Four British Banknotes that had been Forged as Part of "Operation Bernhard" – World War II

Four British Banknotes that had been Forged as Part of "Operation Bernhard" – World War II
Four British banknotes that had been Forged as Part of "Operation Bernhard". Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, World War II.
Four British banknotes that had been printed by a team of forgers, among them Jewish prisoners of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, during World War II: 5 Pound banknote (20.8.1935), 10 Pound banknote (18.5.1934), 20 Pound banknote (20.8.1932) and 50 Pound banknote (20.3.1930).
"Operation Bernhard", under the command of SS Major Bernhard Kruger, was meant to collapse the British economy by flooding it with millions of forged banknotes. The banknotes were printed at the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, by a large team of people, many of them Jews, some of them prisoners at the camp. Later, with the progress of the Allies towards Sachsenhausen, the team of forgers was moved to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. Until the end of the war, the Nazis succeeded in forging nine million banknotes, which accumulated to a sum of hundreds of millions of pounds. The success of the operation was limited, among other things due to intentional sabotage by the Jewish prisoners who operated the printing press of the camp.
Approx. 13x21.5 cm. F-VF overall condition. Tears and opens tears along the edges (not affecting text). Fold lines. "FALSZYWY" stamps on one of the banknotes.
Provenance: Morton Leventhal Collection, New York.