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

by Lawrence Malkin

Paperback, 2008

Status

Available

Call number

940.548743

Genres

General Nonfiction

History

Nonfiction

Publication

Little, Brown & Company (2008), Edition: 1st Back Bay Pbk. Ed, Paperback, 304 pages

Description

The true story of the greatest counterfeiting scheme in history and the men the Nazis called upon to help it succeed--a group of concentration-camp Jews. Only a fortnight after the start of World War II, at a meeting that has remained a secret for more than half a century, Nazi leaders and officials of the German Reichsbank approved an audacious plot to counterfeit millions of British pounds. Now, drawing upon top-secret bank records, German and British correspondence, and interrogation transcripts, award-winning journalist and author Lawrence Malkin reveals how an unremarkable SS officer named Bernhard Krueger attempted to bring down the world financial system. But when Krueger discovered that forging pounds, and later dollars, was no easy task, he made a crucial decision: he would seek out the greatest counterfeiters of prewar Europe and enlist them in the effort. He found them in an unexpected place: a Nazi concentration camp.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member nabhill

Lawrence Malkin’s Krueger's Men: The Secret Nazi Counterfeit Plot and the Prisoners of Block 19 is about the counterfeiting of millions of British pound notes, and to a lesser degree U.S. dollars by the Nazis. The counterfeiting operation, known as Operation Bernhard was a plot to disrupt the

economy of Great Britain. The early chapters, though slow, provide background for understanding the decision surrounding the counterfeiting plan, as well as the reaction by the Bank of England. Later chapters explore how Krueger selected his team of lithographers, artists, printers from concentration camps, and how they were able to make near perfect pound notes in less than optimum circumstances. The narrative is somewhat marred by the editorial comments and irrelevant detail but overall Krueger’s Men is an interesting book.

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LibraryThing member markknapp

Excellent history of a somewhat unknown subject. Goes into all the background, but also into the lives of those involved, in the camps and even the Nazis. Well-written, detailed, shorter than it seems.

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