Concentration Camp Sachsenhausen Germany’s Secret War: Unternehmen Bernhard
1936 September 18, Front side - Banknote reproduced during Operation Bernhard, signed by Hans Walter and Jack Plapler.
Tan paper with printed text and illustration in English using black ink. At the top left corner, a depiction of Brittania, the personification of Great Britain, surrounded by an ornate frame. Cursive and printed signatures in red ink are depicted overall. Sixteen signatures are present including Hans Walter and Jack Plapler.
Name/Title
Concentration Camp Sachsenhausen Germany’s Secret War: Unternehmen BernhardScope and Content
1936 September 18, banknote reproduced during Operation Bernhard, signed by Hans Walter and Jack Plapler.Context
Context taken from exhibit page F2_P5: In the summer of 1942, the Reichssicherheitshauptamt Amt VI (RHSA, Reich Central Security Department, Bureau VI), the office in charge of supplying forged identification documents for secret agents, undertook a secret plan to counterfeit British currency. About 140 Jewish men skilled in banking, graphic art, engraving, and printing were brought to Sachsenhausen to carry out Unternehmen Bernhard in an isolated block of the camp. Operation Bernhard was named for Friedrich Walter Bernhard Krüger, the Nazi SS officer in charge, who had previously been Chief of Police in occupied Poland. In 1943, this team was producing one million counterfeit £5, £10, £20, and £50 bank notes per month. German spies in neutral countries used high quality counterfeits; lesser quality notes bribed collaborators in occupied countries. The bogus money circulated freely in most parts of the world including England. A counterfeit £20 bank note from Operation Bernhard, manufactured by skilled prisoners at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Operation Bernhard counterfeits are the most faithful reproductions of British currency ever produced.Collection
Operation BernhardCategory
Currency