33: Operation Bernhard - The Nazi Plot to Bankrupt Britain

Operation Bernhard: The Nazi Plot to Bankrupt Britain

In one of the most audacious and secretive plots of the Second World War, Nazi Germany launched a massive economic offensive designed to completely destabilise the British Empire. In this episode of the Militia Historia Podcast, we explore the incredible true story of Operation Bernhard.

We delve into the origins of this top-secret SS programme, directed by Major Bernhard Krüger, which aimed to flood the British economy with millions of flawlessly forged Bank of England notes. We examine the harrowing reality of the operation's execution, which relied on the forced labour of highly skilled Jewish prisoners held at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

This episode uncovers the immense scale of the counterfeiting ring, the desperate final days of the war as the SS attempted to hide their tracks by dumping crates of fake pounds into the freezing depths of the Austrian Alps' Lake Toplitz, and the lasting postwar impact on British currency.

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