The Counterfeiters

Berlin, 1936. Sorowitsch is the king of forgers. Life for him is a game in his world of criminals, gigolos and adulterous women. He prints out the money he needs to gamble. But then one day he gets caught and Sorowitsch is arrested and deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp and then to Sachsenhausen. When he arrives, he is greeted by Herzog, the chief inspector. Herzog is here on a secret mission: Sorowitsch and a group of carefully selected experts are to produce counterfeit foreign currency in large numbers. The purpose of the task is to weaken the economy of Germany's allied enemies. With this scheme, Herzog has created a gilded cage for the counterfeiters' team of experts. Their barracks are "first class": clean, with soft beds, plenty to eat, decent toilets and even a little relaxation now and then. But one thing is clear from the start: if their work fails, death awaits them. This presents the prisoners with an unbearable moral dilemma: participation in this project will prolong the war and could mean victory for the Nazis. The counterfeiters may be able to save their own skins, but they are risking the lives of so many other victims. Suddenly, it is no longer a question of survival, but of conscience.