A story in the Wall Street Journal tells how an 89-year-old survivor of Nazi concentration camps stayed alive because of his ability to counterfeit money. Adolf Burger and 140 other prisoners forged so much British currency, that 12% of all pound-sterling bills in 1945 were fake.

The goal at the time was to break the trust in British currency, and ultimately damage the country’s economy. However, the quest was unsuccessful as German agents skimmed millions of dollars off the counterfeiting operation.

Burger originally began counterfeiting to save Jews. He printed false papers for them, and was eventually arrested by the Gestapo. He and his wife were sent to Auschwitz, and his wife died there in a gas chamber.
Burger was later transferred to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, and there he was in charge of a group of counterfeiting prisoners who were never seen by other prisoners. They had better food and clothing at this camp, and were allowed things like cigarettes, books, and games.

The prisoners in Burger’s group were former atrists, printers or bankers, and the main product they produced was the British pound. Burger was later charged with figuring out how to forge an American $100 bill.

Inmates involved with the forgery were supposed to be killed after the project ended. However, the Soviets were onto the operation, and the Nazis ran off with the machinery and Burger and his men. The men were to be killed, but pressure from American forces caused the guards to flee, and the men were all free.

Burger has written two memoirs about his experiences during the war, and is a collector of photos and documents from the time period. He travels around Germany to tell young people about the Holocaust.