The Museum of Intelligence Officer Nikolai Kuznetsov displays a 20-karbovanets banknote issued in 1942 and circulated in Nazi-occupied Ukraine during the 1940s. Such a note could have been used by Nikolai Ivanovich Kuznetsov while carrying out intelligence operations behind enemy lines. Beyond serving as a medium of exchange, these occupation banknotes also functioned as instruments of psychological and economic control, reinforcing German administrative control and propaganda.
On August 20, 1941, following the Wehrmacht’s occupation of much of the Ukrainian SSR, Nazi Germany established the Reichskommissariat Ukraine, headed by Erich Koch. In March 1942, the German authorities founded the Central Bank of Ukraine (Zentralnotenbank Ukraine), and in July of that year began issuing karbovanets banknotes in denominations of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500. The 1-karbovanets note was introduced later, in 1943.
The obverse of the 20-karbovanets banknote features the numeral “20” prominently in the center, overlaid with the denomination in capital letters: ZWANZIG KARBOWANEZ. Below this appears the German inscription: Ausgegeben auf Grund der Verordnung vom 5. März 1942 / ROWNO, den 10. März 1942. ZENTRALNOTENBANK UKRAINE (“Issued pursuant to the ordinance of March 5, 1942 / Rovno, March 10, 1942. Central Bank of Ukraine”).
At the bottom of the note is the signature of the bank’s manager. To its right is an official stamp bearing the coat of arms of Nazi Germany: an eagle with outstretched wings clutching a wreath of oak leaves, centered around a swastika. The denomination “20” appears in the corners of the note. On the right side, within an ornamental oval frame, is a portrait of a worker wearing a round-brimmed cap, holding a hammer on his right shoulder. Beneath this image is the note’s series designation, followed by a six-digit serial number; both the series and number are printed in red.
The reverse side bears inscriptions in both German and Ukrainian. At the top, in two lines, is the German text: ZENTRALNOTENBANK UKRAINE / ZWANZIG KARBOWANEZ. Below the large central numeral “20”, the same phrase appears in Ukrainian. To the left of the denomination is a three-line warning in German: GELDFÄLSCHUNG WIRD MIT ZUCHTHAUS BESTRAFT (“Counterfeiting currency is punishable by imprisonment”). To the right is the equivalent Ukrainian warning.
