A World War II-era plate that was used to print fake money by the Polish resistance has been found during renovation work in a bank on the same day that the last person alive who could shed light on its past died.
The rare plate was found during renovation work at the state-owned Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), Poland’s national development bank, which is located in a building at the intersection of Aleje Jerozolimskie and Nowy Swiat in the capital, Warsaw.
Located under the floor of a mezzanine for several decades, it was found on 5th February, on the same day that the last member of a special counterfeiters unit that was part of the Polish resistance during World War II, died.
Such plates were used to produce fake money by the Polish underground movement during the Nazi occupation of Poland which lasted from 1939 to 1945.
Located on a large stone slab, the banknote plate matrix measures 18 by 19 centimetres (seven by 7.5 inches) and features a mirror image of a zloty banknote.
WWII-era matrix used to counterfeit banknotes discovered in Warsaw bank, Poland, undated. During the German occupation, the headquarters of BGK was a place not only of formal activities, but also an active conspiracy center. Note: Photo shared by bank. (BGK/Newsflash/NX)
Forgers in the Polish resistance, working for the Polish Home Army and the London-based Polish-government-in-exile, created the fake money as part of their goal of undermining the Nazi regime.
They mainly produced small banknotes, which, although could not buy much, were ideal to avoid detection.
It is believed that resistance fighters, who operated a clandestine print shop codenamed PWB/17, infiltrated the state-run Polish Security Printing Works (PWPW) to distribute the money right under the Germans' noses.
One unit, known as the PWB/17/S group, printed banknotes and other documents for the Home Army and sabotaged the German management at the top of the motor structures the Nazi regime imposed on the country.
Picture shows Feliks Mlynarski, undated. He was the prewar vice president of Bank Polski. Note: Licensed photo. (Newsflash/NX)
Their mission was to supply the resistance with forged documents and currency without detection.
Radoslaw Milczarski, the bank’s historian, told local media: "This is an extremely rare find. It’s not just a printing tool — it’s a relic of resistance, innovation, and survival under occupation."
Unfortunately, the last member of the group to still be alive, reportedly named Juliusz Kulesza, aka Julek, died on 5th February, the same day the mysterious slab was discovered.