. [1] leaf. 22 × 15 cm. Filing holes. On the reverse: advertisement for products distributed by a subsidiary of the issuing company. Very good condition.