The Devil's Workshop (3 reviews)
Adolf Burger
Found in: World War Two Books
All Frontline Books,
Battle of Berlin Books
Hardback 272 pages
ISBN: 9781848325234
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A Memoir of the Nazi Counterfeiting Operation
Adolf Burger
Found in: World War Two Books
All Frontline Books,
Battle of Berlin Books
Hardback 272 pages
ISBN: 9781848325234
Published: 19 February 2009
£19.99
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One of the most remarkable episodes of WWII was the Nazi attempt to forge currency and trigger the economic collapse of the Allies. The counterfeit operation was one of the largest the world has ever seen and lead to the postwar reissue of sterling.
At the Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin, 144 Jewish prisoners of 13 different nationalities were forced to work on producing counterfeit pound and dollar notes worth billions. The plan was known as Operation Bernhard.
The forgeries that were produced were virtually undetectable: only the most senior forgers were able to spot fakes, where even the Bank of England failed to do so.
In this extraordinary memoir, the sole surviving Czech counterfeiter Adolf Burger describes his wartime experiences, including the murder of his wife Gizela in Auschwtiz and his time as a prisoner in four concentration camps. He was working as a counterfeiter until his liberation from the Ebensee camp on 5 May 1945 and was present at Toplitzee lake on July 5th 2000 when thousands of forged notes were brought to the surface.
Supported by hitherto unseen documentation and photographs that Burger took of his fellow prisoners after the war, this is a shocking account which sheds fresh light on the calculated barbarity of the Nazi war machine.
Adolf Burger was a consultant for the film The Counterfeiters, winner of the 2008 Foreign Language Oscar. His memoir has been published in Hungarian, Persian, Japanese and Czech. He continues to travel to speak about his wartime experiences.
Adolf Burger author of 'The Devils Workshop' was interviewed by The Times' Miriam Craig during his visit to England this weekend. Mr Burger was attending a special screening of the film 'The Counterfeiters' - based on the real life events detailed in his book, he also attended several interviews during his visit. To read The Times' interview click here.
At the Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin, 144 Jewish prisoners of 13 different nationalities were forced to work on producing counterfeit pound and dollar notes worth billions. The plan was known as Operation Bernhard.
The forgeries that were produced were virtually undetectable: only the most senior forgers were able to spot fakes, where even the Bank of England failed to do so.
In this extraordinary memoir, the sole surviving Czech counterfeiter Adolf Burger describes his wartime experiences, including the murder of his wife Gizela in Auschwtiz and his time as a prisoner in four concentration camps. He was working as a counterfeiter until his liberation from the Ebensee camp on 5 May 1945 and was present at Toplitzee lake on July 5th 2000 when thousands of forged notes were brought to the surface.
Supported by hitherto unseen documentation and photographs that Burger took of his fellow prisoners after the war, this is a shocking account which sheds fresh light on the calculated barbarity of the Nazi war machine.
Adolf Burger was a consultant for the film The Counterfeiters, winner of the 2008 Foreign Language Oscar. His memoir has been published in Hungarian, Persian, Japanese and Czech. He continues to travel to speak about his wartime experiences.
Adolf Burger author of 'The Devils Workshop' was interviewed by The Times' Miriam Craig during his visit to England this weekend. Mr Burger was attending a special screening of the film 'The Counterfeiters' - based on the real life events detailed in his book, he also attended several interviews during his visit. To read The Times' interview click here.
A gripping narrative of one of World War II's most extraordinary events. Burger brilliantly combines energy, pathos and some remarkable archival evidence to provide the definitive counterfeiter's tale.
Historian and broadcaster Tristam Hunt - BBC Radio 4
Harrowing yet fascinating, 28 Feb 2009By 13 (LONDON United Kingdom)
I came across this book when the author was interviewed in one of the broadsheets, in February 2009. He had just visited the... [read full review]
Amazon.UK - Five Star Review
The story of Adolf Burger, a Slovakian Jew forced by the Nazis to produce counterfeit British banknotes, is utterly compelling.The Spectator March 2009
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About Adolf Burger
Adolf Burger was born in Slovakia in 1917. He was arrested in August 1942 together with his wife and both were sent to Auschwitz. Burger was transferred to the forgery workshop at Sachsenhausen in Berlin in 1944. He is one of the last surviving witnesses of the Nazi counterfeiting operation and was a consultant for the film The Counterfeiters, winner of the 2008 Foreign Language Oscar. His memoir 'The Devil's Workshop' has been published in Hungarian, Persian, Japanese and Czech. He continues to travel to speak about his wartime experiences. He lives in Prague.
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