1980s. In 1997, when the metallic tube was unexpectedly unearthed
during a construction project, a 45-foot section was salvaged and
made the centerpiece of the Allied Museum at Clayallee 135 in
Berlin.BERLIN WALL. See ROSE.
BERNHARD. The Nazi wartime plan to counterfeit and distribute en-
emy currencies, Operation bernhard traces its origins to a proposal
made in late summer 1939 by Alfred Naujocks, then head of the
document forging and special projects division (unit VI B) of the Si-
cherheitsdienst (SD) in Berlin. According to Naujocks’s plan, false
pound sterling bank notes would be dropped over Great Britain by
German planes with the aim of destabilizing the economy. The plan,
known initially as Operation andreas, was forwarded by SD chief
Reinhard Heydrich to Adolf Hitler, who approved it, stipulating
that U.S. currency be exempted.
Its implementation soon encountered a number of difficulties. As
the British had devised a number of safeguards for their bank notes,
the skilled SD personnel in Najocks’s unit required more time than
anticipated to duplicate the linen-based paper, develop matching ink,
and ascertain the serial numbering system. By late spring 1941, the
first test samples were sent to several banks in neutral countries, and
authorities concluded that the counterfeit £5 and £10 notes were of
sufficient authenticity to be put into circulation. Najocks’s initial plan
never materialized because of British air defenses and a shortage of
fuel.
The larger problem, however, lay in the rivalry-ridden SS hier-
archy. At least three department heads within the Reichssicher-
heitshauptamt—Otto Ohlendorf in domestic intelligence, Heinz
Jost in foreign intelligence, and Heinrich Müller, the Gestapo
chief—secretly worked against the plan, and it was only Heydrich’s
support that had allowed the operation to go forward. His falling
out with Naujocks in mid-1941 meant a temporary halt until Wal-
ter Schellenberg was named acting head of foreign intelligence.
Schellenberg proceeded cautiously, making only periodic decisions
about when the approximately £500,000 already printed might be
used.
BERNHARD • 33