- Title: The Great Nazi Cash Swindle
- Date: 19th January 2004
- Summary: During the Second World War SS Intelligence developed a secret weapon to undermine the British war effort - a weapon made of paper. "Operation Bernhard" - the Nazi codename for this covert project - became the biggest currency forgery in history, counterfeiting, at today's value, over three billion pounds. The intention was to flood the UK with these fake notes, causing huge inflation and destabilising the economy. The 104-strong workforce that produced the money consisted entirely of Jewish prisoners isolated in a special workshop at Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin. With the threat of death hanging over them, they skilfully printed banknotes, which the Bank of England described as "the most dangerous forgeries ever seen." For the first time four of these Jewish prisoners speak out about their enforced collaboration with the Nazis, what happened to the fake millions they produced, and how they themselves survived, by a miracle, to tell their story. The programme also uses expert testimony, and illustrations from Sachsenhausen drawn by one of the forgers - artist Peter Edel. The Bank of England notes were technologically very simple, and weren't difficult to copy. The most difficult problems to overcome were achieving the right feel - the British notes were made from old rags - replicating the watermark, and copying the picture of Britannia on the notes. Help was sought from a convicted Russian forger, whose know-how greatly helped the skilled, but inexperienced, forgery team. The guards at Sachsenhausen were notoriously brutal, but the forgers were exempt from this treatment, even enjoying regular cabaret evenings. But their lives were not in any less danger than their fellow prisoners. Secrecy was paramount to the operation - forgers who fell sick were executed, such was the risk of having them treated outside of Sachsenhausen. As the war drew to a close, with Germany's defeat inevitable, the forgers were moved around notorious camps in Austria, where they were all scheduled for execution as the Allied forces closed in.
- Description:During WWII,Nazi Intelligence tried to ruin the British war effort by flooding the UK with millions of pounds of counterfeit money. 'Operation Bernhard' almost succeeded. Jewish prisoners,held in isolation at Sachsenhausen,engraved and printed the counterfeited notes. It's estimated that 40% of notes at the end of the war were fake.
- Broadcaster:Channel 4
- Collection: Channel 4
- Genre:Entertainment
- Producer:Carey St Productions Ltd.
- Programme Episode:Episode 1
- Transmission Date:19/01/2004
- Rights:Worldwide
- Decade: 2000s