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Operation Bernhard: Nazi Germany's audacious counterfeit scheme
One of history's most ambitious forgery operations, orchestrated by Nazi Germany to destabilize Britain's economy, is now the focus of a new exhibition-and a key plotline in the latest Peaky Blinders series.
The plan to flood Britain with fake money
Codenamed Operation Bernhard after SS Major Bernhard Krüger, the scheme forced over 140 Jewish prisoners at Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin to produce near-perfect replicas of British £5, £10, £20, and £50 notes. The goal: to trigger hyperinflation by flooding the UK with counterfeit currency.
Though the Bank of England ultimately thwarted the plot, the operation forced the withdrawal of thousands of genuine notes and temporarily halted the printing of new ones. The financial fallout lasted decades, delaying the reintroduction of higher-denomination bills until the 1960s and 1970s.
Prisoners forced to master wartime banknotes
Unlike modern currency, which relies on intricate security features, wartime British notes were printed on white cotton-rag paper with minimal safeguards-just black ink, signatures, and subtle security marks. Their large size, roughly that of an A5 sheet, made them easier to replicate but also struck collectors as works of art.
"They're very big, and this is what got me when I first saw them. They're like works of art-the paper's beautiful."
Andy Taylor, collector
Prisoners with expertise in engraving, banking, and printing were isolated from the camp's general population and ordered to study thousands of genuine notes to replicate around 150 distinct security marks. Failure meant death.
"All this counterfeit money was produced by people who would have been murdered. These people were forced to do it."
Hannah Goldstone, Holocaust Centre North
From Luftwaffe airdrops to spy payments
The original plan called for the Luftwaffe to scatter the fake notes over Britain, hoping to trigger economic chaos. When that strategy shifted, the counterfeits were instead used to purchase supplies and fund Nazi spies in neutral countries.
Estimates suggest the operation produced around nine million forged notes-equivalent to roughly £5 billion in today's money. However, the exact number that entered circulation remains unknown.
How the Bank of England uncovered the forgeries
The Nazis successfully duplicated most security marks but failed to crack the Bank of England's serial number system. Instead, they reused old numbers, leading to the scheme's unraveling.
The first counterfeit note was detected in 1943 after passing through a British bank in Morocco. When the note was sent to London for verification, officials discovered it had already been paid-exposing the flaw in the forgeries.
In response, the Bank of England withdrew all notes above £5, leaving the £5 as the highest denomination in circulation for nearly two decades. £10 notes weren't reintroduced until 1964, followed by £20 notes in 1970 and £50 notes in 1981.
Exhibition and Peaky Blinders tie-in
A collection of the forged notes, donated by collector Andy Taylor, is now on display at Holocaust Centre North at the University of Huddersfield. Taylor, who began collecting the notes as a child, described their near-perfect replication as "negligible" unless scrutinized by experts.
The exhibition coincides with the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, which incorporates elements of Operation Bernhard into its storyline. Organizers hope the show's popularity will drive interest in the historical events.
"We want to take advantage of people's interest in the film and the history and help educate people."
Hannah Goldstone, Holocaust Centre North
Taylor, who has donated half his collection to the center, plans to eventually return the remaining notes to Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum in Germany, calling it "like they're going home."
Legacy and unanswered questions
As the war neared its end, prisoners were relocated to Austria to continue the operation, but production never resumed. Most of the counterfeit notes were reportedly burned or dumped into Lake Toplitz, though divers recovered some in the 1950s.
The exhibition offers a rare glimpse into a lesser-known chapter of World War II-one that blurred the lines between economic warfare and human tragedy.
