WWII ALLIED PROPAGANDA
BANKNOTES

SGM HERBERT A. FRIEDMAN (Ret.)

The field of psychological operations (PSYOP) and aerial propaganda leaflets is vast. Billions of leaflets were dropped during WWII, with thousands of different themes. One of my favorite categories is the leaflet in the form of a banknote. It is a very strong psychological tool. Few people will fail to pick up a banknote on the ground. For this reason they have always been popular as a medium of propaganda. In this article we will discuss and illustrate the banknote leaflets prepared by the Allies for use against the Axis powers and their collaborators. Portions of this article have appeared previously in the International Bank Note Society Journal, Volume 23, No. 3, 1984, 1985, and Volume 24 No. 3, 1985.

During World War II almost 100 different propaganda leaflets in the form of banknotes were prepared and disseminated by the Allied and Axis combatants. In the first section of this article we illustrate and translate those notes that were produced by the United States of America. There are not a great number of these, but they are extremely interesting. In the second section I will depict the various propaganda banknotes prepared by the allies of the United States.

The United States

We start our story in the jungles of Burma. The Japanese had advanced through that country in the early years of the war, cut off the Burma Road and appeared to have a stranglehold on the supply routes to China. They conquered Mandalay on 21 May 1942 forcing the British to retreat into India.

American military forces needed some way to harass the Japanese troops and slow their consolidation of the country until sufficient forces could be sent in for a military confrontation. Planners in Washington considered parachuting rangers into the jungle to lead native forces, but where should these troops be dropped? A historian pointed out that in 1878 an American missionary named William Henry Roberts had entered Burma and made his way among the violent, warlike tribes known to the Burmese as “Kachins” (“Robbers”). The Kachins called themselves "Jingpaws" ("men of the hills") and that is why the US leaflet starts "Jingpaw Ni!"

Roberts lived among the Kachins for many years. He gave them a written language, based on the western alphabet. He so impressed these people that they adopted him and his native country. They were known to be exceptionally friendly to America. As a direct result of this great missionary's work, this tribe was chosen by the Rangers for training. They were firmly loyal and took part in many victories against the occupying Japanese forces. The American Rangers considered them among the finest jungle fighters in the world.

American parody of the 5 rupee Japanese invasion money

The United States prepared a parody of the 5 rupee Japanese invasion money (JIM) banknote issued for use in Burma from 1942 to 1944. The original note is dark purple with a yellow background. There are a coconut palm at the left and a pawpaw tree and temples at the right. The genuine note bears the red code letters “BA” or “BB.” The American parody is similar on the front, even bearing the “BB” inscription.   The back bears two propaganda messages in the Kachin language:

The Japanese Military Government commanded their troops in Burma to keep the following directives secret. The Military Government is issuing currency notes for your [the Japanese] use in Burma. Spend as much as you like for food and other things, but don't tell the (Kachin) people the secret of the money.

Kachin! The Japanese are making these valueless notes for your use. It is easy to get these notes but very hard to buy food or other things. Avoid these notes or you will be cheated.

For many years, the Kachin 5 rupee parody was believed to have been the only one used in Burma. In fact, the United States produced a similar leaflet in the Burmese language. This note is identical to the Kachin parody on the front, but has a different message on the back:

The perfidious Japanese authorities have secretly issued a mean and deceitful order to all Japanese forces stationed in Burma. It says that they are to have no qualms about whether the currency notes issued by the Nippon Army are valid on the grounds that they are only a temporary issue for obtaining  food supplies and making payment for labor. They are urged to spend it as freely as they wish. Burmese beware!

To the citizens of Burma. The paper notes, which you are being forced to accept and use, are mere valueless scraps of paper printed by the Japanese. It is easy for the Japanese to print this money, but when you have been required to take this currency you will find it much less easy to exchange it for food or drink. It is also very difficult to pay for labor with it. Friends! Do not be cheated. Don't use the  Japanese currency notes.

The American propaganda currency used in the Philippine Islands would appear to be an easy topic to discuss. To put it simply, we overprinted some Japanese occupation banknotes in an attempt to discredit the Japanese. The problem occurs when an attempt is made to discover the origin of this operation. A number of contradictory statements have been published. I will mention some of these opinions and let you choose that scenario you find to be most creditable.

The story begins on 8 December 1941 Far East time, when Japanese military aircraft attacked airfields in the Philippine Islands. Successive attacks the following day virtually wiped out the American Air Force. On 10 December the Japanese landed troops on Northern Luzon. On 22 December the main Japanese invasion forces landed at Lingayen Gulf. The Japanese occupied Manila on 2 January 1942 after General MacArthur order the U.S. and Philippine Army forces to withdraw to the Bataan Peninsula. On 9 April 1942 Bataan fell. On 6 May 1942, General Wainwright surrendered Corregidor and all United States forces in the entire Philippines.

The Japanese masked their imperialistic designs behind “The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.” This was an economic and political program meant to convince enslaved nations that they had been freed from colonial power. In reality, the program eliminated Western authority and substituted Japanese racial and spiritual superiority.

Overprinted Philippines 10-pesos Co-Prosperity

Vast sums of occupation currency were issued for use in the Philippines. As the war neared an end, huge stocks of these notes were found by advancing American liberation forces. A propaganda campaign to attack the Japanese political concept was launched by overprinting the captured occupation notes on the back with: “The Co-Prosperity Sphere: What is it worth?” These overprinted notes were air dropped over areas still occupied by the Japanese to ridicule their concept of a “Greater East Asia” by showing that Japanese-issued currency was worthless.

Who did the overprinting? The answer depends on what book you read and who you believe. One former member of a “Psychological Warfare Branch” attached to the 8th Army in the Philippines stated that in Hollandia he “liberated” a bank that was filled with Japanese occupation currency. He claimed to have been involved with dropping roughly a million dollars in overprinted money over Manila to upset the Japanese economy. These notes were dropped by B-25 bombers drawn from the 32nd Bomber Group of the 13th Air Force. He claimed that his unit often punched holes in the propaganda notes so that they could not be used by the Japanese in areas they still controlled.

This scenario was bitterly contested by an expert on Philippine currency who stated:

As for the notes coming from the Hollandia bank vault, frankly, I'm dubious. It is not impossible, but extremely unlikely. This punching of holes is even more farfetched. If we captured so much occupation money, why not use it to supply the Philippine guerrillas? They would have appreciated some of the genuine stuff. The counterfeits we were sending them from Australia were so bad that they were afraid to use much of it. Plenty of Jap pesos were found in Leyte and Manila. Some 15 million in the Malacanang Palace safe alone. Some quantity was turned over to the Red Cross as souvenirs and these were punched with two holes to protect green American recruits who would sometimes accept this invalid currency as genuine. The only place that these banknotes are confirmed to have been dropped are Northern Luzon. If we had them earlier, why weren't they dropped on Leyte, etc?

A former Office of Strategic Services (OSS) agent said, “I met an Army Colonel who was in the Philippines and all of his Japanese currency is punched. This colonel claims he got these notes from MacArthur's GHQ in Manila.” The agent, who made the transition from OSS to CIA agent after the war, went on to say, “I understand from very good sources that the currency was flown out to Australia for overprinting, then brought back to the Philippines and given to the ‘Black Squadrons’ for air dropping.”

This last comment is probably in error. The notes he claims were shipped from Australia are most likely counterfeits meant to be used by guerrillas, and not the propaganda parodies we are discussing. The United States counterfeited a number of Philippine banknotes. For example, 15,000 100-peso notes of 1936 were counterfeited in one operation. These notes were to be used by the partisans. In another operation, 120,000 5 peso notes were counterfeited to be placed in aviator’s kits to help them survive if shot down over the Philippine Islands.  

The Australian Numismatic Journal, Volume 3, No. 3, July 1960, comments:

When General MacArthur’s forces returned to the Philippines in October 1944, they captured large stocks of Japanese occupation paper money. At that time Mr. Colin Kerr of Adelaide was working with the American Psychological Warfare Branch on Leyte Island. It was at his suggestion that the captured paper money was overprinted with the slogan “The Co-Prosperity Sphere: What is it Worth?” This was done by a hand stamp and later by portable presses. Some tens of thousands of these notes were dropped over Manila and other parts of the Philippines still in Japanese hands.

Schwan and Boling say in World War Two Military Currency, BNR Press, 1978:

Soon after the liberation of the Philippines by the Allies a quantity of the Rizal Monument notes was discovered. A propaganda message was overprinted on the backs of these notes for distribution in other areas. The message “The Co-Prosperity Sphere: What is it Worth?” was intended to undermine Japan's claim to have united the Asian peoples.

These propaganda leaflets have been quite popular among collectors. Unfortunately a number of new varieties of these overprints have become available over the years. It seems certain that some of them have been produced to bilk collectors.

Beware of Co-Prosperity Sphere notes overprinted with thick, bright ink that has a silk-screened appearance. Original notes have well-printed overprints in dark red which is flat on the paper, just as the original lithographed inks used to print the backs are. No rubber stamps were used for original overprints.

If I may put it more strongly, a word to the wise. Frauds abound! It is likely that any such propaganda banknote offered today without an impeccable pedigree is bogus.

I should also point out that about once a month I get a letter from some veteran or child of a veteran who has found a piece of Japanese occupation currency in a drawer or old trunk. They always ask about the value of such a note. The answer is almost always the same. Your note has no real value. The Japanese printed and dumped them into the occupied countries in the millions. They were worth nothing when brand new and they are worth about the same 60 years later. In general, these old occupation banknotes are worth from about five cents to twenty-five cents. It is a nice souvenir of the war, nothing more.

According to Brigadier General Bonner F. Fellers, then in charge of the Psychological Warfare Branch of MacArthur’s headquarters, some notes were overprinted in Tacloban, Leyte, by the Sixth U. S. Army and dropped by 5th Air Force planes over Manila and Central Luzon. A 7 December 1944 Psychological Warfare Detachment document from a microfilm of U. S. Army propaganda leaflets aimed at the Japanese depicts a 1-peso note with the “Co-prosperity” overprint and states that it was:

Leaflet: Overprinted Occupational Money.

Designation: 10 F 6

Target: Widespread throughout populated areas of Philippines.

Remarks: To impress on the Filipino people the worthlessness of Jap occupation currency.

Text: "The Co-Prosperity Sphere: what is it Worth?” 

Most of the U.S. Army leaflets to the Japanese had the alpha “J.” This leaflet has the alpha “F” which we assume stands for “Filipino.” The code shows that this was the 10th leaflet in the series prepared for the use of the 6th United States Army. Some other leaflets from this series are 3F6 (American forces poised for next assault), 4F6 (Landing instructions), 5F6 (General Krueger’s bomb warning) and 7F6 (Another strike in the battle for freedom).

The Fellers' comment has the ring of truth. We did capture a large stock of currency in Tacloban. There is a message known to have been made from partisan commander Colonel Fertig in Mindanao to MacArthur, in which the location of the currency was reported, along with a request that some of the paper money be forwarded for use by Fertig’s intelligence agents.

So, in conclusion, what have all of these experts and authors told us? There were some occupation notes in Hollandia or the Philippines; an American or an Australian thought up the idea of using them for propaganda; they were then overprinted in Australia or the Philippines, with or without rubber hand stamps, in two or three versions; punched or not punched with holes; and then they were dropped over Luzon or Luzon and Manila.

Imitation of the Co-Prosperity Banknote Overprints

The notes known to have been overprinted are the 1, 5, 10, and 100 pesos notes. It is generally agreed that there are two styles of overprint. An enormous number of cheap imitations of the Co-Prosperity propaganda overprinted banknotes have appeared on the market. Most of these notes are uncirculated, the overprints in both black and a bright glossy red. They are still being sold in the Philippines to American tourists. There are also reports of as many as forty other fraudulent overprints, including one that reads “BANZAI.” Let the buyer beware.

Japanese War Notes Claimants Association  overprinted occupation currency

The Japanese flooded the Philippine Islands with their worthless occupation currency during WWII. At the end of the war many Filipinos had thousands of pesos that were without value. In the hope that the money would be redeemed by the United States or the new Philippine Government, an organization called the Japanese War Notes Claimants Association of the Philippines (JAPWANCAP) began overprinting the notes in purple or black ink in 1953. The organization gathered and held the notes, provided receipts to the owners, and marked the notes with various stampings. There are four major shapes of overprints; a large oval (71 x 56mm), a small oval (59 x 36mm), a small fat oval (55 x 40mm) and a circular overprint (38mm). Within the four shapes, there are generally recognized to be nine texts, some with very minor differences. These are not propaganda overprints and they add no value to the banknotes. They are collectable only as a conversation piece and oddity.

Overprinted 10-Peso McArthur Has Returned!

One other banknote was overprinted by U.S. forces for propaganda use in the Philippines. It was not disseminated. A 10 peso Japanese invasion money note was overprinted “MACARTHUR / HAS RETURNED / **** / LEYTE, OCTOBER 19, 1944.” The overprint was applied on MacArthur's flagship, the U.S.S. Nashville.  MacArthur’s famous return to the Philippines did not occur until the 20th, so all the overprints were incorrect and the entire stock of banknotes was ordered destroyed. As always, a few were saved by souvenir collectors.

We should also mention that the United States counterfeited the wartime currency of the Philippine Islands to a great extent. The banknotes were needed by the guerrillas in their fight against the occupying Japanese forces. We know from Intelligence Activities in the Philippines during the Japanese Occupation, Military Intelligence Section, Far East Command, Tokyo, Japan, 1948, that a shipment of gems and genuine banknotes were smuggled into the PI in December 1942. That was the last of the genuine currency in the Bank of Australia. In January 1943, when plans were made to send additional intelligence parties, an urgent request for $500,000 in artificially aged Philippine currency was sent by General MacArthur to Washington. That shipment was received in February. In August 1943, an additional one million dollars was requested. Japanese occupation currency was also counterfeited. 5 million ten peso notes, 3 million five peso notes, 1.5 million one peso notes and 500 thousand fifty centavo notes were printed and forwarded for MacArthur’s use. This was a major counterfeiting operation.

Genuine 10-Yen banknote

For the final American propaganda banknotes, we have to go to the Japanese home islands. The story mentioned in Numismatic News, 17 January 1966, in an article by Alfred J. Swails entitled “United States Propaganda Notes for Japan.”

The Military Intelligence Hawaiian Department under Lt. Colonel Richardson was given the assignment to prepare four facsimile notes with different messages to the Japanese people on the back ... Our planes showered the notes over the countryside, knowing that 50 percent would fall and lay face or money side up and entice the greed of the finders.

Dr. Felix D. Bertalanffy wrote an article on this subject for Numismatics International, April 1980. In his article entitled “The Ten Yen U.S. Propaganda Forgeries of the Pacific War” he wrote:

Postwar interrogations by Col. Bonner F. Fellers of Japanese officials associated with the wartime government singled out four types of propaganda leaflets as the most effective and as exerting the greatest impact of all the great variety dumped on Japan.

In the summer of 1945 Japan was showered almost daily be aerial leaflets in such quantity that the Japanese people developed a kind of apathy against them. A novel approach had therefore to be sought to attract renewed attention. The ingenious idea was to reproduce the face side of the then current 10-yen banknote and replace the back by a propaganda message. For who could resist money falling from the skies?

The note was exquisitely reproduced by lithography to resemble closely the genuine bill. One striking difference is the Okura Kaijin seal, printed in red on genuine bills, appears in the same brown color as part of the body of the phoenix on the counterfeit.

There is one brief mention of wartime dissemination in a letter to the editor of Banknote Reporter, October 1983. John Hopkins, a sailor who served in the Far East during the war said that notes were dropped on Japan by carrier-based aircraft.

Japanese 10-yen parody front

There are four parodies of the Japanese 10-yen Bank of Japan convertible note of 1930. All of the parodies bear the serial number 450941 and the block number 1124 on the front. On the back, the notes are found with four different propaganda messages and the code numbers 2009, 2016, 2017 and 2034. I obtained copies of all four banknote leaflets when I obtained a copy of the classified "Confidential" booklet entitled United States Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas - Psychological Warfare - CINCPAC-CINCPOA Bulletin No. 164-15, 15 August 1945. The data sheets state that “the purpose of the leaflets is to create resentment against the present government in Japan and create fear of inflation...The note conforms to the size of a Japanese banknote which is carefully reproduced on one side.”

2009

The OWI fact sheet for banknote leaflet 2009 says:

A close reproduction of one side of a Japanese bank note is used to assure that the leaflet will be picked up and to reinforce the text, which hammers on the sore nerve of burdensome taxes and the wasteful expenditures of the war. Resentment against the militarists (Gumbatsu) is encouraged.

On one side a close reproduction of a Japanese 10 yen note, size approximately 5 1/2 by 3-inches. Since about half of the leaflets will land face up, this is an assured attention-getter for the text, which carries a simple economic message.

Code number 2009:

PAY YOUR TAXES WITH THIS MONEY

The Gumbatsu is wasting your tax money. For this war the Gumbatsu has spent the equivalent of 5000 yen for every Japanese. Think what you could have done with that.

 

Every day the war continues more of your money is being wasted.

The OWI fact sheet for banknote leaflet 2016 says:

To promote dissatisfaction among workers on the Japanese home front. It is known that the families of soldiers and officers receive special ration privileges in Japan. This fact is used in conjunction with the striking reproduction of a Japanese bank note to arouse dissatisfaction among workers.

Code number 2016:

FACTORY WORKERS

You have made much money up to now, but what good is it? You can buy little more with it than you can with this 10 yen.

Those who devote their total energies to war production are the same as soldiers. You are soldiers of production. But, do you get plenty of beer and rice? Do you received specially distributed goods such as soldiers and their families receive?

One of the propaganda banknotes numbered 2016 was sold at auction in 2004 with the following comment:

James Inmon, U.S. Navy Aviation Navigator, was among a crew that flew reconnaissance flights over Japan for such duties as target selection, psychological warfare, maps and aerial photography. Inmon flew a mission when these 10 yen propaganda documents were dropped over Nagasaki prior to being bombed. Inmon saved one note and carried it home in his wallet.

2017

The OWI fact sheet for banknote leaflet 2017 says:

To disrupt the civilian economy in Japan by encouraging demand for commodities in excess of the supply. Skepticism regarding the worth of Japanese war bonds is known to exist in Japan.

This fact is used to encourage the purchase of supplies and the resulting disruption of the civilian economy.

Code Number 2017:

JAPANESE!

What good is money in the bank or in bonds? Buy articles you need now and buy articles for future use. The remaining supply is low. As a result of the bombing by America, many of your stores will close their doors while others will be open only for limited periods.Buy food, clothing, and other necessities to tide you over these periods.

Money will not satisfy your hunger or clothe you. Bonds will not satisfy a baby’s cry. A wise person would buy now, not save his money. The present is not a time for money. It is a period for goods.

2034

The OWI fact sheet for banknote leaflet 2034 says:

To create resentment against the present government in Japan and create a fear of inflation. The illustration, reproducing a 10 yen note on one side, in calculated to attract attention. The text suited to the illustration, carries an economic message – namely, the rise in prices and the drop in quality brought about by the war.

Code number 2034:

In 1930, when the Gumbatsu had not yet started the war in China, you could buy the following items for 10 yen:

* 25 sho [about 20 Kg] of good rice.

* Or, material for 8 summer kimonos.

* Or, Four bags [50 Kg. Packages] of charcoal

In 1937, after the start of the China Incident, you could buy the following for about 10 yen.

* 25 sho of low grade rice.

* Or, material for 5 summer kimonos.

* Or, 2 bags of charcoal.

Today, after waging three years of hopeless warfare with the world’s greatest powers, you can buy the following with 10 yen:

* ½ sho of good rice on the black market.

* Or, a small amount of charcoal, if you can get it.

* Cotton material, nothing.

This is what your leaders call co-prosperity.

The messages were aimed at creating discontent with the military leaders. The constant harping on immediate purchase of commodities would lead to a breakdown of the Japanese rationing system. Did the leaflets work? Some of the comments of Japanese leaders interviewed after the war would lead us to believe that the 10-yen notes were successful.

At the end of the war, W. D. Conde of the U. S. Civil Information and Education Section ordered a number of uncooperative Japanese "thought control" officials to the Radio Tokyo Building where they were questioned about the effectiveness of the American OWI leaflets. Many of the individuals had been dismissed from their government job in accordance with the American Supreme Commander's directive. At least fourteen Japanese agencies dealt with Allied psychological warfare material. None of the individuals had notes and all make their comments directly from memory. The individual comments were very similar which indicates either collusion, or that they were telling the truth and were of the same opinion.

Iwatai Sakamoto, Chief of the censorship Bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department cited the 10-yen note leaflet as one of the most effective.

Toshikazu Kase, Chief of the First Section of the Third Department of the Cabinet Board of Information added, “The 10 yen note leaflet was the most effective. It was a very powerful leaflet. It evoked great interest and curiosity among the Japanese people.” 

Masjiro Kawaguchi, Chief of the Foreign Affairs Bureau of the Home Ministry forwarded a report that said, “Leaflets of our 10 yen notes most excited the curiosity of our people. The best leaflet was the one that dealt with the cost of living [No. 2034]. In Fukushima, Fukuka, and Aichi Prefectures there were cases where the 10 yen leaflet was used as currency.”

A report of the Foreign Section of the Home Ministry adds, “The 10 yen banknote leaflet aroused the nation's curiosity and gave the financial circles anxiety as they believed that the Americans might drop counterfeit currency at a later date. The banknotes addressed to workers [2016] were unpopular among the working class because they felt insulted by the leaflet. About the 20th of June, a certain Yamazaki in Hiroshima Prefecture used the forged 10 yen note leaflet and was arrested.”

A departmental ordinance decreed that the Japanese people collect and turn in Allied leaflets. Those who disobeyed faced a sentence of up to three months in jail and a fine of up to 100 yen. The government did not fear the American propaganda and expected each citizen to do his duty to his Emperor and his nation. It seems therefore, that there was no great enforcement of the ordinance. There were less than a dozen people actually arrested for carrying and reading leaflets, and all apparently received reprimands with no incarceration.

Time Magazine of 18 June 1945 mentioned the 10-yen propaganda banknotes in an article entitled “Down with the Gumbatsu!” The article tells of the major PSYOP campaigns to induce Japan to surrender. Some of the comments are:

Leaflet bombing of Japan has been stepped up sharply since V-E [Victory in Europe] day. Both B-29 Super-fortresses and carrier-based planes are dropping paper salvos, at the rate of 500,000 to 1,000,000 leaflets daily. Principal target of these broadsides is the Gumbatsu, the military clique that rules the empire.

A small leaflet like a 10-yen note bears on the reverse: "The Gumbatsu is wasting your tax money. For this war, the Gumbatsu has spent the equivalent of 5,000 yen for every Japanese. Think what you could have done with that."

A major theme is the exploitation of Japan's national hypochondria. Says one leaflet: "Water lines and electricity will be destroyed by bombs. Food will become scarce. Thus, you will weaken and become sick. . . . With every bombing, the country becomes more unclean, and it is more difficult to control disease. Put an end to this needless suffering. Demand that the militarists who started this war bring it to an end."

We should point out here that all the items we have discussed are propaganda banknotes. They are in the form of banknotes to make them more desirable to pick up. These propaganda banknotes made no attempt to deceive the finder and were not part of economic warfare.

On the other hand, there are also a great number of espionage counterfeits meant to be used by agents or destroy an enemy’s economy. These include possible forgeries of the banknotes of Japan, Thailand, Malaya, the Philippine Islands, Chinese puppet banks and Burma. That is an entirely different story and one that I have covered in some depth in various issues of The International Banknote Society Journal.

A lot of documentation exists of these psychological operations. The OSS kept it a closely guarded secret and it is often difficult to tell what banknotes were being copied because the term used was almost always “merchandise,” and the nations and sometimes the agents were either unnamed or given a code name or number. Some examples are listed below.

In May 1943, an OSS executive suggests that a good counterfeiter be found in prison and released to do war work.

An August 1943, document implies that the OSS has forged Chinese puppet bank money and says it is decreasing in value so quickly that it is hardly worthwhile. It advises against the forging of Japanese currency because of the risk. It is impossible to say if any such notes were counterfeited or not.

In October 1943, there was a request for 20,000 “of each item.” Burmese currency was the first priority and “dollars and cents” was next. Many of the Japanese occupation notes used dollars and cents, so there is no telling what country this indicates. The letter states that a previous delivery has already been put to use.

Another October 1943 document asks if the 500,000 “named” refers to Burma or Malaya merchandise. That seems to disclose at least two of the nations whose currency was being counterfeited. The document requests additional samples of Malaya goods in the denominations of 10, 5 and 1.

A September 1943 letter mentions secrecy and points out that the British are saying nothing either. It goes on the state that the OSS is not telling the British that they have sent “a certain type of merchandise” overseas already. A second letter mentions “merchandise” and recommends caution.

In November 1943, there is a discussion of “BA merchandise” (probably Thai baht) and there is mention of 90,000 units to be available soon. The same month there is a request for one-half tons of Siamese “botts.”

In December 1943, the OSS Research and Development Section received Japanese Burma and French Indo-China sample notes from Detachment 101.

In June 1944, a document mentions 100,000 Thai baht being counterfeited in London.

In May 1945, the OSS states that it is in possession of the country’s best means of “merchandise production.” That seems to indicate that the OSS had a forgery printing plant, but it does no state what country this is in.

The American OSS in Stockholm allegedly produced another propaganda banknote. Sefton Delmer, the British director of black radio operations mentions it is some disgust in a letter to his superiors dated 19 February 1943. He wants to discuss the production of leaflets in Stockholm for distribution to German soldiers in Norway. He says, "I have seen some of this stuff and I think it is so dangerous that I am almost prepared to believe that the organization may have been penetrated by German agents." Delmer identifies one of the items that displeases him, "a 20-mark note marked 1914 and a 2-billion mark note marked 1923, all of it with a large "1918" scrawled over it in white and a typed caption starting with "1918" and ending with "Was nun?" The whole thing is beautifully calculated to back up the German line that they are the alternative to chaos and Bolshevism.

I have never seen this banknote so it is possible that Delmer's complaints were listened to and acted upon.

XBA-37 - Front

The United States office of War Information produced a "labor appeal" leaflet for the Burmese people coded XBA-37 in November 1944. The leaflet pictured currency and had text in Burmese, Shan, and Kachin:

REAL MONEY AND GOOD RATIONS FOR ALL WHO WORK.

Depicted on the front is a silver rupee and coinage, bags of rice and atta, and boxes of salt and sugar.

XBA-37 - Back

Text on the back is:

Get wages, raises and bonuses. Friends! Do you wish for the day when you can return to your own home and to the normal ways of peace? You can bring that happy day nearer by working for the Allies now.

The Allies are paying regular wages in real money plus good rations. The rations include atta, rice, sugar, oil, and salt. Plus, they are paying extra bonuses to steady workers. Friends, there is a place for you for the kind of work you do.

Allied soldiers are crushing the Japanese. Civilians help by working. Together we will drive the Japanese invader out of Burma. Together we will end this war sooner. Work for the Allies and help beat the Japanese. Come and get your wages and rations today.

Wages

Coolies: 1 rupee per day
Coolie bosses: 4 rupees per day
Carpenters: 8 rupees per day
Mechanics: 45-90 rupees per month
Men with ox carts: 2 rupees per day
Bonus for working 25 days in a month: 5 rupees
Bonus for working 30 days in a month: 10 rupees
Help beat the Japanese

This concludes the listing of the propaganda banknotes produced by the United States during the last World War. There were millions of counterfeit banknotes produced by the Americans and aimed at the Japanese home islands, their invasion money, Thailand, Burma, Malaya, Indochina, and the Japanese puppet banks in China. That is another story.

On the subject of the counterfeiting of Japanese occupation banknotes, we should mention that the Australians were also very busy. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia counterfeited 10,000 1-cent notes, 10,000 5-cents notes, 30,000 10-cent notes and 12,800 1/2 gulden notes of the occupied Netherlands East Indies in late 1942. Apparently these notes were used because there was a request that more of the same notes be printed and forwarded.

XJM-48-C

There were some Office of War Information (OWI) “white” propaganda leaflets that used money as a point of interest. These were dropped over the Japanese soldiers in Burma. Two were coded XJM-48-C (in red) and XJM-48-E (in blue). The front of the leaflet depicted Japanese 5 and 10 yen coins used during the years 1933-40. The message on the front was identical on both leaflets:

No longer a fight to the death, it has become a mistaken war. Going beyond the point of desperation won’t lead to victory; it will continue to be a losing war.

The message on the back of XJM-48-C is:

Where is the Navy? “Our navy has vanquished the American Navy.” This statement was made by Premier Tojo on 27 May 1942. American soldiers then invaded Saipan Island. This caused the Japanese Government to take drastic measures. On 18 July 1944 Japan lost Saipan Island. This caused Premier Tojo to resign. Fellow Japanese soldiers, our navy can no longer provide you with the necessary materials you need as soldiers. Because of the present situation, we can't even protect our own land.

The message on the back of XJM-48-E tells of the failure of the invasion of India.

There was discussion of US counterfeiting of German currency but the plan was never approved. A declassified Office of Strategic Services document dated 23 February 1944 from Stanley P. Lovell, Chief of Research and Development says in part:

It has been suggested by Lieutenant Colonel W. C. Reddick of this office that a tremendous psychological effect would be produced if all aviators flying over Germany were to carry some of this (counterfeit) money, and other potential prisoners of war were to have it found on them.

It is obvious that the OSS gave some thought to the matter. A declassified 27 June 1944 report entitled “General Plan for Morale Operations against Germans as Holders of cash” mentions what might be done and the problems that the operation would entail. Some of the comments of the 14-page document are:<

German marks can be counterfeited satisfactorily; it would take about three months to make the plates; it would take two to three months more to begin a sizable program in Germany. Dropping marks from planes is the only feasible method of increasing the supply of money…if bombers carried two and one-half tons each, 1000 bomber loads could drop 100 billion Reichsmarks. Clearly therefore, the task is manageable.

Objections of this project take the following lines. Dropping money is not a moral or proper way to fight a war. It is in the same class as gas…A severe inflation in Germany would embarrass the Allied postwar occupation authorities…dropping money on Germany would evoke retaliation in kind against Britain…the Germans already think that the United States has such stocks and they have threatened special reprisals against airmen who drop currency.

It is recommended that the OSS proceed immediately, independently of the British, to have currencies of Germany and her satellites counterfeited and held in readiness for use.

One of the chief American counterfeiters of enemy currency was retired Major Willis Reddick who is mentioned above. I spoke to him many times in the last years before his death. He worked for Stanley Lovell, OSS Director of Research and Development. Lovell was troubled with the assignment, for although he had Roosevelt’s permission to forge enemy currency, he had no signed authorization. Should the operation blow up in his face, clearly it was he that would take the brunt of the criticism. He stalled and moved forward very slowly. Reddick did eventually counterfeit Japanese currency, but probably never did the German banknotes. 

The United States did not prepare any propaganda banknotes for use against Germany. However, they apparently did plan to use both genuine paper money and coins in a PSYOP campaign against the Third Reich during WWII. A declassified secret document in the U.S. National Archives reveals that the Office of Strategic Services had a plan to use currency as part of a propaganda campaign. The plan called for the airdropping of legitimate United States money and postage stamps on Germany inside envelopes along with a small 4 x 6-inch card with a propaganda messages. The messages would compare current events to the hyper-inflationary period after World War One.

The plan was first discussed at the end of June 1944 and known as Special Plan C-5 / U.S. Postage Stamps and Coins / Target German Civilians with Cash. It called for the printing of one million small envelopes with propaganda messages printed on them.  Each envelope would contain a stamp, a coin, or a one-dollar bill. Each envelope would be preprinted, “A Gift to the Finder from German-Americans.” The envelopes would be dropped over cities that had not been bombed since the OSS believed that Germans in undamaged cities would be more amenable to its message. The proposal called for the following items to be collected to be placed in the envelopes: 10,000 U.S. $1.00 U.S. currency notes; 20,000 10-cent silver coins; 40,000 5-cent stamps; 266,000 3-cent stamps; and 664,000 1-cent stamps. Note that this is exactly enough items to fill 1 million envelopes. The amount of money and stamps totaled $26,520.00. The estimated cost of printing the million envelopes was $25,000.00 for a total production cost of $51,520.00. The fact that all the envelopes contained something of value would be a strong incentive for the Germans to pick them up and open them. The OSS suggests that each envelope should state the value of the object inside in the value of 1923 German marks.

The message on the envelope with the $1.00 note was to be:

This $1.00 banknote was worth 4,000,000,000,000 marks in 1923. Then you had no gold, but your industry could produce and you were able to borrow from America the next year.  You have no gold now and your industry is being destroyed.  If you permit it to be completely destroyed, how can you ever borrow again?

The message on the envelope with the 1-cent stamp was to be:

This one-cent stamp was worth 400,000,000 marks in 1923.  Participation notes with a face value of one American cent actually circulated in Germany that year.  American money came to your rescue.

Other suggested messages are:

When you remember walls papered with German bank notes in 1923, you understand, do you not, why people who lived through the last inflation are now spending what money they have on the open market where they can buy something tangible before it is too late?

Do you know what the internal debt is in Germany today? What will it be when you reimburse those who have suffered losses in the war? Where is the money coming from?

Do you know how much currency is in circulation today? It increases while production declines. Is it any wonder that prices on the black market – which is the true measure of inflation – go up every day? Your money will buy less and less.

There was a suggestion in a 6 July 1944 letter to OSS Director Major General William J. Donovan that the United States counterfeit German money:

It is suggested that the Bureau of Printing and Engraving or some other suitable agency prepare a great quantity of counterfeit German paper currency. This counterfeit currency should be so perfect as to paper, engraving and all other characteristics that experts could not distinguish it from bona fide German issues. The currency should be patterned after the latest type found on German prisoners. On every bombing mission large volumes of this counterfeit currency would be dropped over cities and other heavily populated areas. The currency should be crumpled and treated to look as if it has been in circulation for some time. If this procedure were carried out systematically, it would result in a spending spree that would cause great confusion.

There were two problems with this plan. It was determined that the Bureau of Printing and Engraving would have to print German currency day and night at the expense of U.S. currency in order to damage the German economy. The second problem is that there seems to have been an unwritten “gentleman’s agreement” between the U.S. and Germany that they would not counterfeit each others currency.

This plan never came to fruition. A similar campaign was waged during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan 60 years later when genuine 100-afghanis banknotes were dropped with the message “Our goals will be achieved, if not willingly, then by overwhelming force” and envelopes adorned with an image of President George W. Bush were dropped containing two banknotes and a propaganda message.

Great Britain

During World War 11, Great Britain produced numerous "black" propaganda documents, including postage stamps and banknotes. Ellic Howe, the British master forger, wrote of his part in this project in The Black Game, Michael Joseph, London, 1982. He mentioned that the Psychological Warfare Executive (PWE) had controlled both black and white propaganda from 1941 until the end of the war. His own organization, the “Fakes and Forgeries Unit” did not become active until spring of 1942.

Howe had been a printer in civilian life, and according to Sefton Delmer, author of Black Boomerang, Viking Press, N.Y., 1962:

He had made a special study of German typography and printing techniques. Even before the war he had regularly visited Germany and made a point of collecting specimens of German printing. At the start of the war, Howe had been a lance-corporal in the Royal Engineers. In late September of 1941 he wrote a paper “Political Warfare and the Printed Word - A Psychological Study.” The paper brought him immediate attention and he was drafted by the PWE in the first week of November 1941.

Through the contacts he had made in civilian life he proceeded to make arrangements with Fanfare Press in London for printing, with Spicer's Limited for paper, and with Monotype Corporation for printing matrices. He stated that he could “supply anything from a few forged letter headings to several million forged German ration cards.” [Note: I was contacted by Channel Four of the United Kingdom in 2004 to consult on a Television program about Howe’s wartime work and they advised me that they had found Howe’s original type in the Monotype Corporation archive].

Ellic Howe adopted the code name Armin Hull for the remainder of the war. When requested to produce a forged or parodied document, he would code the item with an “H” and a number. He claims to have produced about two thousand different propaganda documents during the war. The total number of items actually printed and disseminated behind enemy lines probably runs into the millions. Although the official listing of “black” propaganda materials prepared by the British is still a guarded secret, it is likely that the majority of the propaganda banknotes we will discuss in this article were directly or indirectly conceived by Armin Hull and his PWE cohorts.

The first British propaganda parody we will discuss is of the German 50 pfennig Behelfszahlungsmittel fur die Deutsche Wehrmacht (Auxiliary Payment Certificates for the German Armed Forces). There are four different propaganda messages on the back and they were given the PWE numbers H.692A-D. Since they were also prepared for balloon dissemination they collectively bore an additional identification Q38.  Apparently the banknotes were popular. Howe printed them a second time with the code H.917. None of these codes appear on the leaflets. 10,000 copies of each were sent to the Special Operation Executive (SOE) on 24 February 1944. 80,000 were sent to the Royal Air Force on 1 March 1944. 210,000 of the reprinted H.917 leaflets were sent to the R.A.F. on 19 May 1944.Balloon drops occurred from 13 March to 16 July 1944.

The front of the British parody is an excellent copy of the genuine note except that the red and orange colors are just a shade duller. At first glance the fraud could easily pass a casual inspection. The British placed their anti-Nazi propaganda messages on the back of the parody. The genuine note had a blank back. Four messages are known, with German text typewritten in red on a white background. The first two messages appear double-spaced as quatrains:

H.692A

H.692A: My name is 50 pfennig. I'll cheat everyone out of 4.50 who believes Hitler will give him anything.

H.692B

H.692B: I am a piece of Hitler’s toilet paper. Nobody accepts me because nobody can buy anything with me.

These quatrains were allegedly written by ex-Berliner Peter Seckelmann, who had left Germany upon Hitler's rise to power. Working under the code-name “Paul Sanders,” he broadcast to Germany on PWE's clandestine radio station, Gustav Siegfried Eins.

H.692D

H.692D: This variety of the parody bore both the first and second quatrains, single-spaced so that the eight lines could fit on the back of the 120 x 60mm leaflet:

I am a piece of Hitter's toilet paper. Nobody accepts me because nobody can buy anything with me. My name is 50 pfennig. I'll cheat everyone out of 4.50 who believes Hitler will give him anything.

The British were attacking and attempting to undermine this military currency because they knew that by regulation these notes were issued strictly to the armed forces. The notes were valued at ten times their face as long as they were used in a military establishment. If a soldier tried to use the note in the local civilian economy it was worth only face value. Thus, if he tried to go on the black market or purchase illegally outside of the military canteens and barracks he suffered a 90% loss. This unusual method was a safeguard against the general public attempting to acquire and use the military currency. It worked well for the German economy, but made an easy target for the British propagandists.

H.692c

I have gone out of order and placed the third printed note last. H.692c is very different from the other three, with seventeen lines printed in a small typeface. The message is:

This bill is a farce - just as the war is. With this piece of toilet paper, they want to pay for the soldier's blood - Soldier's blood, which carries on the war - the war which is continued only so that the big shots can get their loot out of the country. The high ranking officers, SS Big Shots, the Party racketeers and trustees can obtain as much hard currency as they want. With that, they can buy and send home anything they want. They live high on the hog in their illegal private clubs and can afford to pay fantastic prices for their food. But the troops only get this concentration camp money which they can only spend in canteens. The troops have to eat whatever the canteens want to get rid of because they can't spend this paper anywhere else. This bill is a farce, a bad check which can't be cashed - Just as everything else which we have been promised. End the War! End this farce!

Erik Gjems-Onstad says in Psykologisk Krigforing i Norge (Psychological Warfare in Norway), Sollia Forlag, Oslo, 1981, that 2800 of these 17-line 50-pfennig propaganda notes were received for distribution during Operation Durham in the Trondheim area beginning in March 1944 and ending in March 1945. There is a second report that they were airdropped on the German-occupied British Channel Islands in Autumn 1944.

The Falling Leaf (Journal of the Psywar Society)  of March 1964 published a comment in regard to this currency campaign:

I have been told by an ex-RAF pilot that on one occasion he had to sign for several parcels as they were being loaded on his aircraft prior to an operational flight, with instructions that they were not to be opened until the target was close-approached. When the parcels were opened just before their dispatch, he found that they contained piles and piles of German money. This pilot cannot recall what money or value it was, but it was most certainly 50-pfennig notes for the German Army. These were “lager notes” for use by servicemen in canteens and barracks; they were worthless in the civilian world.

R.G. Auckland says in Air-Dropped Propaganda Currency, 1972 edition:

The original idea came from the Political Intelligence Department, but the technology and printing was done by a private firm under the strictest security. The printing staff put 5 percent by quantity into bombs already loaded with newspapers and/or leaflets so that a drop of one million units of propaganda would have fifty thousand 50-pfennig notes included. When supplies ran out, a phone call to PID would mysteriously produce further parcels of banknotes delivered from nowhere on the backs of nondescript lorries.

Genuine 10 reichsmark

 

 

10 reichs mark parody

The next note we will discuss is more mysterious. It is a parody of the German 10 reichsmark Reichsbank note of 22 January 22 1929. The front of this parody differs quite a bit from the genuine note. The paper is green instead of the white found on the original. The engraving is also dull and obviously a reproduction. There is no serial number on the parody, and no red color in the center as found on the genuine. There is simply a general impression of the 10 mark note that might pass a casual inspection in very poor light. Because of the poor workmanship, some researchers doubt that this is a British production. It appears too crude to have come from Howe’s workshop. The typewritten text on the back is:

Souvenir of Hitler’s ‘ Thousand Year’ Reich. Hitler promised a thousand-year Reich. It lasted only ten years and is now drawing to a close. Only the oppression by your Nazi tyrants let it appear like a thousand years. Throw off your chains -- They will be punished -- and the people will be protected. 

Perhaps the British purposely prepared the parody in this manner to make the Germans think that it was printed in their own country by a left-wing underground movement. It might be another in the long history of British and American plots attempting to confuse German security by having them constantly on the search for nonexistent, anti-Nazi movements. One clue that points to this note being a British production is that the propaganda on the back is typewritten just like that on the 50 pfennig notes. There were at least six German typewriters at Howe's forgery plant and it is possible that this note was prepared there.  We know nothing of the background of this strange parody. It is believed that it was distributed in Germany sometime in 1944, but there is no proof.

Genuine 50 Franc note

British propaganda of French 50 francs note

The next British propaganda leaflet is a caricature of the French 50 francs Bank of France note. This note is "white" propaganda and makes no attempt to fool the French people or appear genuine. It is code numbered “90” and is mentioned in the official British publication, A Complete Index of Allied Airborne Leaflets and Magazines with the following listing, “Bank of France, first dissemination 10/11 June 1941, last dissemination 12/13 June 1941.”  Two dates are given for each airdrop since the missions were flown overnight. A bomber leaving on 10 June would return on the morning of 11 June.

The British made no attempt to closely imitate the original currency. The genuine is multicolored, while the parody is brown on white paper. Where the signatures should be, we find in French “The traitor Laval” and “The spy Abetz.” There are small smiling caricatures of Hitler and Laval at the top of the columns at left and right. A shocked Jacques Cover is depicted in the vignette writing on a piece of paper that reads, “Daily cost of occupation 400,000,000.” At the bottom there is a tablet engraved, “To the plundering Boches nothing is impossible.” The serial number is 26.6.1940; the day the collaborator Laval was named vice premier of France and General de Gaulle announced the formation of the French National Committee in London.

On the back there is a long propaganda message in French attacking the cost of the German occupation forces stationed in France:

Here is a vignette that is fitting for the new 50 francs notes, for it illustrates the history of the systematic pillage of France, pillage made according to a well thought out plan.

First of all, the occupation costs 400,000,000 francs a day. As there are at this moment almost one million Boche soldiers in France, that is 400 francs per day, per soldier. That is double the entire cost of living in luxury on the Cote d’Azur. The 400 million a day represents double the entire budget for all of France - although there are 40 million Frenchmen. Each German is costing the Treasury as much as 80 Frenchmen.

Of course, the Germans do not spend 400 francs a day for each soldier. Fine wines and extravagant dining are reserved for officers and agents of the Gestapo. The Germans save more than two-thirds of this amount and with the ‘savings’ buy French businesses. In this way they count on reducing all of France to economic slavery.

This is not all. While obliging Frenchmen to accept their “Reichskreditkassenscheine” at 20 francs a mark - although it wasn't worth even 6 francs before the Armistice - they force the Bank of France to print paper francs endlessly.

These are the same Boches who, over the years, bewailed the payment of reparations!

We will remember all this on the day of final reckoning.

These propaganda notes are punched with a small hole. This hole was used to run a fuse to a balloon. The notes were sometimes floated over France, and the slow-burning fuse released them over a wide area.

Genuine Japanese occupation currency

The British were also active in the Far East. The British military commander, General Percival, had surrendered Singapore on 15 February 1942. The Japanese issued currency for occupied Malaya and this was used until the end of the war.

British propaganda parody of the Malayan 10 dollar

The British produced a propaganda parody of the Malayan 10 dollar Japanese invasion money. The note bears the code SMA/39. It is believed that the note was printed by the British Army’s Psychological Warfare Division in Calcutta and dropped in late 1944 or early 1945 by aircraft of the 231st Wing of the Royal Air Force over Malaya and Singapore.

The British parody is a fair imitation of the genuine note. The vignette is identical, if not quite as sharp and crisp. The major difference on the front of the parody is that there is a diagonal propaganda message in Malayan that reads, “Japanese money is about to become dead together with the Japanese.” It is believed that two different printings were prepared. The notes are virtually identical with the following exceptions: the first printing is slightly smaller than the second: l60 x 75mm instead of 162 x 76mm. The smaller note is also a paler shade of blue. There are also minor changes in the location of the letters on the propaganda message. On the smaller note, a ruler placed on the letter "I" of the word "MATI" will point between the letters "A" and "N" of the word "WANG". On the larger note, the same ruler will point to the diagonal line in the letter "N" of "WANG". There is no explanation for the second printing, or even documentation to prove which was first. There simply is the fact that two printings exist.

The back of the leaflet bears a propaganda message written in Malay (both Tulisan Rumi and Tulisan Jawi scripts) and in Chinese:

Japanese money is no longer recognized in Burma at the present time. The original British notes are the only legal tender. When the British return to the Malay States, their currency, which has gone underground, will become valid as before. Japanese paper money is about to fall like Japan. But the currency of the British will be valid forever.

The Malay scripts were used because in the 1940's a large population of the Malay States could not read Rumi (Romanized script introduced by the British) since they had been educated in local schools which taught Jawi (traditional script based on the Arabic alphabet). The reason for the third language is that the Chinese were the second largest racial group in the Malay Peninsula.

There are two additional currency operations connected with the British in Malaya. They are not propaganda campaigns so I will just mention them briefly.

The first is the same 10 dollar note just discussed. The back of the genuine Japanese note shows a steamer with smoke rising from a single stack. There is an excellent counterfeit of this note sometimes called “the faint smoke” variety. This note, which has almost no smoke rising from the stack, is alleged to have been a counterfeit produced for the British Commando Force 136 operating behind Japanese lines. The history of the note was told by Vic Brown in an article entitled “A British Forgery of Japanese Malay Invasion Currency,” Bank Note Reporter, June 1976. Brown explains, “The main differences are that the paper of the forgery bears no watermark, and no steam emits from the steamer on the back. The face, yellow and purple background, appears rather bright in comparison with most Japanese issues and minute engraving variations appear to exist in leaf veins.”

Although this forgery has been called the "faint smoke" variety, it is easier to identify it by the lack of watermark and the brighter colors. Many genuine occupation notes have a faint smoke appearance due to worn plates or inking problems. The British forgery is sharp and clear. The engraving is finer than that of the original. Most of the forged notes are found uncirculated. It appears that British agents saved some of the currency at the end of the war instead of destroying them as ordered. Whatever the true story, these are an interesting insight into wartime numismatic espionage.

Malayan War Souvenir

There are also a number of Malayan occupation notes overprinted with the text “MALAYAN / WAR SOUVENIR” [in red] at the top and bottom, with a large red “VJ” in the center, and the words “Grim Memories / of / 1941-1945.” in script diagonally across the letters VG. They are exactly what they claim to be - simple souvenirs printed at the end of the war. It was once believed that only the 5 dollar denomination was overprinted by released POWs, and the other values were done later to reap profits. Schwan and Boling state in World War II Military Currency: “A source in Malaya reports that the overprint recently has been reproduced on high grade $5 notes, as well as $1 and $10 notes (not originally used).” When I first wrote this article I described the genuine and forged overprints in depth. That is not necessary now. Just know that the souvenirs notes do exist and 99% of those you might see offered are fakes. These notes are also known with calendars on the back.

Did the British counterfeit Japanese currency? We don’t know for sure, but there is some evidence that they studied such an operation. In The Scarlet Thread, Panther, London, 1959, Donald Downes says:

We learned that Japanese money was made with a special reed...A lampshade made of these reeds was discovered in someone’s house. Traced, it proved to have come from a chain store. ..Hundreds of thousands of these shades were in storage. Would they sell them to the government? No, they would donate them.

How the money was made and distributed, the extraordinary security measures taken to maintain secrets of the technical details of a really perfect counterfeit job are better not related – but it did cause the Japanese some serious trouble.

A number of British propaganda leaflets picture currency in an attempt to catch the eye of the finder.

SB/94

The best was produced by the Forward Base of the Psychological Warfare Division of Southeast Asia Command. This leaflet, coded "SB/94", pictures the 1 rupee Japanese invasion money for Burma. The banknote is printed in green and stands out against a white background. On the other side of the leaflet the British have pictured a 5 rupee Reserve Bank of India-Burma, a 1 rupee Government of India note, and a 2 rupee Reserve Bank of India note. There are at least two varieties of this leaflet. Both have the single banknote in green on one side. They differ on the other side, one showing the three banknotes in green, the other showing them in red. The code is "SB/94" in both cases.

The propaganda text is:

Look to your money! Burmese! Rangoon is liberated The Japanese are finished in Burma and the peace returns to your country. Here is a word of advice about money. British money is good money. British Burma banknotes are good. India small coin and India notes are good. British military administration notes are good. But beware of Japanese imitations made to look like good money. Remember: All forms of Japanese currency - The Japanese rupee, the military yen and the military dollar - are bad. Possession of such money is not against the law, but the last of the Japanese who issued this money and promised to back it cannot do so as they are being thrown out of Burma. British money is good money. Japanese money is worthless.

Dropped by the R.A.F.

A second British leaflet for Burma depicts an affluent Japanese man making off with food, jewelry, and other goods, and paying a despondent Burmese native with a small pile of the 1/4 rupee Japanese Invasion Money for Burma. Most text is in Burmese; English at the top says "Dropped by the R.A.F." The Burmese text is:

Song / However good the new way of life is / One still enjoys the old ways.

The implication is that however well the Japanese might be treating the Burmese at the moment, the British way is still old, familiar and better.

Canada

There was only one propaganda note prepared by Canada during WWII. Curiously, the Germans never even got to see it. It was printed for internal use only, to encourage support of the war effort.

Canadian parody of German 10-reichsmark

The note chosen was the German 10-reichsmark Reichsbank note of January 22, 1929. The Canadian imitation is printed in green on white paper. The parody bears the additional text on the front left: “Occupation Reichsmark - Army of Occupation - (signed) von Brauchitsch.”

On the back the note bears a longer propaganda message in English:

What would it be like if ... ? This is what we will have to accept for our labor, our services, our wheat, our land, if we fail in our job to fight a total war. Our money is good only if Canada wins the war. This worthless money represents slavery, broken pledges, suffering, and humiliation. It must not happen here! BUY VICTORY BONDS .. . AND KEEP THIS 'BLOOD'MONEY OUT OF CANADA. Bonds or bondage . . . the choice is yours!

As you might expect, this note was used as part of a bond drive. It was issued during the mock invasion of the city of Winnipeg on “IF DAY,” 19 February 1942. Canadians dressed as Wehrmacht troops invaded and conquered the city. It was promptly renamed “Himmerstadt” by the victorious mock-Germans. The Winnipeg Tribune was renamed Das Winipegger Lugenblatt by Gauleiter Erich von Neurenberg. Hundreds of leading citizens were rounded up by “Gestapo” teams. The Canadians were shown exactly what they could expect under Nazi occupation. Apparently the lesson was learned because the people contributed $60,000,000, well in excess of the announced goal.

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