Everything Everywhere Daily Operation Bernhard
Dec 6, 2025
Discover the audacious tactics of Operation Bernhard, where the Nazis aimed to destabilize Britain by counterfeiting pounds. Explore the history of using currency as a weapon in warfare, with fascinating examples from the American Revolution and World War II. Learn about the incredible lengths the Nazis went to produce near-perfect forgeries, leveraging skilled Jewish prisoners under dire circumstances. Delve into the operational challenges they faced and the eventual legacy of this controversial venture on modern currency security.
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Currency Warfare Undermines Confidence
- Waging war against an enemy's currency aims to erode trust and create inflation, not necessarily collapse it outright.
- Historical counterfeiting efforts exacerbated existing monetary weakness to undermine opponents' war efforts.
Operation Andreas' Early Success And Shutdown
- Operation Andreas began in 1939 under German intelligence aiming for perfect counterfeit pounds.
- Early efforts produced notes judged 90% authentic but the project was shut down by 1942.
Prison Labor Turned Technical Asset
- Himmler restarted the scheme as Operation Bernhard to fund intelligence work using skilled Jewish prisoners.
- Prisoners received relatively privileged treatment to keep them alive and productive for the forged notes program.