Krueger's Men: The Secret Nazi Counterfeit Plot and the Prisoners of Block 19

by Lawrence Malkin

Book Overview

The true story that inspired the Oscar-winning movie The Counterfeiters. "An astonishing and exciting tale. The drama of how the Nazis mounted a complex counterfeiting operation inside a concentration camp is matched by the chilling life-or-death saga of the prisoners involved. It reads like a thriller, but it's all true." -Walter Isaacson, author of The Wise Men and Benjamin Franklin Only a fortnight after the start of WWII, at a meeting that has...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316057002
• ISBN13: 9780316057004
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Engrossing read despite some padding

Krueger's Men: The Secret Nazi Counterfeit Plot and the Prisoners of Block 19 covers the wider context behind the decision by the Nazi hierarchy to counterfeit the currencies of Britain and America in order to undermine their economies. As such it offers background material on this military strategy down through the ages before focusing on the prisoners of Block 19. It is a useful corrective to the film which re-arranges and in some cases invents events, and merges several characters together. For example, you get no sense that over 140 prisoners were involved in the effort but the film suggests only a few dozen at most. It also corrects a technical error in the film that states that genuine US dollars were printed by rotogravure, which has a fine screen through it which would make the edges of curves and type slightly staircased. In fact, the dollar was printed by intaglio in which the plate or roller is etched and the ink is pulled from the depression by the pressure on the roller and the tack of the ink. An interesting aspect of this account is following the fortunes of the agents who had to unload the counterfeit banknotes in sufficient quantities to destabilise the real currency. The narrative is slightly diminished by the journalistic impulse to add irrelevant colour but, fortunately, the sources of information are cited in full for those who would want to immerse themselves in greater detail.

If you see "The Counterfeiters" read this book

An excellent companion piece for the Academy Award-wining (Best Foreign film 2008) "The Counterfeiters." This book will take you behind the scenes on how the operation was organized and executed beyond the confines of the concentration camp. The insights into how the Bank of England dealt with the waves of fake pound notes (bottom line - they didn't) are especially interesting.

True World War II story that might shock you

Since the first coins were minted, men have tried (the vast majority of the time unsuccessfully) to make themselves rich by counterfeiting the world's currencies for their own prosperity. Nations too, have used the tactic in time of war for the last two thousand years with little success. Lawrence Malkin's historical Krueger's Men, details probably the single most successful effort of a nation or state's attempt to devalue another nation's currency in time of war. From the earliest months of World War II, Nazi Germany plotted to counterfeit one of the history's premier and most stable currencies, the British pound. Through a series of fits and starts, Heinrich Himmler and the vaunted SS hit upon a solution that would haunt the Bank of England for half a century. What started as an experiment--with a motive of devaluing the currency of the last-standing free country of Europe--sent tremors through the shattered economies of nearly every country in Europe. Krueger's Men explains in startling detail how the prisoners broke down the Bank of England notes to the microscopic level and eventually produced British bank notes so perfect that many were taken as real by the bank itself! Millions of pounds worth of forged notes were surreptitiously circulated through a variety of money launderers scattered all around the European continent. This played havoc with British currency that at the inception of hostilities traded at four pounds to the US Dollar. By the end of the war, the exchange rate was one for one and many British citizens refused legitimate bills when tendered because of the known scheme to undermine their own currency. One has to wonder whether, given enough time, would the British economy have survived? To understand the scope of the deception, it wasn't until a little over two years ago that the Bank Of England finally admitted that its currency had been forged during the war. Lawrence Malkin has done extensive research as the epilog, notes, bibliography and appendixes will testify. Krueger's Men exposes one of the greatest dark secrets of Nazi deception, the will to live of the men pressed into service at the camps, and a victor's unwillingness to admit the truth. Armchair Interviews: An amazing true story of World War II.

Fascinating Historical Account

It was one of Nazi Germany's top-secret operations. It was the most humiliating episode in the Bank of England's history. It saved dozens of Jewish artisans from the chimneys. Operation Bernhard was the massive counterfeiting plot designed to destroy England's economy--and the financial wellbeing of any other nation that dared to defy the Third Reich. With the failure of its predecessor, Operation Andreas, Operation Bernhard sought talent from an unlikely source. SS Officer Bernhard Krueger selected his crew of counterfeiters from concentration camps. Some of the men were only hours away from death when they were recruited for the scheme. Printers, lithographers, artists, and others with related skills were brought to Block 19 at Sachsenhausen. While he was nothing like Oscar Schindler, Krueger saw the sense of treating his men like human beings. Decent food and clothing meant so little to those used to it, but it meant far more to those who had been denied the most basic of necessities. Such treatment will buy respect, if not some form of loyalty. Author Lawrence Malkin's in-depth research delves into a lesser-known facet of WWII and Nazi Germany. The first several chapters provide information of the events leading to the formation of Operation Bernhard. These chapters are somewhat slow, but they are essential to understand the remaining narrative, which grows intriguing andcompelling. KRUEGER'S MEN would be an excellent reading choice for students of WWII history, as well as any fields that could benefit from the study of a complex crime ring. Whether a student or casual purveyor, this book is a fascinating study of brilliance and diligent work put to an unsavory use. Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer 10/25/2006