Adolf Burger (1917–2016)
Author of The Devil's Workshop
About the Author
Adolf Burger was a printer in Bratislava, who forged baptismal certificates for fellow Jews to avoid Nazi persecution. He was arrested by the Gestapo in 1942 and sent to Auschwitz. He was moved to Birkenau, where he was selected along with about 140 other prisoners to make counterfeit pound notes show more in a Nazi plan to undermine Britain's economy. The operation took place in Block 19 at Sachsenhausen, where the presses ran almost nonstop. The prisoners printed pounds, British postage stamps, and passports. An estimated 130 million counterfeit British pounds were produced at Sachsenhausen. The Nazis also wanted the prisoners to forge American dollars to destabilize the United States economy, but the scheme did not advance far when the Nazis moved Operation Bernhard to the Mauthausen camp in Austria. The Allied troops liberated the camp in early May 1945. Burger appeared in the documentary Taking the Stand: We Have More to Say. He also wrote a memoir entitled The Devil's Workshop, which was adapted into the film The Counterfeiters. It won the Academy Award for best foreign-language film of 2007. He died on December 6, 2016 at the age of 99. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Adolf Burger
Komando padělatelů 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1917-08-12
- Date of death
- 2016-12-06
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- Counterfeiter WW2 "Operation Bernhard"
typographer
Holocaust survivor
memoirist
resistance member
city administrator - Relationships
- Krakowski, Avraham (fellow prisoner)
- Short biography
- Famous for being an expert forger during WW2 of counterfeit £5 notes; "The Counterfeiters" a film he helped to write based on his experiences in "Operation Bernhard" was made in 2006.
- Nationality
- Slovakia
- Birthplace
- Großlomnitz, Österreich-Ungarn
Veľká Lomnica, Prešovský kraj, Slowakei - Places of residence
- Sachsenhausen concentration camp
- Place of death
- Prag, Tschechien
Prague, Czech Republic
Members
Reviews
The Devil’s Workshop: A Memoir of the Nazi Counterfeiting Operation, by Adolf Burger, is a compelling story of how Jewish concentration camp prisoners were forced to become involved in a forgery plot known as “Operation Bernhard“. The memoir is harrowing and intense in its content.
Burger became a part of “Operation Bernhard”, whereby he and other Jews were forced into production. They became forgers, and produced counterfeit British Pound Sterling notes. It was plot masterminded by show more the Germans. The team of counterfeiters included 142 Jews, from varying countries, who were prisoners at varying concentration camps.
As the story unfolded, it became a nonstop read for me. The events were unimaginable and inconceivable to my mind. The Devil’s Workshop is extremely intense, vivid and rich with minute details, and historical fact. It is an incredible memoir, unlike any I have read. It is invaluable as an educational tool, and historical resource. I highly recommend it to everyone. show less
Burger became a part of “Operation Bernhard”, whereby he and other Jews were forced into production. They became forgers, and produced counterfeit British Pound Sterling notes. It was plot masterminded by show more the Germans. The team of counterfeiters included 142 Jews, from varying countries, who were prisoners at varying concentration camps.
As the story unfolded, it became a nonstop read for me. The events were unimaginable and inconceivable to my mind. The Devil’s Workshop is extremely intense, vivid and rich with minute details, and historical fact. It is an incredible memoir, unlike any I have read. It is invaluable as an educational tool, and historical resource. I highly recommend it to everyone. show less
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 6
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 55
- Popularity
- #295,339
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 1
- ISBNs
- 12
- Languages
- 4