Nazi Gold The Stolen Treasures Essay

Nazi Gold : The Stolen Treasures Essay, Research Paper

Much of Europe was ravaged by Hitler’s troops during the early parts of World War II. Many smaller countries that were annexed by Germany’s war machine, including Austria, Czechoslovakia, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Italy, had no choice but to relinquish the gold stored within their vaults to Nazi Germany’s Central Bank (Smith 163). Once the Reichsbank, as it was called, had placed the insignia of Nazi Germany upon each piece of gold, it was either shipped off to be stored within the banks of numerous other nations, or was hidden deep within abandoned mines and caves (Smith 1). These other nations, either neutral or independent, were in constant fear of a Nazi invasion, so they reluctantly complied with Germany on the storage of the looted gold (Smith 1).

At first, Austria had not been considered a “looted” nation, as most European governments were under the opinion that the two nations were on the verge of merging (Smith 2). This was clearly shown when, in a 1940 American court case involving Austrian assets, it was mentioned that, “‘This change [the annexation] has occurred in a manner acceptable to our notions of international law; the Anschlu. has in no way been disavowed….’” (Smith 2) As no nation interfered with Germany’s takeover of Austria, the Nazi party was able to annex the Anschlu., or Austria’s Central Bank, by March 17, 1938 (Smith 2).

By 1939, Hitler had already taken over much of Czechoslovakia, as a result of the Munich Agreements, signed in September of 1938 (Smith 4). Slowly, Czechoslovakia’s assets were “pulled in” by the Reichsbank, much of which was located in the Bohemian Discount bank and the Bohemian Union Bank. Soon, after Bohemia became a German protectorate, the Nazi party was able to delve into the large gold reserves of the Czechoslovakian National Bank, which was located in Prague (Smith 5).

Both Luxembourg and Belgium’s assets were indirectly liquidated by the Nazis when France surrendered to Germany in June of 1940 (Smith 11). When Luxembourg, Belgium, and a few smaller nations, such as Yugoslavia and Poland, were faced with the threat of a German invasion, they did the most sensible thing at the time; send their gold to France’s heavily guarded vaults (Smith 11). When Germany’s troops arrived in France, they hit the jackpot, so to speak. One of the first things they encountered was Luxembourg’s gold and assets, sitting pretty in the Marseilles branch of the Bank of France (Smith 11). It had obviously been waiting to be shipped out of the country and into the bank’s branches in Africa (Smith 11). When asked why they took Luxembourg’s property, the Reichsbank officials replied that, “‘…officials of the Sparkasse Luxembourg [Luxembourg’s Central Bank] did accept payment in Reichsmarks offered them [for the gold].’” (Smith 11) In other words, the Reichsbank considered its actions to be completely legal (Smith 11). Belgium, on the other hand, seemed much luckier. After France received the little country’s gold reserves, she immediately shipped them over to her West African colonies (Smith 11). Unfortunately, this did not stop Germany from bringing it all back to France. Yet, it took the Reichsbank many months to trace all of the gold hidden in numerous other countries by France (Smith 12).

It seems that Italy lost its gold to the Reichsbank through Germany’s treachery and deceit (Smith 25). In September of 1943, German forces formed a transport to carry Italy’s gold and assets to Milan, where Mussolini’s Fascist republic had been created and established (Smith 25). The gold was later moved to La Fortezza, a fortified citadel in Italy, in December of 1943 (Smith 25). At this point, Azzolini, the governor of the Banca d’Italia, or the Bank of Italy, was sure that the gold had been given to the Germans for the sole reason of safekeeping. Germany remembers otherwise; the Nazis claimed to have negotiated with the Italian bank as to the purpose of the gold (Smith 25). In their own words, “‘…the German government was to take the gold of the Banca d’Italia as Italy’s ‘contribution’ to the war on the eastern front.’” (Smith 25) The gold was later moved to a final destination where Hitler could put it to “good use”: Berlin (Smith 25).

Many nations in the course of the war had unwittingly considered sending their assets to France’s Central Bank, which was known as one of the safest and strongest banks in Europe, at the time (Smith 11). Unfortunately, this theory was shattered when France surrendered to Germany in June of 1940. The Reichsbank was able to withdraw (from the bank) numerous accounts that belonged to a few of Europe’s nations (Smith 11). The neutral countries that aided Germany, at the time, including Sweden, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland, all associated with the Reichsbank for an important reason; they had all felt that Germany would eventually win. As the war progressed, though, they began to realize that the Nazis were fighting a losing battle (Smith 48). Yet, to this day, it is still being speculated that many of these neutrals still have not turned over all of Germany’s stolen assets (Whittle, Current 1).

Most of the neutrals throughout Europe were in great fear of Germany’s power and influence. Most were small, insignificant countries that Germany had no problem controlling or occupying (Smith 48). But some, such as Spain, Turkey, and S