Germany's Most Grotesque WW2 Plan

As World War II began, Germany hatched one of its most devious and notorious plots to bring Britain to its knees. Instead of bombing the country with the power of explosives, Germany would bomb its enemy with money. Operation Bernhard began forging British banknotes of such quality that one Bank of England official called them “the most dangerous ever seen.” The intent was to collapse the British economy and sow chaos by showering its citizens with free money, falling from the sky.

The unit in charge of replicating the money successfully duplicated the rag paper used by the British, engraving near-identical blocks. The Germans also cracked the algorithm that gave each banknote its alphanumeric serial code. It was only through the capture and interrogation of German intelligence leader Alfred Naujocks that the plot was eventually foiled…