Operation Bernhard

At the onset of WW2 the German high command recognised the advantages they could gain by destroying the credibility of the UK currency. The German plan was to discredit the UK currency by flooding the market with forged UK bank notes and even using forged UK bank notes to buy their own supplies from neutral counties. The work was carried out initially by 142 Jewish inmates from Sachsenhausen but eventually the team increased to 350 who were given many privileges of their work. As well as money, postages stamps and other official documents were forged and there was a considerable element of mocking the enemy by including humorous caricatures of the leaders. The Operation eventually failed because they had left it too late and the Luftwaffe did not have enough

planes left to drop the forged money over Britain. The forged Notes (£100M+) were eventually dumped in Lake Toplitz in Austria, after the war some were subsequently recovered by divers and sold for their novelty value.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Bernhardard

Steven Dimmer tells the tale of Operation Bernhard

February 2014