Operation Bernhard was an exercise by the Nazis to forge British bank
notes. The initial plan was to drop the notes over Britain to bring
about a collapse of the economy, but the operation was closed in early
1942 after its head, Alfred Naujocks (pictured), fell out of favour with
his superior officer, Reinhard Heydrich. It was reopened in July as a
counterfeiting operation to finance German intelligence operations.
Prisoners were sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp to work under SS
Major Bernhard Krüger, producing British notes until mid-1945 worth
between £130 and £300 million. Counterfeit notes from the operation
were used to pay the Turkish agent Elyesa Bazna—code-named
Cicero—for his work in obtaining secrets from the British ambassador
in Ankara, Turkey. Another £100,000 helped to free the Italian leader
Benito Mussolini in the Gran Sasso raid in September 1943. The operation
was dramatised in a 1981 BBC comedy-drama miniseries, Private Schulz,
and in a 2007 Austrian film, The Counterfeiters.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Bernhard>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1071:
Byzantine–Seljuq wars: Seljuk Turks led by Alp Arslan
captured Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV at the Battle of Manzikert.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Manzikert>
1810:
Juan José Castelli ordered the execution of Santiago de
Liniers, during the Argentine War of Independence.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Jos%C3%A9_Castelli>
1914:
First World War: The German colony of Togoland surrendered to
French and British forces after a 20-day campaign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Togoland_Campaign>
1968:
The Beatles released "Hey Jude", which became the then-longest
single to top the UK charts.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_Jude>
1980:
Three men planted a bomb (explosion pictured) at Harvey's
Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada, U.S., that the FBI described as the
most complex improvised explosive device ever created.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey%27s_Resort_Hotel_bombing>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
steamer:
1. A device or object that works by the operation of steam.
2. A vessel in which articles are subjected to the action of steam, as in
washing and in various processes of manufacture.
3. (cooking) A cooking appliance that cooks by steaming.
4. (obsolete) A steam fire engine, that is, a steam boiler and engine
driving a pump, which are all mounted on wheels.
5. A mode of transportation propelled by steam.
6. (rail transport) A steam-powered road locomotive; a traction engine.
7. (nautical) A vessel propelled by steam; a steamboat or steamship. […]
8. A babycino (frothy milk drink).
9. A wetsuit with long sleeves and legs.
10. The name of various animals.
11. The soft-shell clam, sand gaper, or long-neck clam (Mya arenaria), an
edible saltwater clam; specifically the clam when steamed for eating.
12. A steamer duck: any of the four species of the duck genus Tachyeres
which are all found in South America, three of which are flightless.
[…]
13. (Australia, obsolete) A dish made by cooking diced meat very slowly in a
tightly sealed pot with a minimum of flavourings, allowing it to steam
in its own juices; specifically such a dish made with kangaroo meat.
[…]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/steamer>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The Nazis hated culture itself, because it is essentially
international and therefore subversive of nationalism. What they called
Nazi culture was a local, perverted, nationalistic cult, by which a few
major artists and many minor ones were honored for their Germanness, not
their talent.
--Christopher Isherwood
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Christopher_Isherwood>