Operation Bernhard and the Holocaust
Jeremy Stern will talk about Operation Bernhard, a German scheme to counterfeit British bank notes during World War II using Jewish concentration camp inmates – who were forced to become counterfeiters for the Nazi state. The Nazis hoped to use forged British paper money both to finance their agents across Europe and to undermine the British economy. Skilled Jewish captives were ordered to operate a makeshift forgery factory at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Their only choice was to produce convincing counterfeits for the SS, or to die. The conscripted forgers made astonishingly close copies of British notes – balancing delay and even sabotage against the constant risk that the Nazis would end the project and kill them all. The operation finally fell to pieces as the German war effort collapsed, leaving the forgers’ fate hanging on the decisions and self-interest of the scheme’s SS commander.
About the Speaker:
Jeremy A. Stern, Ph.D. is a historian, writer, and history educator. In addition to consulting on educational standards and content across the U.S., he has written and spoken for both popular and professional audiences on a wide range of historical subjects. He has long been intrigued by the story of Operation Bernhard, especially since he acquired an original forged Bernhard note – a rare direct physical trace from the Nazi camps.