Die Fälscher

Die Fälscher, (The Counterfeiters) ★★★★★
This movie is reportedly based on a true story, of the life of a man who was caught making counterfeit Deutschmarks in the pre-WWII era. Being a Jew, he ended up in a concentration camp, at first forced to do menial labor, until his talents were noted. Toward the end of the war, the Germans attempted to flood the British and American currency with counterfeit bills, produced by an operation in one of the concentration camps using a large contingent of highly skilled Jewish craftsmen. Various sabotage techniques kept the production of American dollar bills delayed to nearly the end of the war. This is a tale of extreme wit to accomplish one’s survival with death close at hand, and yet not being an accomplice to the Nazi war effort. A suspenseful thriller, it is quite engaging from start to finish-definitely worth seeing. The soundtrack is in German, but there are English subtitles. Even Betsy enjoyed the film but was depressed all day after seeing it!