A matrix used to produce counterfeit banknotes during World War II has been discovered during renovation work at one of Warsaw’s most famous banks.
The device was found concealed beneath wooden flooring inside the National Development Bank (BGK) building in the city center and had most likely been there since wartime.
Featuring the mirror image of a one złoty banknote, the lithographic plate had been created on a perfectly flat slab of marble measuring 18 by 19 centimeters.
According to the bank’s historian, Radosław Milczarski, the banknote had been drawn onto the stone using greasy ink or crayon and would have allowed for high-quality copies.
However, the matrix lacks several notable anti-counterfeiting elements, such as background guilloché patterns.
It is likely, therefore, that those using it would have had access to pre-printed paper that already featured watermarks and intricate guilloché patterns, a telltale indicator of a highly complex operation requiring multiple people.
Featuring the mirror image of a one złoty banknote, the lithographic plate had been created on a perfectly flat slab of marble measuring 18 by 19 centimeters.
According to the bank’s historian, Radosław Milczarski, the banknote had been drawn onto the stone using greasy ink or crayon and would have allowed for high-quality copies.
However, the matrix lacks several notable anti-counterfeiting elements, such as background guilloché patterns.
It is likely, therefore, that those using it would have had access to pre-printed paper that already featured watermarks and intricate guilloché patterns, a telltale indicator of a highly complex operation requiring multiple people.
While mystery surrounds the matrix, it is known to date from the war, given that its design is consistent with banknotes that were put into circulation during the German occupation.
These notes, which were nicknamed młynarki after Feliks Młynarski, the prewar vice president of Bank Polski, were officially rolled out by the Germans on April 8, 1940.
During WWII, Młynarski became the head of the German-controlled Bank of Issue in Poland, an appointment that had been approved by Poland’s government in exile.
After covertly consulting with the Polish underground, Młynarski convinced the Germans to maintain Polish-language inscriptions on the new notes while also keeping the name ‘złoty.’
The Germans accepted these conditions so as not to rile the public.
Among other things, the discovered matrix features inscriptions that include ‘Bank Emisyjny w Polsce’ (Bank of Issue in Poland) and Jeden Złoty (One Złoty), and a series number dating it from an issue of notes that was made in 1940.
Even then, however, one złoty would not have bought much more than two loaves of bread or a kilo of butter.
These notes, which were nicknamed młynarki after Feliks Młynarski, the prewar vice president of Bank Polski, were officially rolled out by the Germans on April 8, 1940.
During WWII, Młynarski became the head of the German-controlled Bank of Issue in Poland, an appointment that had been approved by Poland’s government in exile.
After covertly consulting with the Polish underground, Młynarski convinced the Germans to maintain Polish-language inscriptions on the new notes while also keeping the name ‘złoty.’
The Germans accepted these conditions so as not to rile the public.
Among other things, the discovered matrix features inscriptions that include ‘Bank Emisyjny w Polsce’ (Bank of Issue in Poland) and Jeden Złoty (One Złoty), and a series number dating it from an issue of notes that was made in 1940.
Even then, however, one złoty would not have bought much more than two loaves of bread or a kilo of butter.
Despite this, counterfeiting such small denominations would have been fruitful given that such notes would be far less likely to be detected.
“If we go to a store and hand over a 500 złoty banknote, we can be sure that the cashier will scrutinize it from every angle,” says Radosław Milczarski. “But low denominations escape attention, which makes it harder to spot forgeries.”
Who might have used this exact matrix, though, has baffled historians, with some theorizing it could have been used by PWB/17/S, a sophisticated forgery cell operated by what would later become Poland’s Home Army.
Even in 1940, PWB/17/S was known to be active, having already flooded the market with eight million złoty of counterfeit 100 złoty banknotes.
Researchers have been left similarly mystified by the matrix’s discovery in the BGK building.
“The bank's headquarters never printed money,” says Milczarski. “It is known that from the moment the Wehrmacht entered Warsaw until the end of the occupation, the building was occupied by the Germans.”
“If we go to a store and hand over a 500 złoty banknote, we can be sure that the cashier will scrutinize it from every angle,” says Radosław Milczarski. “But low denominations escape attention, which makes it harder to spot forgeries.”
Who might have used this exact matrix, though, has baffled historians, with some theorizing it could have been used by PWB/17/S, a sophisticated forgery cell operated by what would later become Poland’s Home Army.
Even in 1940, PWB/17/S was known to be active, having already flooded the market with eight million złoty of counterfeit 100 złoty banknotes.
Researchers have been left similarly mystified by the matrix’s discovery in the BGK building.
“The bank's headquarters never printed money,” says Milczarski. “It is known that from the moment the Wehrmacht entered Warsaw until the end of the occupation, the building was occupied by the Germans.”
It is possible that the matrix had been confiscated by the Germans and was used to help them identify Polish forgeries used to finance the underground’s activities, yet it is also possible that it belonged to the bank’s Polish employees.
“Although the bank operated under German supervision, Polish employees conducted extensive conspiratorial activities on its premises, which included distributing underground press, storing funds and accounting for the Home Army, and organizing secret meetings,” says Milczarski.
The focal point of these clandestine undertakings was the Department of Construction Loans, where the Home Army treasury was established, and it was here that vast sums airdropped from the U.K. were kept inside an armored cash box.
Seen as an important bulwark of underground resistance, it’s thought that 785 Poles were employed at the BGK during the occupation, and many of these were to pay the ultimate price for their subterfuge.
One hundred and twenty-eight employees died during the war, many of them in concentration camps, with a further 150 surviving captivity.
Frustratingly, the one person who could have shed light on the matrix died on the day of its discovery.
“We may never find the answer to the questions we have,” says Milczarski. “The last surviving member of the PWB/17/S group, Juliusz ‘Julek’ Kulesza, passed away on February 5, the same day the matrix was found.”
Although the discovery was made two months ago, it has only now been made public.
“Although the bank operated under German supervision, Polish employees conducted extensive conspiratorial activities on its premises, which included distributing underground press, storing funds and accounting for the Home Army, and organizing secret meetings,” says Milczarski.
The focal point of these clandestine undertakings was the Department of Construction Loans, where the Home Army treasury was established, and it was here that vast sums airdropped from the U.K. were kept inside an armored cash box.
Seen as an important bulwark of underground resistance, it’s thought that 785 Poles were employed at the BGK during the occupation, and many of these were to pay the ultimate price for their subterfuge.
One hundred and twenty-eight employees died during the war, many of them in concentration camps, with a further 150 surviving captivity.
Frustratingly, the one person who could have shed light on the matrix died on the day of its discovery.
“We may never find the answer to the questions we have,” says Milczarski. “The last surviving member of the PWB/17/S group, Juliusz ‘Julek’ Kulesza, passed away on February 5, the same day the matrix was found.”
Although the discovery was made two months ago, it has only now been made public.
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