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TRIP~.R'rI'i'1: CO~SSIOlf 1!\;[{ '1'h';:;
, IlliS'l'I'l'UTION OF 1AJN.c;TARY ;}jLD.
149th lJeetin~
11 July 1957 -
3 p.m.
Present
;.1
H.E. Sir Ronald .iING.&TJi:
- Commiss ioner of the Govermen t 01' the
United Ki~dcm of Grea t 'Bri tain and
Northern Ireland, Chairman.
Richard B. iPRb'UND
- COlllmissioner of the Government of the
United States of America.
iJonsieur Jacques LANSON
- Deputy COIllIllissioner of the Government
of the ,French Republic.
Secretariat
Colonel J .A. IIis.TSON
1.
- Secretary General.
Further exchanges of views regaraipg the form in 'which the decisions
of the Commission are to be cowmunica ted to claimant countries if the
Commission's recommendations of 20 ~ch 1951 to the three Governme~ts
are approved. Directions to the Secretary General 'regaraing the
documents to be ;prepared.
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The Chai.r••..a.n recalled that, f01' reasuns tha.tilis, two collea",ues knew
about, the Commission had:,not been able to reach the stage where it would have
been in a position to make its final announcement. It had decided, at its 141th
~eting, to address a for$al communication to the three GovernmentS constituting
it, informing them of this fact and submitting certain proposals for a further
interim,distribution, which would ,be Cluasi final, acco.1lPanied by a suggested
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schedule of distribution ~nd a suggested letter of ~llocation to cl~imant countri~s.
Paragraph 1 of the suggested letter of allocation ciescribed. for want of a better I
term. the document which "as to be sent out with it as the II text of the COullmss ion IS
detailed decision" • Fears had been expressed, at the l4(Jth lieetiIlJ, that some
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claimant countries ;night 'claim, for their own purposes, that. in sending out the
letter ot' allocation and t,he "detailed decision ll , the Coullllission was. in fact,
carrying out the fonuality provided for in Paragraph 5 (c) and (d) of its Terws
of Reference, thus opening, the way for litigation, if litigation were possible.
Now, this was not and could not be the final announcement provided for in the
Colllllliss ion' s Terms of Reference and ways and means of making this clear had been
studied, in the form of a~:e:x:change of views, under Item 1 at the 148th lJeeting.
The Chairman considered that the final wordi:rJg of the letter was in the hands of
the three Governments. that the Commission's thouc:;hts were already before them
in the form of the Liinutes"of the l48t~ Meeting and that. therefore, further
Gold C~issionts dscuaion' of this matter Was unnecessary.
,The .American and',French Coranissioners agreed.
2.
Further exchanges of views and'directic)ns to the Secretary General
rega.Ijiing the principles to be a.pplied when drawing up the delivery
orders to be handed to claimant countries, if the Commission is
a.bove~ntioned recommendations are approved.
The Chairman ask~d if his two colleague~s had any co=ents to malee,
particularly on the alte~tive apportionment (coins and .bars) which had been
s~ggested by the French Commissioner and which the Secretary General had
circulated under cover of 1:1is UIT-3l50, dated 3 J'une 1957.
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The ~1erican Coc;uilipsioner said that his Goverru;;ent \'iaS in f'-'.vom' of
. adopting the ,French COhlillissioner'::; ideas in this ma.tter. It (the Ar1lerica.n
Goverr.ment) ;;;.1::;0 suggested that, since tile .dank of ...,;ngland levied sa.fe custoCiy
charges a.nd the .i:lank of Ii'l'!:1nce unO. the l-'ederal Heserve Bonk of l'eVI York did not.
u.s much gold as possible shoulu be taken from the i3anlc of ingh.nd. in the next
distribution, in order to r~a.uce the charges .:..t that Bank to the greatest possible
extent. \'lith this object in i'yiew, he (the American Commissioner) suggested that
the gold bars ;'.tlich, in thel'schedule, as it then stood, were to be taken from
the Bank of France, should be taken fra:.. the Bank of Znglandinstead (leaving
both bars and coins at the fonner Bank untouched) and that the bars . .; bich were
to be taken from the Federul Reserve Bank of New York ~i:;;ht. perhaps, be replaced I
by coins from the Bank of England. ;lith regard to these bars, which were to be
taken from the Federal Reserve Bank of Hew York, the American Commissioner said
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that his Government left th~ choice of beneficiaries to ,the Commission to decide
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on the basis of quantities to be delivered and relative shipping costs. It had'
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no preferences in this matter. The replacement of these bars' by coins was suggested~
of cours'e, subject to a comparison of the cost of their transport to the estimated I
cost of keeping them at the 'Bank of England.
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The Secre tary General s to. ted that he had shown France as beneficiary,
via Belgium, of the gold coins at the Bank of France in the schedule, as it then
stood, in order to save that BanI. from having to pat the cos t of a physical trans
fer Which it Vlould, probably, have to support if these coins were allocated to it
from the stock at the Bank of En;Jland.
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The mnch Commissioner said that he thc1ught that the Bank of France
would, probably, be anxious: not to keep unproductiva gold in its cellars any
longer. than Was necessary. ::
The Secretary Gen~ral explained that the safe custody charges at the
Bank of England amounted to:,lJ.,OOO per annum. JudS:ing fI'om past experience, it
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was not certain that the Bank would accept to reduce them in. proportion to the
'iiithdrawals of gold • Iiith rElgard to the cos t of an eventualtransport of coins'
from the Baruc of England to: replace bars distributed from th~ Federal Reserve
l3a.r..k of HC'1 York, the cost ';VQuld be considerable. If ,howc;ver, the sal'e custody
charges at the Bank'of England, after the next distribution. remained at a
comparatively high level an9, the gold seemed likely to be left in the custody of
the three Governments for a.lengthy period. it might be found ac;visabie to effect
the transport. Estimations would have to be made and the Secretary General
suggested :that this could best be done after the next distribution. i!'or reasons
which the French Commissioner had given. it Qight, also, be found advisable to
have an inventoI"'.{ made. after the next distribution, of the coins reluaining in
the custody of the three Goirerl1lllents. in order to eliminate spurious and counter
feit coins and determine the exact fine gold content of the remainder.
A general exchange of views ensued. Ilhile there was informal agreement
on the French Commissioner's suggestion that the security reserve contain only
bars and on the .American Colmdssioner's suggestion that no bars be drawn from the
Bank of France and that as much as possible of thEl distribution be made i'rom the
Bank of England. no firm decisions were reached and the Secretary General said
that he would bring this maHer up on the .Agenda of the next ~eting. after a
further study had been made'~'
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Further exchangesl:or views rega.rding thl~ policy to be adopted in regard
to the Italo-Dutch Conciliation Commission's request for information and
in rega:ra to the .two cIailIl8ilt countries roIlS ti tuting that commission.
The Chairman thought that, when the time came. it would probably be
found suf'ficient to inform 'the Conciliation· Commi:asion, in appropriate terms.
that the Italian and the Ne.therlanda' Governments were then in position to furnish
the information on their respective cla:ims needed by the Conciliation Commission
and that the Gold CollllIlission assumed it would obtain such information from the
Agents of those two Governments. If the Conciliation Commission wrote back and
raised further ques tions. t):l.e rnat tel' could be studied further.
The American and :French Commissioners. said that they were in general
agreement with the views the Chairman bad expressed.
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'ixchanges of v~ews regarding the policy to be udopted when
answeriN enguilI'ies from claimant countries.
There -,Vas (;,n e~'Cl'lSllge of views and it' was decided that, if tlie
Secretary General should ~eapproached, in the next few ~onths. before it was
possible to get the proposed dis tribution under way, he shoula. merely l'eply
either that he had nothing to add to what he had said before in the case of
Officials 'who had alreadYl; approached him before. on this matter ;;.nd, in the
case Of. any new approach ~y officials who had not approached him before, that
he was sorry but that he ihad no information at the !:loment. The Commissioners,
individually. would inforru their respective Govc~rnments that the SecretarY
General •. under their ins iructions, would be taking this line and that this
Was the 'answer which the~;~ thelllSelves. would give, i f approached.• They presumed
that their respective Goyernments Would adopt a similar attitude.
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Statement by the Secretary General regarding the' status of bars
'at the Federal IReserve Bank of New York.
'l'he Secretar,f General said that it VI'aS his underStandine; that only
Uni ted States i>ssey Offi~,e bars were negotiable;n the United Stutes. There
were only 244 such bars, i(?ontaining ),054.5701 kgs of fine gold, at the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York.;'The remaining 1,054 bars, at that Bank, said to
contain 1,,204.022, kgs ~f. fine gold. were of 1~opean origin
it had been
ascertained that they we~e freely negotiable in the European I~cets. It was
for this reason that, theiihad been left in their present f0:t.m. If, however.
the countries to which th\:ly would be delivered found that. in order to dispose
of them. they would ei thel~ (a) have to have their. transferred, physically. to
Europe, -'~ich vlOUld cost,i.according to calculations rnade. roughly noo,OOO for
the 1,054 bars or (b) ha~e them melted oown. on the spot, .and converted into
United States bsSey Offic:e bars Which, according to information given by the
Federal Reserve Bank of N~w York, would cos t, for the 1, 054 bars , approxima.tely
~,lOO. these countries would, presumably, claim reimburs.ement of their
expenses from the pool, since they would be at a disadvantage compared with
vtht:r co~tries receiving!"similar bars at, say, the Bank of' Eng1ami.. where there
would be rio expenses. He ;(the Secretary General) had thought that. if the
si tua tion was as des cribed above, the Commission mii::ht. perhaps. '4sh to have
the 1,054 bars luelted dOW~ and converted into United Stu.tes J.ssay'Office bars
at the expense of the poolli. He had broached the subject. in the first instance.
with the French Commissioner who had kindly undertaken to have the position
investigated by experts of the Bank of France. lie (the.Secretary ileneral) had
circulated the }'rench Comh¢.ssioner t s report and conclusions' which, were that it
appeared desirable to have' the
bars converted into United States Assay
Office bars.
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1.054
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'£here was a general exchange of, views ,and several possibilities Vlere
explored. ,It was thought that conversion into United States Assay Office bars
might. perhaps, be limiteg., for the time being, to such quantities· as might be
needed for the next interim distribution, or to an intermediary quantity of,
say, 3,oOq kgs. Another pbssibili~ was to deliver the bars in their present
form and to await such claims to reimbursement as the countries might see f.it to .
make. I t was found, ho'.vevfr., that this solution might compJjcate the Commission's I
accounting unduly and that there Was a risk that the countries might choose the I
more expensive of the two;' alternatives ~mentioned. above. Finally, some ooubts .
arose as to whether it w~ quite certain that these 1,054 bars could not be
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negotiated or disposed of:'.in some way in the United States, in their present fOrul.
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The consensus ,of opinion ~vas that the question should be investigated further.
'The American Co#mussioner kindly undertook to take the matter up. 'from
this angle. with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. and to 'let the Secretary
General lul.ve a report. in: due course. for circulation to his two colleagues.
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CONFIDENrIAL
FINAL MINUTES
TRn'ARTITE COMMISSION FOR THE
RES'rI'IDTION OF ldO:N:E'URI QQg!
148th Meeting
9 }4gY 1957 - ·3 p.m.
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Present :
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H.E. Sir Ronald WINGATE
- Commissioner of the Government of the
United Kingdom of Great Bri tatn and
Northern Ireland - Chairman.
Samuel E. PERIaNS, Esquire
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- Deputy Commissioner of the Government
, of the United States of Amerioa.
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Monsieur J acquos :r..A.NSON
- Deputy Commissioner. of the Government
of the French Republio.
Secretariat
Colonel J. A. WATSON ",
- Secretary General.
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Tho Chairman asked his two colleagues if they had received arrr news
regarding the recommeDdations which the CCIlIDlission had addressed to the three I
Governments, pursuant'to the decisions taken at the lastlteeting.
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The American n8puty Commissioner and the French Commissioner replied
in the negative and the Chairman mentioned that ho. for his part, had not
received any news.
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The Chairman til8n said that the Meeting had been called in order that
vion might be exchangod regarding three interesting points which had been
r8.t",ed 'in oonneQtion With the rocG1IIlD8ndatioos. Theae points did not affeot,
in any way, the principles outlined in the cc:mmunication to tho three
Governments. Details :of the procedure to be applied in order to put the
recommendations into effect, alone, were involved, direotly or'indireotlY_
:
. It W8.simportant that :the Commission, in orciJ!tr that i t should be in a positio~
to act, at short notice, should give some thought to these matters, pending I,
receipt of nna from tp.e three Governments. The Ch.ah-man wished to stress
that his two oQl.leagues were not being asked to arrive at decisions on the
points in question, at:;this stage, and that he, himself, did not propose to
give a firm opinion at: this Meeting. It was merelY suggested that the three
Col!llliss.ioners should think these matters over and give the Secretary General
some gUidance, which h~ had asked for, regarding tho documents to be prepared
and the calculations to be made.
1. Exohanges of views ,regarding the form in which the deoisions of' the
COIDIII.i.ssion are to be communicated to olaimant oountries it the
Ca:raiss1ont s reoomendations of 30 March 1957 to the three Govern
ments are approved. Directions to the Secretary General regarding
the, doouments to be prepared.
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The Chairman pointed out that, although the proposed distribution and
the accompaD;Ying procedure had been described as quasi final, it oould not be
conaidared as carrying ;'out the provisions of Part III of' the Paris Agreement
and ot Paragraph:; (c) 'and (d) ot tho Ccamissionts Tems of Reference. '.rhe
final annouacelll9nt of the amOUD.t ot the gold pool and ot the shares allocated
in the said pool would pe made later, pursuant to the above-mentioned
prarisiona and in aocorclanoe with a procedure which had been laid dam by the
three Goveromenta, in ccinsultatioh with ,the CcmmLssion, at the Tripartite
Governmental Conference of January 1950.
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, It 'WaS important,i fran a pra.otioal and legal point of view. that the
claimant Governmonts,wbo,would be reoeiving the letter of allocation drafted
at the last Meeting, together with what had been called, for want of a better
term -the Commission's detailed deoisions-, sbould not be left under the
impression that this 'Wa~ intended to be the formal notification of the Com
mission's final announcement under Paragraph 5 (c) and (d) of its Terms of
Reference. The latter ~ouncement could not yet be made for reasons which
his two, colleagws knew I,about. What was intended was that, since" if the
COllJllission's ~eoommendations were put into effect, the claimant Governments
would be receiving prao~ioally thetull amount of their entitlement in the
gold pool, they should Qe informed; on this occaBion, of the reasoning
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governing the allocation, but no more. Nothing should be, done which would
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enable them, at this stage, to claim that this 'Was the formal announcement
under the Canmission's Terms of Referenoe, leaving the wa:J' open for litigation, I
if litigation were possible, or for querying the validity of the Commission's
procedure, on the grounds that the proviSiOns of Part III of the Paris Agroement
,and of the Commission's iT"erms of Reference had not beon properly carried. out. I
A wording should be found which would limit tbe soopo of the canmunication
and keep the matter be~en the COmmission, acting in equity, and the olaimant i
Governments. The Cb.ai~ thought that this could be aohieved by uaing the
Canmission's adjudications, as had originally been proposed, with a few words
or lines left out. The word -adjudioation" oould be lett out, for instance,
on page 1, and replaced ,by the word "reasoning- or scme similar term. The
phrase "Done in duplicate, etc••• - and the designation of the signatories
below this phrase could, also, be lett out, on the last page. He recalled
that the letter of alloc:ation, itself, would be signed and that this would
be sufficient to make the communication official. One set, in tho Frenoh and
English languages. of tlie Coam1ssion IS adjudicatiolla, proper, (witb the
exception of the adjudiCation on the Czeoh claims) would, Qf course, be signed
prior to, the despatch of the letter of allocation and its annex, and kept in
the Commission's arohives. These 'Would be purely internal doouments, for the
time being, establishing that the three Ccum1ssioners had reached agreement,
pursuant to the Paris Agreement and the requirements of the Commissiou's Terms
, of Reference, on all olalms before it, with the exception Of the claims of
Czechoslovakia in respect of which the American Commissioner was not yet able
to express a final opinion.
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The French Commissioner said that he was in entire agreement with the
Chairman's sentiments on this subject. He wondered, however, whether the
omissions suggosted by tho Chairman would be sufficient to establ~sh a
difference, juridioally 'spee.ld.ng, between the paper to be sent out on this
occasion and the Commission's adjudioation, proper, which would be sent out
later.' He suggested th~t the Camnisaion might go a step further and omit the
first paragraph under t~e word "adjudication-, on page 1, and also omit the
aotual finding on the last page. It W8.8 very important, in his opinion, to
avoid giving claimant GqVernments an opening, at this stage, for attaoking
the Canmission's deoisiona, in, say, some higher Court. He did not know, of
oourse, whether, once the final announoement had been made, suoh an attaQk
would be ,possible or no~.
The Seoretary General said, with regard to the suggested omission of
the finding on the last page , that he 'Would see whether the conolusions, in
the rest of the texts, would be sufficient to enable the olaimant oountries
to asoertain, without ~ff'1oulty, how their olaims had beea. dealt with.
The American Dep~ty Camnissi~er said that, at first sight, the
suggestions wb1ch his two colleagues had made Bounded reasonable. It bad
been u.nd8ratood that he ,would not be expeoted to say anything final, at thi8
stage, but he would oertainly think: the mattex' over, as requested by the
Chairman.
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The Secretary General pointed out that whatever' wording was use at
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tbe top of Page 1, in t~~ place of "adjudioa.tion", would have to be used, alSO'1
in the first paragrapb ot the letter ot allooa.ticn, where the paper was, at
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present, des01'ibed as th,e "COII'lmiseionls detailed reasoning8.
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A farther exchange of views. ellSl.Wd and the consensus of opinion
a.ppeared to be that "reasoning" or "detailed reasoning" could, probably,
be improved upon.
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The French Commissioner suggested that the dootllllent might be described,
merely, as an annex to the letter of allooation.
The Chairman and the knerican Deputy Commissioner agreed that this would
probably be the simplest solu~ion.
The Secretary General sought guidance on certain points. He had reduced
hia staff to a minimum and it;, seemed desirable that a.s much preparatory work as
possible should be done immediately, in order that the Secretariat might be in
a position to meet anyeventu8lity at comparatively short notice. There were,
in the Secretariat, two origihaJ. sets, in the French and English languages,
of the Ccmm1asion I s adjudications. The, original intentions _re that one set
should be si8Jled andranain in the CcmD1ssion's arohives and that the seoond
set should be ;used iil oonneot~on with the final announcement. It seemed likely
that the procedure originally;: envisaged would remain unchanged. The Secretary
General suggested that, in th~ ci.rClJII.st8llOes, it 'WOuld be a good thing to
prepare, at onoe, a ccm.plete set of the Commission' a adjudications, in the ferm
of photooopies, with the f1rat and last pages, proviSionally amended, in the
light of the views which had just been exohanged. One advantage would be that
photooopies conveyed a notion: of informality which ,rould be in keeping with the
ideas which had just been exp~essed. If, for some reason, these photoaopies
were not used, on the occasion of this distribution, they would be used in the
preparation of the Cammission?s historical a.ocount.
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This suggestion of the'I ,Seoretary General was approved.
.
Note - Subsequently to the Meeting, the Chsiman suggested that the dooument
- - to be oommunicated should be headed "Annex" and that the 'first paragraph, .
of the lotter of allocation ahould be amended to read 8.ls follows : .
"1.
The Conanission has the honour to request that you inform
·your Government that the Commission has now completed its detailed
lIexamination (vide Annex 1) of all the claims fat: restitution of
llmonetary gold made by,:your Government before it.
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~ - The 'secretary General
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pal:! prepared a pr09'iaional draft of the first
and last pages of the document to be cQDmunicated, inCorporating
the suggestions made at the Meeting. This draft is attached to the
pre sent Minutes, in order that the C<lDlDissioners mB3 see lI'hat i t would
look like. It will be observed that the finding, at the end, has been
adtted in accordance 1dth the Frenoh COIIII!.isaioner l s suggestion. The
finding waa, purposely', dratted, in executory form (dans la forDie
exdautoire) in the adjudications and, if it is adtted, this will
deprive the document to be colllD11Ul1cated of some of its legal value and
reinforce the idea that it is communicated merely for information. If
questioned regarding the status of theoommunioation, the Secretary
General could reply to this effect. The Seoretary General has made
sure that the cCllClusions in the rest of the texts (with the exception
of those in respeot of the Danzig gald and the Albanian claim) are
e.mply sufficient to enable the olaimant Governments to asoertain,
without difficulty, hOw their cl.a.imls have been dealt with. If it 1&
deo:i.ded that, on this :ocoa.sion, Albania and Poland are to be advised
of the Coamission's decisions regarding the gold of the Bank of Albania
and the Danzig gold, respect1vely, it will not be possible to omit the
findings, since these ,are speoial cases and the conclusions reached
would not be clear if lithe findings were cmi. ttod.
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2. Exchanges of views ~.and directions .to the Secretary General regarding
the principles to be applied when dre:wing I1p the delivery orders to be
handed to claimant· countries. if the Commission' s above-mentioned .
recommendations are approved.
The Chairman called on the Secretar.1 General to explain the position.
The Seoretary Ge'neral expl81ned that there were both coins and bars in
the gold pool. The degree of fineness of gold in both was, of course, very
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muoh the same but coins were ofi greater value to Central Banks thaD. bars,
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since they were easy t~ handle and were used tor exohange oontro+ purposes
and on the free marketfi, etc... He (the Seoretary General) believed that the
differences in the market values of ooins and bars lll8re comparatively important.
It had always been un~rstood that the final distribution would be adjuated i~
such a way as to give each countzry a tair ancL equitable share ot the coins and
bars in the pool. It ~d not been found posElible to apply this rule ,on the
occasion of the preliminary distribution beoause the tirst tew deliveries had
been made direot from the Foreign Exohange Depository, at Fran.k1"urt, wber:e
only a limited quantity of good delivery gold was available, and subsequent
deliveries had been made from the Bank: of Engle.D.d, ReNsome portions of' the I
Frankfurt gold, which b.ed been transferred to -that Bank, were in the process
of being oonverted int9 good delivery gold, at the time. The position had
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been further complicated by the fact that SOIlIle gold had been deJ.ivered direct
to Austria and Yugoslavia by the Allied Forces and that a reoovery by Czecbo- I
Slovalda from SWitzerland had, also, to be taken into account. As a result of.I
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all this, Italy and Austria had already received very slightly more than their
entitlement in coins ahd would only receive bar. in future. Apart from this i
slight disorepanoy, tb.&re were enough ooins remaining in the pool to enable th;e
Ccamission to adjnst the next di8trib~ion ill such a we:y' that all oountries I
would, in fine, receive, an equitable share of coins and bars. When making t~
oalculations, the bars l (for only bars were involved) received by aane claima.n~
oount~es direct from the Allied Foroes and other sources (i.e. the Swiss
I
National Bank) would have to be taken into account. In tlrdor to make up these
equitable shares, it would bo necessary to d.t'aYl on all three of the aooou:c.:ts .
whioh the Coamission oPerated, at the Bank ot France, the Bank of England
the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. There seemed to be little doubt that, I
i f the principles whiop had just been desoribed were not applied" the Commission
WOuld,le:y' itself open ~o criticism.
"
I
1
and.
The Chairman said that the Canmission was fortunate in having an expert '
in these matters pres~nt, in the person of the French Commissioner, and he
I
asked his French colleague for his opinion.
.
,
I
The French Canmissioner said that the Secretary General t s understanding
was correot. Coins f~tob.ed a higher prioe on the markets than bars. Central
Banks preferred them beeause they were much easier to handle and verify thaD. i
bars and, of oourse, because they were small units. He (the Prenoh Comm1s8io~er)
made a rapid oalculation which shand that there was a premium of roughly 20 %
on coins on the tree markets.
.
I
~~uty
The American
Coamissioner asked if the Secretary General could !
state what holdings of, coins and bars there were in the respeotive Banks.
i
The Seoretary General distrib~ted a paper containing this information i
and mentioned, in repl.3 to a ql1estiOD. fran the Chairman, that the holding at I
the Bank: of Franoe ~ made up almost entirely of ooins and that at the Fedor1al
Resorve Bank of New Y9rk almost entireq of bars.
,
The American ~puty CcmmissiC/&18~ said that here, again, no firm deOis~On
oould be taken, at that stage, bat tbat he presUlllOd that the Secretary Gener81
would prepare and oir9ul"te a sohedule baaed on the prino1plewbich bad juat j
been d1aonssed.
.
This was
I'
agree~.
20144B
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,"
5/••••
�RG
'1~__
, Entry ff3 i ~
S,::::-'
Box
~
- 5
3. Further exchanges of views regarding the policy to be adopted in rega,rd
to the Italo-Dutch: Conciliation Commission IS reqlmst far information and
in regard to the two olaimant countries constituting that Canmission.
, Tbe Cb.airman sa~d that, if the Gold CO!lIDi saion' s reoommendations to
the three Governments were approved and successful olaimant countries,
I
including Italy and the Netherlands, were informed of the reasoning governing i
the allocation made to, them, t~ question would iamediately arise as to wbat i
answer the Gold Canm1s~ion shol.l1d give to the Conciliation Ccnm:ission's letter
asking a certain number of queations. The Gold Canmission had informed the
Conciliation Commission that it would answer its letter as' soon as it was able
to do so. Five questions had been asked by the Coociliation Canmission. The I
first three ooncerned the Gold Canmission's decisions on aome of the claims o~
the Netherlands. Tbe last two concerned movements of gold bars which had come
into tbe hands of Italy. 312 bars were invoJ~ved and tbe attitude of the
I
Netberlands was open to criticism since tbey bad olaimed these bars from the
Conciliation Commission whilst they had a cbim pending before the Gold
Ccnm:ission for these same bars and had not illi"ormed tbe latter COIIlDIission,
officially, of this fa~t. I t was difficult to understand what they had in
mind. Tbere were thre~ points to be settled.,,, The first, assuming, of course,
tbat the procedure reoonmended to the three Governments had been carried out, •
was : bow sbould the Gbld Commission deal wi tb the Conciliation COIIIIIission' s I
first three questions, which ooncerned the Gold ColDlllission 's dOoisions? Tbe i
second 'was : beM' sbould the Gold Camnission deal with the Conoiliation CCXIIIIIis~
sion's last ~ questions which concerned movements of gold bars? The third i
and last point was : what attitude sbould the Gold Commission adopt vis-A-vis I
the Netherlands, in connection with these matters? Witb regard to tbe first I
point, tbe Chairman'was of the opinion that the Conciliation Commission should
be informed that the Gold Commis sion I s reasoning had been communicated to tbe
Netberlands and that it should be left to the Agent of t~ latter country to
answer the questions, as be thought fit. Matters before the Gold Comnission !
a t . feoting the Netherlan.ds were, of course, privileged and tbe autbority of
['
tbe Netberlands would" no doubt, have to be obtained before making the reply.
With regard to tbe seccmd point, movements of gold bars in and out of the poo~
were matterswhicb were tbe exclusive coocern of the three Governments,
oustodians of tpe gold:,pool. Officially, th" Gold COIDJIission w~ faoed with
an anonymous mass of gold and it was only rei3ponsible for determining the
ehares ,of each cla1maJlt country in this anonymous mass of gold. It happened ,
to bave, in its files,! 'some of the answers t,o tbe, questions asked but it ooul4'
only impart this information i f it were form:!1l.ly directed by the three
I
Governments to do so. :'If it were so direoted, it would, presumably, give
information to Italy and obtain that country's autbority to refer the
Conciliation Commission to Italy for tbe answers to the said Commission' s last
two questions. Witb regard to the third point, tbe Secretary General bad
I
stated that the 312 bars contained about 3,700 legs of fine gold and that tbe I
amoant to be allocated to the Netherlands in the next distribution was about I
4,100 kgs. Tbe Gold Camn1ssion could run no risks. If the Netherlands won I
tbeir olaim before the Conciliation Caam1ssioo and received 3,700 kgs" this I
smount would have to be deducted fran tbe share of the Netberlands. Tbe
Chairman was of tbe opinion that the letter allocating 4,100 kgs to the
Netberlands sbould be sent but that it should contain a statement to tbe
effect that this amount would be re11ained in tbe gold pool pending clarifi
oation of tbe position of the ,Nethe:clands before the Conciliation Comm.i8sion. I
I
I[
r
the.
I
-,
Tbe Secretary General said that be cOuld, perhaps, band the letter of i
, allocation to tbe Repfesentative of tbe Netherlands in Brussels" wben the time
came, and discuss tbe !position witb him, in conformity with the deoision taken
on this subject at tbe last 'Meeting.
I
I
Tbe American D8pqty Commissioner said that his view in tbis matter,
I
witb possibly some reservations, was that the Gold Commission could only
I
cOBllun1cate witb Governments and that it could not address itself directly
I
to tbe Conciliation COmmission, which bad received this case out of arder,
so far as the Gold Camn1ssion was ooncerned. The Conciliation Coamission
6/•••••
201450
!,
ji
�: RG S'I
-----::---
Entry !J3 !t ~
Box
l
l·
\
-I.:
.;, 6
should be notified, Vihenthe time came, that the Italian and the Netherlands
Governments before it had.. been informed of the G·old COI!IIDi.ssion's conclusions
concerning their claims and this notification should contain nothing beyond
this tatement.
s
'
The French Camdss.ioner condurred. He said that the Gold Commission
seemed to be unanimous in its opinion. The CO~liliation Commission was not
a supra-National body. It Was constituted by t'll'O Governments who were,
respectively,plaintiffsand defendants before it. The Italian and tho
Netherlands Governments should be ~iven the information required and they
would oommunicate such po~tions of it as they thongnt fit to the Conciliation
COIIdission, that is to say, in effect J to one another.
Th~ Secretary Genei-al aUggested that nothing should be· said in the
Gold Commission's reply t.o the Conciliation Commission which might give the
latter Commission an opening for asking for the tull texts of the Gold
Commission's decisions to be communicated to it~ It appeared deairable
that neither of the two GOvernments constituting the Conciliation Commission
should have access to the full text of the Gold Commission's decisions on the
other Governments' olaims'" since they might be tempted to seek thei-ein
arguments in support of ai:J;f queries which they might wish t" raise, later, in
connection with the Gold Commission's decisions on their awn claims.
1.
Further exchanges of views took place and the consensus of opinion
appeared to be :
:
(1) that ,the point made by the Secretary General would be taken into
oonsideration when drafting the reply to the Conciliation Ccmmission's
first three questions,
that the Conciliation Commission's last two questions would be dealt
with separately (perhaps on the paper used for communicating ,with the
Bank: of Franoe) it the Gold Commission were direoted by the three
Governments to answer them. Separate aoti()n was necessary in order
to establish a clear distinotion between the two functions of the
Commission which were, first and foremost, to adjudicate upon claims
and, subsidiarily and as an Agent only, to administer the gold pool
on behalf of the three .Governments.
c.
I'''*'.
The French Commissioner asked whether the Netherlands could not be
gi'Yen theditference between their entitlement c)f 4,100 kgs and the '3,700 kgs,
which constituted the maximum that could be deduoted from their share.
'"
The Chairman said that, in view of the irregular behaviour of tho
Netherlands, he did nat ~e why' the Gold Co.mmission should afford that
oountr.1 special treatment.
Further exchanges of views enst;lOd and thD oonsensns of opinion .
appeared to be that the GOld Co_ssion, after obtaining the, necessary
permission from the Nethetlands, should refer the Conc1liation CoJllDission
to that countr.1 for the e.,nswera to its first ,three questions.· With regard
to the last two questions i, the Gold Ccmu:i.ssion would have to oonsult the
three GoYernmenta oonstituting it and, if so direoted by the latter, it
would impart such intorma.:tion as was in its possession, regarding the
mavements at gold bars which came into Italy's handa to Italy, informing
the Conciliation CClIIUId.ssion, at the same time and witl:i Italyt s permission,
that it had done sOo Thei'aotion, if aDl,Y', to be taken by the Gold Caamiasion
vis-a-vis the rest of the., problems affeoting Italy required further
consideration.
7/•••••
201451
�RG
:"
S'I
=->---
, Entry .53 a ~
Box
l
. ,(
I
I
,,
"
.. 7 ·l
;'
The Cbaiman concluded by sa;y1ng that, once the Gold COIDIIlisaion had
heard tram the three Gover~e.a.ts concerning its recanmendations and (assuming
these reOOlllllenda.t1ons were 'approved)onoe the Netherlands' reactions to the
retention ot the 4,100 legs had been studied, the position 'Wuld, no doubt,
beccme clearer. He reoall~ that there bad 'bee 0 110 question ot taking tinal
decisions at this stage and that it had been agreed, merelY', that hie two
colleagues and himaelt would think: all these matters over pending reoel.pt or
news frcm the three Governments.
~
.
.
.
vi
'
The French Ccmmissiciner asked it the secretary General could not
begin to prepare the drafts.' of the varioWi letters ot allocation to olaimant
Governments and of the letters to the Conciliation Commission and Italy aDd
the Netherlands.
The Secretary Ge.a.ereJ. said that the position did not apPear to be
suttioientlY' olear, at this stage, to enable him to do aDJ' useful work in
that direction. He did not think that it would take very long to draft these
letters, once the pod tion bad been clarified and tinal decisions had been
reached. In any event, it had been envisaged tba,t the despatch ot the letters
ot allocation would be sprelld over a certain period of timo•.
--
.
'Tbe Meeting adjourned at 5 p.m.
.
. -. - . - .
~
I
I
I
I
201452
�-.,-- ..
.
'.
:RG
---~~
S'I: _ - - - " "
=-
Entry .53aa
Box
~
.•".,,1'.
•
ANNEX 4.
r.
CONFIDENTIAL
The Tripartite Ca:nmission for the R.estitution of Monetary
Gold has the honour to 'address the three Governments wtlioh have
established the Commission (vide the "London Gazette" and the "Journal
Officiel de la Republique Fran9a1se" of 27th September 1946, and the
"Department of State B~lletin" of 29th Sep.teltlber 1946) in connection
with the final stages of its work.
The Commission has now, in respect of all claims submitted
to it, fulfilled its funotions under Section 5(a) and (b) and Seotion 6
of its Terms of Reference, exoept in the caseJof Czechoslovakia, where
the Ameri~n Commissioner did not agree with the adjudioationspreviously
prepared by the French and British Commissioners. In these ciFcumstances,
the Commission feels ttiat it is unable to proceed, on ita own initiative,
with its functions given under Section 5(c) and (d) of its TermS' of
I
Reference.
Wi thout prejudice to any action which the three Govern.rnents
consider it appropriate' to take in this respect, the Coamission venture.
to sue;gest that the three Governments may see fit to instruct the
Commission to make a distribution of the maximum amount ',Qf gold possible
in the circt.tnstances of each individuBl oase to all coUntries with regard
to which the Commissioners' decisions have been unanimous. For this
. purpo se, it would be necessary to make a oalculation as to the maximum
'amount of gold which had beenestabliahed as due to C~echoslovakia in
accordance with the opi'nions of the French and British Canmissioners,
and to hold such en amo,unt of gold in reserve pending a final Wlanimous
decision as to Czechosl'ovakia' s cla..1ms.
Annex, A attached to this report snows the sba.res which would
be due to each country on the above assumptivn, ~d upon the assumption,
that the gold to be distributed is only that held in the gold e-~ounts
of the pool to-day. It: also shOl"ls the amounts that the COP''l'JiS...... OIl
considers could be distributed in each oase.
Further the C'anmission considers that the amount which a
country would receive in this distribution of gold (which would,in faot,
approximate to a final distribution) should be notified to each oountry
separately in a letter which would have to be adapted by' the Commission
to any exoeptional circ~mstanoes,in each case (e.g. Dutch-Italian dispute
before the Conciliation, Commi~sion in Rome). The text of the ,commission's
detailed decision on the country's claims would be enclosed with this
letter, a suggested draft of which is given in Annex B.
;
201453
�:RG~
--5',-·····
Entry ..,.3 I
Box
~
~
ii'
I
The Canmission' suggests ths.t in view of the fact that
count.ries have already s~gned a ,,~ver in connection with the preliminary
distribution, it will beil·only necessary that the receipts for it include
refere~ce to the previous waivers signed that will confirm their validity
as regards this distribu~ion. Should the three Governments consider that
modifiCations to the previous form of waiver be required, the Commission
unders~ands that it willi. be. advised of the amendments necessa-~'.
f,
If the three Governments should decide on the course suggested,
tho Commission is of the opinion that a short press communique might be
issued :by the three Governments stating that a further distribution of
gold fr.an the gold pool had been made to olaimant Governments.
J
Finally, i twow.d be n~ceS8ary to deoa.de upon the timing of thtl
letters to be sent out to each of tho individual Governments, and of the
press ~~ique.
The Commissioner of the
Gove rrlm<lnt of the Uni ted
Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland.
The C~~s8ioner of
the Government of
the Un! ted States of
America.
The Commissioner of
the Government of
the l"rench Republic.
:.
The Seoretary of State,
United States of America.
The Secretary bf Her Majesty's: Treasury,
-London.
.
Son Excellenoe le Ministre
PariSe
de~
Affaires
Etrang~re5.
30 March 1957.
I'
.:
I
2-dr~r5'4-i
�'.-.'--'..~------,-,--~,.....---
------:---:--:---,:,,:;:_-:"".--:-----:--:---.-----'--.~
,.
l'.J:".,EX
1
(1 )
(3)
(2)
(4-)
!lJ
.,.
,0
~ a.
.. ~
~i-2J
,»
.-i
(5)
~~
m
$; ,-
~
Oountry
pays
Amounts due
on the basis
of 64.. 1316<
Validated
claims
Montants dus
sur la base
de 6~.1~16<
De1Jl8lldes
recevablea
i
I
Bel¥i~_..:l~i<!ue
Greece' &rece
.
ItalY Italie
Luxemburg/Luxembourg
NetherlandsjPays-Bas
PolanajPologne
,
nanzig/Dantzig
Ozechoslovakia/Tchecoslovaquie
YugoslaviajYougoslavie
}'~ontants
78,267.14-78
198,4-33.84.17
. 83.7330
69,320.6709
4-,223.7040
110,174-.6296
1,574-.3503
, 50,193.9742
127,258.7976
"53.6993=
4-4- ,456. 4-5542,708.7289
70,656.7.528
3,858~ 8835
4-3,999.363 8
3, 24-3.. 4422
2,4-74-.7637
28,217.4-960
2,080.0714-
2,4-54-.ffl4-5
329,675.0896
514-,060.2910
deja
livres
Kgs
Kn:s
Kgs
Albania/Albanie
Austria/Autriche
Jlmounts already
delivered
4-4-,031.824-9
115,650.9277
31,667.5131
1., 929.4-999
66,539.0068
9,784.0225
317.4-256
269,920.2205
B<>l;:mce
due
Soldes
dua
Hontant de la
distribution recommandee.
Ear la Commission
Kgs
Kgs
1,574-.3503
6,162.14-';)3
11,607.8699
-::'--53.69':}
·12,788. <:':423
779.2290
4-,117. 7460~
1,750.
37,150.-·
59,754-.8691
N
~
c..n
t
Amount to be distributed as detailed in column 2
(
Montant a distribuer suivant details a la colonne 2 ( -
'-:331,665.4-773 K,'!s
329,675.0896 Kgs
",,1
Reserve ••.. ~ ....•.
1,990.3877 K·,·s
==~=============
.• "
~
.
I
," ·{jjijt·,
I"· ~ ...._!
:J! .. '
r-~--
~
~
.of.
(5
.Z
I
'II
II ~
I'~
'I
\
I
'
0
rn
s:
i
j
--
IV
tU
l;'~
Ci
I
.\
ii' ,
~---
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o :::::J 1'"'\,
'<
)1'1
I
.
-~.~
'~Vr
Balance of the pool as at 15.3.57 (
. Solde de la masse au 15.3. r:,7
Amount due as in column 4
~iontant dft d' apres colonne 4-
'I
'I
~ fI
"1
on.
0
>< "'"
Amount of the pool available for distribution taking into ~ccount.the Czech recovery
(
166
}.iontant de la u:asse disponible pour distribution, compte tenu de la ~ecuperatioI) tcbecoslovaque ( 33 , 5.4-773 kgs
C
J-b
,
J ~ !
. I" I
,.I £
'"
'.
li~
2 ;4-74-. 7637 .
18,4-33.4-735
1,762.64-58
Note:- English punotuation has been usedlVhen ~ing the figures
---- La ponctuation anglaise a ete employee dans la presentation des chiffres.
>
'7- -
.
6,150.11,600.50.P,750.750.-
4-,100.-
~======:;=====================~===============;=========~=================~~~~=======~~============
Amount of the pool available for distribut10n
Montant de 1a masse disponible pour distribution
15
1$ ,
Amoun t ·which the
CorW'ission reco'll"enda
should be distributed
JJ
~
(
61,74-5.2568 K~s
(-
59,754-.8691
1,990.3877 Kes
====-==-===-====
�lRG
, Entry .53 I :t
S::::..,q:......· _ _
E~ox
/
l'
CX>NFmJ!1frIAL
TRIPARrlTE CX>lOIISSION FOR THE
RESTITUTION OF WNETARI GOLD.
l46th Meeting
25 March
1957 - 3 p.m.
Present
•
H.E. Sir Ronald WnlGATE
- COmmissioner of the Government of the
United Kingdom. of Great Bri ta1n and
Northern Ireland - Chairman.
Richard B. FREUND. :ESquire
_ Commissioner of the Government of
United States of America.
Samuel E. PERKnlS. Esquire
- Deputy Commissioner of the Govemmant
of the United, States of America.
M:lnsieur Jacques LANSON
- Deputy Commis8'ioner of the Government
of the French Republio.
th~
Secretariat
I'.
Colonel J.A. WATSON
1.
- Secretary General.
Consideration of the contents of a letter. dated 7 March 1951.
from the American Commissioner.
:1
11
Reference is made to recent cOltllllUn.icationa and discuasions
"regarding the problems of the remaining. so-called tainted. gold.
"While not persuaded 1r1th respeot to these questions. the United
"States has decided to defer to the United Kingdom and French viellB.
"The United States is" therefore. nC1lt' in a position to proceed With
"the signature of all awards. except the Czelch award which remains
lIunagreed.
"
I would appreciate it if you would bring this letter to the
"attention of the United Kingdom and French Commissioners. I suggest
"that as soon as their governments have indicated their agreement.
"in principle. to proceed·as indicated above. a meeting of the
"COIIIIIIisaion be arranged in order to discuas timing and other detaila
"which might be the basis of appropriate recommendations to the
"three Governments. w'
i
He (the Cha.irmazt) said that he was most grateful to his American
colleague for his contribution towards the completion of the
Commission's work. Th~',signature of all the .;ldjudica.tions. with the
2/•.... "
I
"
201456
�RG S:::..'i.!-·_ _
Entry 113 a :t
Box
~
exception of that which dealt with the Czech claims, would, of course,
constitute a big step forward. He, then, asked his American colleague
what, in his opinion, the nen step should be.
The American COmmissioner said that, as stated in his.letter,
;l
he was prepared to si,gn all the awards with the exception o'f that
, I
I'
which concerned Czechoslovakia.. The nen step, in hi8 opinion, should
be a distribution of all the gold which was not imDobilised by some
,
"
un.a.nim:)us decision (Albaida., Danzig) or in respect of which unani.lJx)us
agreement had not been reached' within the Commission (Czechoslovakia).
Wha t he had in mind Was something final. He suggested tla t there should
be a departure from previous notions as to the form of the documents to
"
be used (announcement, accompa.n;ying letter and waiver) and that the
quickest way of effe¢ting distribution should be sought. He was anxious
to h8.ve the opinion 9f his two colleagues regarding this suggestion and,
also, as to what cormilUn1cation should be addressed by the COmmission
r
I:
to the three Governm~ts constituting it.
t
.1
.,
The Chairman tl;lanked his American colleague for having clarified
the position. He (thii Chairman) was of the opinion that this matter
required very
carefu~
consideration. He did. not know whether there had
been any Tripartite conclusions at Washington. His Government had not
received any information on this subject and it had not given him a:I\Y
instructions additional to the standing instructions which he had had
for some time. He !Jllderstood that what his American colleague had in
mind was a distribution of all the gold, with the exception of the
.'
three items already mentioned and he (the American Commissioner) had
characterized this distribution as final. The Chairman considered that
,
f
,:
no absolutely" exact amount of gold could be distributed
Czech adjudication
~d
SO
long as the
not been agreed, since the final figures could
'I
not be determined
un~l
the Commission had reached a final decision on
the Czech claims.
:!J/•••••
201457
�\.
~',}
¥ ..
.
-.
--~------~~----."
, RG
'1"'--__
· Entry ..,.3 a~
'
S:..'
Box
,-
:5
~
The Secretary Gen:eral gave sane expla.na.tions, at this stage,
regarding the position and pointed out that lle could not credit the
gold pool and debit C~ohoslovakia, in the 8Pld acoounts~ with some
:5,700 kgs of gold rec<;>:vered by that country from Switzerland until a
final decision had been reached on the Czech claims. There had been two
cases where action of i:this nature had been taken following upon decisions
of the three Governments communicated to the Conmission, but, in this case,
I
no decision had, as yet, been taken. He (the Secreta.r,y General) had,
however,' taken these :5,700 kgs into account when drawing up the schedules
of suggested
distribu~ions
:
which had been commun.i.cated to the three
.
COmmissioners, and this would again be taken into account in a:rf3 schedule
sent to the three Governments pursuant to decisions taken a t the
present meeting.
The Chairman then contined his statemmt. He said that the
Conmission was governed by an instrument, its Terms of Reference, which
were, in effect, an international instrument in implementation of the
decisions taken at the Paria Conference on Reparation. The Terms of
,"
Reference had been iss:ued by the three Gover:oments constituting the
Commission and they ha.:c;i been notified to all the signatories of the Paris
Agreement on Reparation and to the general public. The three GoverIllllents
;
were, of course, at liberty to amend or abolish these Terms of Reference
but they. had not done so and the CollllDission
1!f8.S,
therefore, bound by the
Terms as they then stood. Paragraph 5 (c) read as follows: "In due course
to announce the total ~:.ralue of the pool of monetary gold which will
become available for ~stribution by ~ of restitution", and l'aragraph
"
5 (d) read as follows: ~n all claims for restitution have been received
.a adjudicated
upon, to:,'announce the share in the pool of molViltary gold
available for restitution to each country entitled to participate in the
pool!'
As had already been explained, the Commission was not yet in a
position to announce the amount of the pool available for distribution and
it had not been able to reach unanimous agreement on the Czech olaims and
could not announce the amount of that country's share. It was not,
.therefo~
able, at that stage, to comply with the clear stipulations contained in
faragraph 5 (c) and (d). It was necessary, therefore, to see how, keeping
I
wi thin the Terms of Re'ferenoe and particularly in the light of Paragraph
4/•••••
•
201458
�'. ',.',--
: - .. - '"
-·-·7'----------- -
•it
~
:RG
Entry ..,.3 I
Box
l
S":::..,'.:....·_ _
DECLASSIFIED
,&~ru"""T~';;~~~" J;~~~~
;;t
- 4
1'
5 (e) which rend : "In such other ways as s hall. be decided by the three
Governments establishing
the~or.rnission,
to assist in the distribution of the
"
pool of monetary gold available for restitution.", the Commission could best
put into pract'ice the idea pu~ forward by the American commissioner.
The
Chairman then suggested that t.'1.e most appropriate solution might, perhaps,
be to a'ddress a formal communication, signed by all three member's of the
Commission, to· the three Governments, explaining the~ position :..M ch badjlow
bee!1 reached and making certain recommendations.
He reed out a draft (see
Annex A to the present minute~) of the type of communication he had in mind.
'..
The French Commissioner thanked 'his American colle ague for hilJ kind
co-operation
'~1ich h~d
stage to;1e'rds the
enabled the Commission to reach a further and important
~ompletion.
9f
its work.
The procedure suggested by his
l'.rnericon colleague amounted to quasi liquidetion.
He, for his part, had heard
C'bout: the conv~rsations in Viaqhington. The French Representative, at these
..
conversetions, had been directed to ask a .number of questions regarding the
various suggestions which had !been put forward.
the same conclusions as the Chairman.
His Government ha.d reached
It i1as impossible, P.t th!lt stage, to
I,
make £tn t".nnouncemellt in its final form as provided for in the Commission's
Terms of Reference..
It (his Gjovernment) was of the opinion that all that could
be done, at the moment, wa.s to; 9roceed to a further interim distri1:>ution, on
the lines of those which had already been made in 1947/48.
The Department of
StDte had asked certain questions regE'xding the quantities of gold which could,
sa.fely, ge distributed and the French Government he,d replied that, in its view,
the moxi1J1um am,?unt compatible ;with the setting aside of the Czech share, on
the basis of the adjudication
~hich
had met with British and French approval,
and the immobilisation of the ~lbanian and Danzig shares, should be delivered.
(see Annex B to the present minutes).
Some 4,000 kgs of €Old were due to be
received from Portueal and thf's would constitute
emereencies.
B.
sufficient r~serve to lOOet
He (the French Commi::mioner) wa.s of the o::inion tha t the
,
!ldjndicatiolls (with the exception of that on the Czecll claims) should now be
sir-ned and that an interim distrib:ltion should be made, if the three Governments
I
,.
')'
201459
�; RG
S'l
-=-.!---
. Entry ",,3 I ~
DECLASSIfiED
AVj'iority~6 993\00
. . .•
By S? __ t\ARA Date <Y -9.q:J
_Q;:.____
Box
a
~
-
5
The American Commissioner said that the general idea was to dispose
of the InaxilllUlD amount of gold possible.
It was desirable, at this stage, to avoid
tacking names on to the variouS acts of procedure. He felt confident that something
satisfactory could be worked out.
~oked
at from the point of view of the reci
pients, the distribution was, in effect, a final distribution. The recipients
might, perhaps, be taken
1nto~he
Commission's or the three Governments' confideme
and given a hint or informatio~ to the effect that this was the case. The distri
bution would be final in
"
eve~hing
but ,name.
While the possiblJ! announcement envisaged in Paragraph 5(c) of the
~
!
•
'
Commission's Terms of Reference could nQt, of course, be made, the Commissioners
considered the possibility
'.
t~t
a press release might be suggested to the three
Governments in connection with the suggested distribution.
The Chairman said-that he agreed that it seemed advisable to make
i t known, in some way, to the recipients that the gold delivered to them!.
constituted all but a negligible portion of what they would get.
He read out
a suggested addition to the dXaft communication to the three Governments which
he said his two colleagues would be able to examine at leisure when they
received the draft minutes.
He added that it was only necessary now to decide
on the method, to be suggested to the three Governments, whereby the claimant
countries could be advised of the allocation made to them and of the procedure
to be followed by them in order to obtain deliverY_
He described the letter
which had been used for this purpose on the occasion of the previous deliveries.
It was onlY necessary to alter the wording slightlY to meet the circumstances.
The Secretary General suggested that any terms which might
L
t,
.
.
enable dissatisfied cla1mants::to contend that Paragi~aphs.5 (0) and (d)
had been complied with froma:'>juridical point of vie", should be avoided at
this stage, since this might
~eave
an opening for l:Ltigation, at an awkward
moment, before the majority of the gold had been disposed of.
-
.
The Chairman then read out the draft of a suggested letter to
claimant Governments (see Annex C to the draft communication attached to
the present minutes.)
6/.••••
I
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'Entry ~31~ ,
Box
~
The Secretary General mentioned that a ditterent text, on the,
I.'
lines of the one 'VIbich had been adopted tor the last distribution to Francie
Luxembourg.
via Belgium would have to be adopted in the case ot BelgiU!Q/and France and
that th., letter wouldha.ve to be amended in the case ot Greece, which had
alread.Y received a letter ot allocation but had not taken delivery of the'
gold mentioned therein. " The necessary texts could easilY be arranged.
The queBtion;would alao arise a8 to whether Belgium should be
advised, verball\y or oth",rwiae.
a~
this stage. that its.cla.im in respect ot
the gold' collected by the Banque d ':Emission had been rejected. This seemed
ot the suggested wording ot the letter ot
hardly avoidable, in vie,w
alloCation. If' the ~la:iJli~in respect ot the Banque d'&rl.ssion gold had
succeeded, the gold alloCated in respect of this claim would have been
retained by Belgium as
~tsOiln
property. All the rest ot the gold allocated
was to be transterred. by agreement, to France.
The American Camnissioner then asked a n\ll'liber ot ques tions, which
I
were answered by the Chatrman and the Secretary General. He. also, reterred
"
,
'
to the ques tion ot the waiver and a discussion ens ued as to wh.e ther it should
be recQIUllended or not that a neW torm of waiver be used.
It was agreed that the latter question would be examined further
\:.
a t a Dleeting to be held a~ ; p .Dl. on Frids,.v 29 March 1957.
The Chairman dr,ew attention to the tact that he had ,lett a blank
s:pace in his suggested cotimunication (annex A) to the three Governments, in
which this ques tion ot th~ waiver would be rais«ld it the Commission fel t. on
examination. that this matter should be taken up.
The American Ci:mmisaioner asked the Secretary General how long he
thought it would take him to prepare the letters of allocation to the
claimant Governments ..
The Secretar,y General replied that he was loath to give a definite
,
'
date since unforeseen circumstances, upsetting the time tables. were apt to
arise in complicated ma.tters of this nature • For instance, the documentation
- 1/••• ·.
201461
�: RG
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Entry~~a~
Box
l
- 7
would have to be coumun1ca.ted to the British and, French Commissioners by
t,
diplomatic bag. in this
p~tic:uJ.ar
case, and if he (the Secretary General)
missed a bag and the a~ssees missed the return bag, some three weeks might
elapse before agreement cOUld be reached. He would do his best and he hoped
"I'
'
.
that a few weeks. at most" would suffice to complete the necessary arr8llgelD8nts.
Once the letters had been despatched, sane time might elapse before the
necessary powers would be Iforthcoming and meetings could be arranged for
i~ .
purposes of delivery.
Decision
The American
atid
French Comnissioners agreed, in principle. with
the Chairman's suggestions but said that they would" like to reserve their
final approval until they had had an apportunity of examining. a t leisure.
"
the texts Which the Chai~ had prepared. These texts. in their suggested
final form, would be annexed to the draft minutes.
2.
Any
other business.
(a) Settlement
6f
a drafting problem.
At the request
Of
the French Commissic1ner. a drafting problem.
"
connected With the Belgian ,adjudication" was examined and appropriate iM,trucUOIl8
WII:"e
given to the SeCretary General.
The Meeting adjourned at
,
:
5.45
p.m.
I,
�in
-~"'-~-'~'-:.'¥-'-~.,:- ---~-~I"-
!'RlG- S'I
=....,,---
rt"N
; E,ntry ff3 i ~
, 8;ox
~
/
•
CONFIDl!~NTllL
:i!fl:iP.h,Fi,'nTE CU,L;:;.,.rSSIOH ~i'0It TtL:;
,:RhS1'I'l'U'l'IOli OJ!' lJ.)I'f.e:Tb,:i:Y GOLD
11
, .
"
1 '
l4Sth :.ieetmg ,
k'
11
FebruerY
1957
~
3
p.m.
Present
1,'
H.E. Sir
Ronald
,iIi~G.rl.T.c;
,: ,,
'I
!,',
Ili chard B.
, I,'
l~li:;UHD, Bs qUJ.1fe
y
,
.
Collllllis::oioner of the Goverrul1ent of the
Uni ted Kingdom of' Great Britain and
Northern Ireland - Chairm:.m.
Commissioner of the Goverrunent of the
United States of lWlerica.
Samuel E., p:E.Ll1~mS, :c:.squi~
- Deputy Commissioner of the Government
of the United States of Arr£rica.
1,.onsieur Jacques Lii.HSON
- Deputy Co~issioner of the Government
of the French Hepublic.
Secretariat
Colonel J .A. ,'ATSON
- Secretary General.
,
...
:,
'l'he, Chairman welcouied his new iUllerican colleague, i,Jr.. Richard B. P.reund,
the latter's Deputy,
Samuel E. Perkins, and traced a brief history of
the friendly relations wfu.ch had always existed between his :Brench colleague
and himself and the American 'Commissioners.
<:
:1Jr.
&.no.
1'1'
The French Commiss:iioner said that he vii1:lhed to be, associated with the
Chairman's remarks.
.
"
The .b!nciricanGommissioner~nd Deputy Commissioner thuni..::eci their two
colleagues for ..!hat theyi,~ad said.
1.
, i
Statement by the
Cnai~n.
The'Chairman said that, unless there were some positive rnove on the part
of the COOlIllission, such a;, the announcement of' a further interim dis tribution
of gold, he (the Chainnari), and his French colleague would be placed in amos t
difficul t position. For a: number of years, they had been ready to proceed with
, the COOlIllission's work, bJt the iUnerican Commissioner had not been able to take
decisions. Some bO,OOO kgs of monetary gold, of which cluimant countries were
in great need, were immo1:!::i.lized and, for reasons which the Chairman expounded
at some length, i t was es'sential that the ma.jor portion. at least, of this gold
should be' distributed wi~J;i.out further ~elay, pursuant to the undertaking given,
at the 'Paris Conference cj'n Reparation. by the three Governments constituting the
CoLllllission. In saying thi!s. the Chairman wa.s speaking both on his own behalf. as i
a COllJlllisSione,r, and on be.half of Her 1iajesty's GOv.emInent. vlhich. he represented.
It was understood, of coUrse, that some shares might have to be reserved and
the three Governments wo~d, no doubt, when giving a formal authorisation to
their respective Represeritatives on the Commission to proceed, with a further
i
distribution, issue. at ~he same time, appropriate directions on this subject. i
In conclusion, the Chairniiut pressed his American ,colleague to explain the,'
•
posi tion to his Governmerh and to stress the necessity for a further O..is,tribution
(even if
restricted) of ~:Old •
Ii
.
"
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Entry !J'~ aa
Box
l
- 2
The French bOlllmiss:i1oner spoke in the smne sense. men:tioning that he
Was doing so both \on his ,own behalf. as a Commissioner. and on behalf of
the Government of' the French Republic. 'o'l'hich he represented. He pointed out
that. in ordel' to 'isave tiine and facilitate an early distribution. he had
considerably reduced ••nth a view toavoidng further complications. the
amendments he had suggested in September 1954. He was sorry to see that the
results he had anticipated had not oeen achieved. He (the French Comudssioner)
suggested that the question of a f~ther distribution might. perhaps, best be
deal t with in the form of a letter which the Commission lllight address to the
three Governments constitu,ting·it. Finally. the French Commissioner asked i f
the Secretary General could prepare and circulate a schedule shOwing the
amounts of gold which could. withou'i risk. be included, on the basis of the
Commissiol1.'s decisions as ;:they then' stood, in the suggested further
distribution.
I,
;'
The Secretary General said that a few days would be necessary to
prepare this paper.
The American COmmissioner, who had listened. with great care, to his
two colleagues I s tatemen ts' and had asked a number Jot questions vmich were
answered by his two colleagues and the Secretary General. made certain comruents
regarding the position as Viewed from his angle. He saId that he would do his
best to contribute to progr~ss toward conclusion of the Commission's "work: and
that he was prepared to convey the idea of a further interim distribution to
his Governmen t.
'
Decision:
1. It was decided that the COllllllissioners, individually. would discuss
with their respective Governments the auestion of a further
distribution of gold;
•
.2. that the Secretary General would prepare and circulate a schedule
on the lines s ugges ted by the French Commis sioner.
2.
Decis ion regarding the action to be taken in the case of 1lr. Herzog.
The Chairman referred :to the various documents which had been circulated
by the Secretary General • .Mri: Herzog appeared to h,ave' collected a number of
documents with a view to applying for a reward. It was essential. in the
Chairman's view. the. t the CollllILission should avoid plaCing in his hands an::y
document which he might attecipt to take advantage of. at some later date.
rn any event, the ques tion of a reward. if it were asked for. was no concern
of the Commission. He (the Cgairman) suggested that a reply on the following
lines might be sufficient :
"Dear Sir,
"
Your letter of 29th ·I:ecember
1956
has been received by me.
I am replying to thi3 letter personally. as I am afraid that you are
"under a misapprehension. I am only able to cOlllIllUllicate with the Gove:rnments
"Which have constituted the Commission or 'which are claimants before it.
II
11
"I
Yours faithfully.
(5)
II
II
J .A. WATSON,
Secretary General.
n
The French Commissioner concurred with the Chairman's views.
}/ .....
,
,.
"
I
�RG
: Entry 113 I ~
Box
l
S : : : : ! . . ' : . . - '_
"
_
"
I',
I,
L,.
I;
- :;
I
I
I
,
,
'l'he iimerican COmmif;>~iOner said that he had been ready to ,"-ccept,
~lith slight amendi.llents, the suggested reply which the Secretaq General
had drafted and circulated as it conveyed the essential point that the
Coru.nission, including thel;Secretc.ry General, could deal only Ifith Govern
ments. However. he had nO;"objection to an answer being made on th~ lines
suggested hy the Chairman.' since the letter from ~~'. Herzog was addressed
only to the Secretary Gen~ral ana the suggested reply from him avoided
the implication that j,x. tlerzog' Was, invited to 8lddress himself to the
<,
three Governments.
I':
,I
Decision :
The Chairman's suggbstion was adopted and the Secretary J.eneral
was directed to tak~:' action accordingly.
I""
:;.
•
Decision regarding the action' to be taken follOWing upon the rece,i-e t
01' a "Pro Memoria" from the Embassy of Yugoslavia.
I'
The Chainnan recalle'dthat the Secretar-,f General. when circulating
the Pro 1iemoria referred to. above. mentioned ths.t he had been informed by
the Yugoslav Representati-iles that their Gove:rnmc:mt had delivered a similar
note sane weeks ago to the, three Governments constituting the COlllmission.
His (the Chairman IS) GoveIT,unent lrid received this note and was making
arrangem~nts to reply. The other tWo Governments were. no doubt, taking
sim:ilax' action. The Secretary General had suggested that there was, 'perhaps.
no necessi:tyfor the CoIillllission to reply. The Chairman was inclined to agree.
....
'"
L:
,
:
,I
I
I
The Secretary General said that he did not think that a reply was
expected. The Pro Memoria i:j'lad been left with him. for information, and he
had stated, that he would cCmJ;;.unicate its contents to the.three Cowmissioners.
1~ "
I
Decision:
It was agreed that ihere was no necessity for the Secretary General
to send a reply to the Yugoslav &bassy.
i:;'
I,
4.
Any other business. !
I,'
The Chairman referr~d to an article. on looted Ilionetary ,sold watters,
v,hich a distiIlf.llished joutnalist, 1Ir. Harry J. Greenwall. was writing for a
well-known British magazine. He vlished to assemble a number of good anecdotal
stories On this subject and had applied to the COl1llllission for information,
primarily on gold discove~ies.since this offered a better field for such
stories. and. subsidiarily,~ on the principles which had gov:erned the
restitution of the gold recovered and the manner in 'which these principles'
had been applied. It had been explained to him that the Commission was not
responsible for assembliug!thegold p·ool. but that it had arranged most of
the transfers of this golq! from the points of .asseillbly to the Central Banks
Where the gold pool Was deposited. He had been lent one or two press extracts,
from the Co~nissionls files, containing what appeared to be comparatively
, reliable accounts of sane ;Of the discoveries of looted gold. particularly of
the gold Which had, been lrl1dden in the Merkers I sial t mine. Wi th regard to the
ques tion of' res t,i tut ion. ilt had been explained to :hlr. Gre enwall that the
Commission. >'as responsibl~:1 for determining the shares in the gold pool
available for restitution(~o each country entitled to partiCipate in the pool,
but that, since the Commis'~ion '13 decisions had not yet been announced, no
information could be give~,him on this subjeot or regarding the evidenoe
before the ,Commission and i,that the amountct'1be gold poo~ was still secret. The
basic documentation goverriirig' the Commission's work had, however, been
published, together with the Commission IS Terms of Reference, in the Official
gazettes of the three Gove'inments and in the press. and Copies of this
documentation had been made. available to Mr. Greenwall and he had also had
aocess to Ii press cOllllIlunicNe issued by the CcxmnissiOn in 194.8. It was obviously
in the, interes t of the ComrDission to be on good 'terms Wi th the press.
lIr. Greenw8.1.l had agreed,tlc submit his article, :E'or observations, prior to
its publication.
f'
"
'
"
Ii
:.
i
�"
I
" : T-_.._--'::?!',.
REPRODUCED'AT THE NATIONAL ARCHlveS'i~,ii;;.
.I
:,'
; RG
OECLAS'SIFIED
A'J j":ority ~ ~Cf3 ~ l) 0
By ~__ ~ARA
Date
1-i-ffi'
S : : : . ." " , - '_
'
_
, Entry !131 ~
Box
J
- 4.
The American Co~nissioner ~entioned that the appropriate
Services of the Uni~ed States had been approached by 1~. Greenwall
and he (the American Commissioner) questioned the Chairlliilll on one
or two points of detail n.nd roo.de certain s ugges ti ons.
The .lieeting:,Y/as adjourned at
,
,
I
5 p.m.
�; RG S=..'1!--__
. Entry !13 3 ~
~
Box
"
I,
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,.,' lnrrrM:INlttetS':l .
.":i'7;\J.~~
J':' ~~~~
...
oj
...
~
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~·-·f··:"f"~
", •
."
I>
"
'I'"
TRIPARTITE COMMISSION ~ THE
RESTITUTION OF HONr.J'ARiOOLDa
,
168~h
Me,tln&,
196/;, at
Tugdiy. March 10,
Present :
"
3 J2..am..a.
,l
~.:.
I
I
Monsieur Roger LABRI
,,'
!(:
'.; 'Comndss1oner' of the Government ot the
French Republic, Chairman.
-Commissioner ot the Government of the
. United States of .Am8rfCa •
Don V. CATLETT, Esquire
.
John R. WRAIGHT ~ Esq.
- Comm1ssioneror the GoVernment or the
Un.;ted KingdDm of Great B~tain and
Northerru:Irelarid. . . '.
:> ' ,;,
'" :<
".;,
:
Secretariat:::)::!,:'
'-:,~
j
, Colonel J .4. WATSON
';'i~~:/:,:·~l{ ,;: ,'.
\
'
,
,.
" ....
- Secnit&ry General.
\
1.
'c' ,.
,,:,,";.
"
..
Further consideration 9' the pStlon or tho letter·to be addressed
to Hr. RiMOOX-Kan folloying upon'the hearing bx 'theCogpp1 aaion or:
:tAA Government 011 the Netharlnpds'~ Appeal ,&,1P8t'.· re 'actiop br"
thg Copprl§8ion 2f some of that Goyernment'8Qla1.,~\;):
.
. . The Chairman
r~called that
,
it
~d~;~e~decid.ed At\hel66th Meating:'
.t;'"
•
•
that the threeCom;aisaioDers would elldeavou.r,,~~,trace, in their reapecti'¥8' cApit818,
ceriain exchanges of letters and no~s which,;:iivis felt, IllUSthaft precedild ~'
.
' .
Ii
dratting of the "definition of monetarT gold- and .the ·Commission's Questionnaire-.
.
It. VAS ~t that, 1f these :papers could be round, their cO!1tents might throv
turthar light on the interpretation to be given to the definition 'or monetarT gold.
. There. VIS no' basic documentat1()p- on this subje~t in· the Secretariat. Be (the Cbairman~
had d1sco'f8~d in certain arc~ 'f8s in' Paris I nuaber ot letters which had been
.
exchanged, .concern1Jig the definition and quest10~r., between Sir De..ond ,.Morton,
.
the·BO'n:;..'Ru8sell Dorr and Mons~ur'Ja~Qe8 _ ........', ....... behalt or their r. .pecrt.1w
,~
~~.
I
a t1me:vhen,:tbeiveN the ....,.",.L"1!~1I...
Go'"I''Dllllant•• totiM~;
If811U1~:t1'~;;Jl' ::..:"'!;:i :,.. .,...
~~iJ~~~t~I,~f~;z:
"at
20146G
I
�:'R-G--Sq-' --._,
Entry .53 a~
Box
J
- 2-,
/
.'/
var, the intentions ot the signatories ot the Paris.igreellent, the Commission's own
Terms ot Reterence and the principles governing intexmational relations and Treaties.
His observations applied, in part1;cular, to the inteFpretation to be given to the
vord "looting- (in French -spoliation") in the det1n1tion. It vas clear trom the, basic
dOcumentation, principles and releva.nt considerations that, in the . sphere vith vhich
!
~
Commission vas concerned, it
~as
intended that this vord should be interpreted
in a broad sense 'and that no other,' interpretation vouldsatisfy the requirements
,
J
'
,
vhich the Com:m.1ssion had to take into accaurr. He (the Chairman) stressed, in the
variou~points
light of vhat he had just aald, the
vhich had led him. to conclude that,
in, the case ot the Netherlands, the 10ot1llg' began vhen the Secretaries General becama
del tacto agents
I
ot the Germans, thilt is to 8a;r on Ha7 29, 1940, and that, contraI7' to
.
'
the contention or the Netherlands, the actions of' th. Secretaries General vere
Yitiated roll the outset.
f
i
The Secretary General suggested thAt the Cbairman should incorporate his Yieva
in: detail in a note vh1ch vould be ':attached to the Minutes as Annex: 1.·
This
. It
on
vas agreed~
il
vas also agreei that
•
the Chairman vould prepare vi th the Secreta17 General,
,
.
\
:tbe lines vhich he had just de-,eloped,
'
a suggested nev paragraph 14 vhick! vould
~ph
replace, it approwd, the original
\
vhich had been lett in =tuspense in the
British Commissioner' 8 suggested re-dft.rt ot the letter to Mr. Rinnoo:r-Kan (vide the
Secretariat's INT-3892 or Februa17 18,11964) as amended at the l67th Heeting: This
,
'
I
.
suggested new paragraph vould be attached to the Minutes as Annex: 2 and vould take
\
.
,
.
into account the point made b:r the Secretar.r General in his
(
.,
INT-39CX> "of
;
March
S, 1964.
~
In reply to a question from the Secret.ar," General, the
thrPe Comm'ssioner,
decided the.t the f'inal Yal"sion ot
tQ,e ietter to Mr. Rinnoo:r-Kan vould probabl:r ha-we to
I
:
be addressed to him both in English ,and in French, since t.hese vere the two,;off'iclal
,
,
I
~es of' the Commission.
2.'
Renew of.
possible sie1'8lopni8nts in the Cuch case.
The Cba1rm.an said
I
with
that
he'vould study the suggested documentation for dealing
the Czech case vhich had been circulated by the Secretary General, under COftr of
his ;INT-3899, dated March 5, 1964; pursuant to the decision vhich had been taken under
Item 1, at the 166th Meeting or the \Collimission.
i
'
The Secretar;r General, invited by the Chairman to cOllll'llent upon his suggestions,
I
ga Wi certain explanations and ansvered!l number or queetions.
l
The AMrican Coaissioner s8.1d that he vas taking this matter up vi th his'
,.
l'l
Gowrnment.
The British Collllll1ssioner stated that he
I
h&d rorvarded the suggested
doe~ntation, into~, to his Go~rnment ~t he reminded his colleague•. that be
vaa not ;ret able to ~ it or vhen he could agree to a procedure on the ltn.s eilviaapd.
It vaa clear, therefore, that the matter could not be taken up vith the C..ch &utbzl.t.1ea :
j
at
this
. '
,
•
atage..
.
'1'be ~Cba1rMn expressed the
1 "
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that 1t usht perhaps be toand' neoe.-.:rr
,fl('
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tbatthe xchance of signature., vhen tbe·ta. cue,'should tab plaOll in Ziir1ch •
e
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'1'be MHtins aclJO\U'Dec1:at 6.30 p.lI.
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Entry 113 a~
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ANNUl 1
...
Note du COIIlIXdaaaire du Gouvernement fre.nQ!is sur la reolamation
n6erlandaiae rel&tin au rejet par la Coamiuion de. demandea du
'Collvernement des Pays-Baa concernant l'or repris deB paraonnes privees.
,
,
. !
Deux observations doivent 3tre t:a.ites in limine it. la lumiere, d'une part
deB divers documents &e rapportant i. I',elaboration de la def1n1tion de Por
monetaire et du Questionnaire (echani~s de correaponda.nce entre les delegues
des trois GouvernelDlSnts a l~I.A.R.A,(,S1r Desmond Korton, The Honourable
RUBaell Dorr et lIonsieur Jaoques Ru.~f, anterieurs it. la premiere reunion de
la Comadssion Tripartite ~,r la Restitution de POr lI.onetaire) et d'autre
part des proces-verbaux pertinents dea seances de ladUe Commission ;
a) la suite it. donner ~ la revendication neerlandaise relative &. l'or repria
,de8 personnes priveea n'& ete evoquee pour la prem1et-e foia:que posterieurement
i. la definition de l'or IIlOnetaire, loraque ostta definitiOn a ete fl.naleunt
adoptee dans: sa forme actuel~e. en deoembre 1946, par les trois Gouvernementsj
,I
.
•
'
b) loraqu'ila ont adopte oette definition, lea trois Gouvernementa ont
incontestablement entendu eXolure oategoriquement des restitutiona,au titre
de la Partie III de PAcoord de Paris sur les Repatations toutes les spoliationa
d'or dont avaient ete vic times des personne•. priveea.
.i
D'autre part. il est de fait que 1& d~finition de l'or monetai~· avait
etc oomwuniquee it. tous les gouvernementapouvant pretendre it. la repartition
. de 1a masSe et quecette detinition, ainai qu'il 1'a ete indiq"Ue dana des .
dooua.ents officiels de souro.1t 'neerlandaiae.' n' a Ja.mais ~e contesttie p&,r
le Gouvernement des 1i'ays-Ba~.
.
I'
11 y a lieu d'inaistex: tout part1culierewent sur le ta'l:t qu'il aerait
hoes aangereux. non seulement pour oe qui eat de la recl&lUa~,1o'n neerlandl1iae,
wais eu egara aux incidences qu'une telle position pourrait avoir sur toute
la Jur1spNdence de la 001llll,18810n, de soutenir en 1964 ou m3cUe de laiuer
simplement supposer que,. dans des oas d'espeae, la Cowmission ~urait pu ne
paa appliquer la definition de l'or ~netaire'comwuniquee it. tOIlS les ,Couvernewents
,I
_I
(
):
, En conaequeooe, 11 est, indispensable de faire ressortir que la"Cowmisaion
est toujoura restee dans le cadre de oette definition lorsqu'elle a 61abore
toute. sea deoiaioZ18.
La reponse it. Monsieur Rinnooy-~an devrait tout speoialemen~'80ul1gner
que le terme "spoliation" (da~8 le texts anglais "looting") a ete interprete
par la OOlllDi.aaiondana le sena large ou ce vocable a the utilise dans divers
dOCWllo8nt. internationaux {Declaration inte:r:d.l1ee relativeaux actes de
depossession perpetres dans les territo1res oooupes par l'ennemi ou sous aon
contrale (aocoaopagnee d'un llIelllOranduao expl1catif elabore par lea parties 'iL ladite
Declaration) Londres, 5 janv~er 1943 - Declaration interalliee relative it. l'or,
en date du 23 fevrier 194(. -' Resolution n- VI annexee it. l ' Acte, final de 1.
conterence monetaire et finahci4!lre des Nations-Uniea. Bretton 'wooda,
New Hampshire, U.S.A., du ler au 2~ juillet 1944).
En d'autrea termea. le'mot spoliation De doit pas 3tre entendu et n'a
pas ete entendu par la COIIIIIdaaion au s.na~restre1nt d'appreheD8ion physique
de l'or, 1lIA18 doit 3tre oompria CClIIIII8 OOl.....nt egalellll!lnt toute. le8 1lI8n0euvres,
partois fort ha.bilea, qui ont permi. &. l ' Occupant de parvenir it. ee. fins •
,;'
•
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DECLASSIfIED
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Entry,.,.":> a ~
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t,
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,
L'argullOentatioR deVeloppee Par les NeerlaOOais est baaee principalewent
sur le fait que l'·Ordonna.noe du 21- juin 1940 sur les devises· (qui iIlIpesait
notawment aux. personnl!lls pr:lv~ea l'obligation de de,:)larer et de ceder a. 10.
NederlaOOsche' Bank l'er qu'ellea pouvaient det"Qir) .n'aurait nullement etc
promulguee 80US la pression de 1 'occupant ,contrairecr.ent d'ailleurs a ce qui
ayaH etc ~ et confirme 6ralelll8nt par le representant qualifie du
GouvernellOent neerlandais. ce!'qui avait conduit la GOWIlIisaioa, qui n'avait
evidewment aucune raison de ~ttreen doute lea declarations officie11esdee
autoritea n~erlandaiaes. 8. iiwoquer cette contrainte de l'occupant pour
justifier 1e rejet d'une part:ie des revendications neerlandaiBes.
i
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J
'i'
Xu egarCi au fait que 1 r,:erreur. st erreur 11 y a. est entiereillent
imputable aux Neerlandais. c~:tte argu_ntation neerlandaiBe ne place
nullement la COlIIIDission dans'une situation ell1ba:r'1"8.Bsante.
La COIIlDli~sion ,devrait, idanssa. reponse a }'(oniJieur Ri~ooY""lUln, exposer que
la nouvelle these defendue par 1e OouvernellOent de La Haye. selon 1aquelle 16 a
Secretairee-generaux, au debut de 1 'occupation, auraient eu une tree large
liberte d'action et que, a'aaissant n~tamlUent de l'ordonnance sur lee devi.ea,
Us auraient ,agi de leur propre initiative, ne saul:'8.it avoir ',pour consequence de
conduire la Commission a mod~rier sa decision de r~jet.
En et't'et, 11 :ial.porte d~: De pas perdre de "rUe qU'a oompter qu 29 lII.ai 1940,
date a laquelle l'ofd,onnance :n· ~ du ReichakOlllllliaae.r pour lea Pays-Baa, prise en
application d'un deoret d'Higer du 18 mai 1940, a'V'ait. de Vavel.l lII._e dee
Neerlandaia, investi ledit C~isa&ire de 1& totalit'edes pouvoira qui juaque 1&
etaient devolus i. 1& Reine et': au Gouvernelllent, tous 1e8 fonctionnaires neerlanci&ia
-que! que soit leur rang dana;' lahHrarohie ou leur. fODQtiona- (yctJm.pri.
bien e.rideauaent lea Seoretai~e.-gen8ra.ux) et, i. for'tiori. les dirigeanh de la
lederlandscheBanlc, qui haitr iCOi1'fee depuill le debut de 1 'invasion par un
Coadaaaire a1'leIll&OO; attache ,a 1a foia au 16.iniatere dea finances et a ladite
banque, etaient, nolens.vole~a, des agents de fait du Reich.
,
'~: ~
De surcroit. il y auraii lieu d'obserTer que le pouvoir de leSiferer, dana
certains domaines et aoua certaines conditions, n'a ete octroye aux Secretairea
generaux neerlandai. qu'm vertu d'une ordonnance du COGIlilisaa1I-ts du Reich en
.
date du 21 juin 194C.
:;
.
-
1
II s'enauit. cOIIae d.ai~,:leura les trois Couvernementa Pont toujoura considere\'.
en matiere de spoliations, que lea actes de co. agents de fait du
.
Reich etaient 7'io146a i 1a base et que 1a Coamis.ion ne pourrait reveni,r aur une
'.
poaition de prillDipe qui a inBpire toutes ses deoisiona sanll battre eft breche
I
lea prinoipes d'equite qui, a~x terme. 111.;111.8 du pre~abule de l'Accord de paria
aur 1es Repara~ion•• doiyent inspirer I!IOnaction, sana aboutir .. de.
discriainationa injustifiablee en equite au detriment de certains autres
(;oUTemellent. attributaires d:~or llOonetaire et aau rellltlttre en que~tiOQ 1&
cohe.ion de toute. se. decisiOns.
~otamment
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201469
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S,:::-'
ANNEX! 2.
PROJET D'UN NOUVEAU PARAGRAHm·14 EQUR LA. REPONSE A lIONSn..W RINNOOY-KAN,
StXHIERE PAR LE C01alISSAlRE DU GOUVERNrlHNT FRANCAIS
14.
La Commission croit tout d'abord devoir faire observer qU'elle est toujours
restee dans Ie cadre de la definition de l'or monetaire lorsqu'elle a elabore
toutes ses deo.iaions.
Elle attire tout specialement l'~tention du Gouvernement neerlandais'sur Ie
fait que Ie terme "spoliation" (dans Ie texte anglais "looting") a ete interprete
par elle dans Ie sens large ou ce vocabIe a ete utilise dans divers docuwents
internationaux (.Declaration
in~eralliee
relative aux actes de depossession perpetres
dans les territoires occupes par l'ennenfi ou soua
SOil
contrale (a.ccompagnee d.'un
memorandum explicatif elabore par les parties a. la:dite Declaration) LoDdres~ 5
janvier 1943 - Deolaration interalliee relative a. Por, en date du 22 fevrier 1944
)
Resolution nO VI annexee a. l' Acte final de la Conteren,p& hlonetaire .tlt Finanoiere des
Nations.-Uni:s. Bretton Woods, N~W' Hampshire, U.S.A., du ler au 22 juillet 1944).
j'
"
En d'autres termes, lei: wot spoliation n'a pas ete entendu par Ie.: CoUlillission
,
aU 80ns restreint d'apprehension physique de lIor w.a.:i.s a
ete compris couui..e couvrant
egalewent toutes les actions qui, en derniere analyse, ont permis a. l'occupant de
i
parvenir a. ses fins.
La nouvelle these
soutenuep~
Ie Gouvernement
neerland~s,
selon laquelle
c
les Seoretaires Generaux, au de,but de l'occupation, auraient eu une tres large liberte
d'action et, s'agissant notamment de l'ordonnance sur les devises,
I(
1
au~,ent
ag1 de
leur propre initiative, sans qu'une pression quelconque ait ete exeroee sur eux par
les llemands, ne wodifie pas,
A
a~
yeux de la Commission, la situation de fait et de
droit qui existait aux Pays-£asa. partir du 29 mai 1940.
En effet, 11 importe de ne pas perdre de vue qu'a. compter de cette date,
date a. laque11 e l'ordonnance nO 3 du Reichskoumissar pour les Pays-Bas, prise en
application d'un decret d'Hitler du 18 mai 1940, avait J ainsi que.. 1 'a reconnu
lui-mame votre Gouverne~~nt dans son memorandum, investi ledit Commissaire de la
totalite des pouvoirs 'qui jusq~e-la. etaient devolue
a.
la Reine et au Gouvernement,
tous les fonotionnaires neerlandais - quel que soit leur rang dans la hiera.rchie ou
leure fonet'ions - (y oompris
les dirigeants de 1a
b~en evidelllll8nt
I
les Seoretaires Generaux) et, a fortioriJ
NederlaDiao~ Bank qui etait coiftee depuis Ie debut de l'invasioJI
,
.
par un Cowmissaire allemand attache
a la
fois au ~stere des Finances et a. ladite
",~
Banque, etaient, nolens volens,des agents de fait du Reioh.
201470
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11 s'ensuit, selon la colliWission, que, COIllI.lle d'ailleurs les trois
Gouverne~ents l'ont toujours consider~ en matiere de spoliations, les actes de
,
ces agents de fait du Reich::etaient ~icies Ii. la base et que la Col.UllJission n'aurait
pu prendre une decision de principe differente de oelle qui a inspire toutes ses
decisions et ne pourrait re,venir sur une te11e po;sition sans battre en breche les
principes d'equite qui, aux" tames Ql.~w.es du preawbu1e de l'Aocord de ?aris sur les
Reparations, doivent inspirer son action, sans aboutir il. des discriminations
injustifiab1es en equite au; detriment de certains sutres GOuverne~ents attributaire.s
iI
•
dJor w.onetaire et sans remettre en question 1a cohesion de toutes ses deoisions.l.
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PAa.iqH:~PH
DRAB"!' OF A rjEli
.
14
O;P TP'.i llDl:LY TO lir .i"tLUOOY-KAi~,
SUGGESTED BY THE COj·:mJ.3ICdER OF TaE FFlE.JCH .;OVEiU:EiiT •
14,.
In the first !11ace, the Commission feels that it tlUst poi:lt out that,
"
Hheil dr1).l,fing up all it::; adjudications, it has always remained \,fithin the scope of
tho definition of monetary
go~d.
The Com'.1i<:;sion would draH the attention of your Governmellt, in particular,
to tho fact that it has inter'preted the,'word "lootingll (i:1 the r'rench text " s poliatio'n ll )
in the broad sense in which the term ha~ been used in various international texts
(Inter-Allied Declaration aga,inst Acts of iJispossession cor.lmitted in Territoties
I
under Enemy Occupation or Control (I.;ith' an explanatory memorandum issued by the
Parties to the Declaration) London, Januar/ 5, 1943 - Inter-Allied Declaration on Gold,
•
of February 22, 1944 - Resolution
;~o
VI annexed to the Pinal Act of the United UatioJs
Nonetary and Financial Confer!'lnce, BNtton \.Joods, Hew Hampshire, U.S.A., July 1 to
..
"
July 22, 19/+4).,
'
In other words, the term looting has not, in the Commission~s understanding~
been taken in its narrow sense as referring only to physical seJ.zure of gold. It hasl
been accepted as coveril1g, also, all acts which, in the li.:;ht of a 'coL1Plete analYSiSI,
I
I
,have enabled the occupant to, achieve his purpose.
The new thesis advanced by your Government, Hhich ccmtends that the Secretaries
General, at tho beginning of,lithe
~he
freedom and, with regard to
occu~ation,
were afforded a considerable arnowlt of
exchange control ordinance in particular, acted on
their own initiative, \fithout any pressure having been brought to ba~r
•
011
thOL'l by the
Germans, does not modify, in, the Corrunission' s View, the situation \.Ihich prevuiled,
I.
'
in fact and in 1m.;, ill the lJethorlands, as from j-!ay 29, 1940.
In this connection,' it is important not to lose
the above date, which was thi!l da to of .ordinance
,'jO
:3i~ht
of the i'act that, frora
3 or the Reichskomois;sar for the
I
Netherlands (issued pursuant to a decree of Hitler, dated Hay 18, 19/.0) by virtue of
which the said Commissioner "assumed, as VIas
recogl~ized
by your Government itself in
its memorandum, all the pow~rs which had previously been vested in the Queen and
,"
,
Government, all the detherlands officials -whatever their rank in the Services, or
functions- (including, of c6urse, the Secretaries General) and, a fortiori, the
Directors of the Uederlandsi::he dank who ~d, since the oeginning of the invasion,
i
:
under the control of a German Commissioner, attached to both the Hinistry of
I
'
~
and the said Bank, \vere, nolens volens, de facto agents of the Reich.
201472
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: Entry .".3 i a
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It follows, in the Commission's opinion, that, as has always
b~en
con:>iderJd
i
by the three Governments to be the case in the matter of looting, the acts of these
de facto agents of the Reich \-lere vitiated from the outset and that the Commission
I
could not take a decision, in principle" tiifferini; from those \-1hich have 80verned 1111
its adjudications and could not go back on such a position without violating the
principles of equi t~ 1;[hich, under the very terms of the Preamble of the Paris Agreement
on Reparation, must dictate its line of action. Any such action would, lead to
discrimination unjustifiab1ein equity and prejudicial
to
the .interests of certain
other Goverrunents entitled t9 participate in the gold pool and reopen the question
of the consistency of all the Commission's adjudications.
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I.;:! ~NFIDENTllL
FINAL ldINUTES
,~:..;,:,:===
d
TRIPiHTI'J.'E CO...Li"llS!::l rolf l"()l( 'f!:lli
I\::,:S'l'I'l'U'rION liF ;...UiLii:'fAHY :}ULD.
155th 1:eeting
12 October 1959, at
2 p",l.
Present :
Monsieur Jacques LANSON
~
ld.chard B. }?REUND. :C:s quire
':'" 'Commissioner of the Goverrmlent of the
United States of . i .uierica.
J.H. COTTON. :C:sq.
- Commissioner of the Governwent of the
. United K1ngdolll of Great Britain and
'Northern Ireland.
H.E. Sir Ronald I/ING.a.T£:
-
Commissioner of the Goverlliftent of the
French Republic. Chairman.
L~te Chairman of the Collllllission. acting as
Adviser to the British COmmissioner,
present only during the exchanges of views
regarding thp .ColIUllission's draft report.
Secretariat \
- Secretary General.
Upening the 1ieeting. ,the Chairman mentioneCl that he .Was in the chair for
the first time and that he cons~dered this as a great honour. He,described. shortly.
the invaluable services which his predecessor. Sir .Honaldriingate (who WaS present
as Adviser to the rlri tish Oommis'sioner). had rendered to the Oamilusuion anu. he said
that he felt sure that his colleagues would wish to jClin hilllin expressing the
Col1lmitlsion; s Wanlles t thanks to Sir Ronald for all that; he had done • 'l'he Bri tish and
ilmerican Commissioners said that they desired to be associated with the Ohairman' s
remarks.
Sir .Honald thEl.l1ked the' Oommission for this e..~pressiol1 of appreciat ion.
,
,
The Chdnnan then said that he h",d been sorry to heal' of the :cesignations.
since the Commission's last Lieeting" of Lir. 0.0. Ulemens. Doput-J .l3ri tish O::>w.missioner,
and of' 1ir. Sallruel i::. Perkins, Deputy,. Aruerican OO(Juuissioner, and he asked the respective
COllanissioners to express the Commisnion's thanks to these two Officials i'or all that
they had done and to Wish them good lucl~ in their new functions. He hud been pleased,
and he felt sure his colleagues ;shured this senti.J'lent. to hear of' the a.t.Jpointrllent of a
new Bri tish De,?uty Cor[~d.ssioner, in the person ot' 1ir. L.S. Ross.
1.
Short explanation bY,::the Secretag General regarciiN the 1'o:;;i tion reached
in the drafting of the Commissio"us report.
Having been invited by the Chairman to explain the position reached in the
drafting of the Commission's report, the Secretary General reminded the Commission that
I he had been directed to make his initial draft as detailed as possible and to leave
I nothing out.· since it had been felt that it would be easier'to cut the draft down. i f
I
r this Was considered desirable. than to make additions to it. He had proceeded according~
I and he Wished to draw attention' to the fact that this work had been :;pread over a
'
, number of years and that. whereas he had started on the assumption that events would
: follow a normal course. purs uant to t he Commission's Terms of Reference. circums tances.
that the Collllllission knew about, .had o.risen which had necessito.ted a number of important
a! terations in the Oommission' s' ,original plans • .As a I'esult of this, he (the Secretary
Genera!) expeoted that. at the yery least. the draft "fould have to be real'ranged in the
light of altered circumstances .~ls he had previously :reported, the draft Was now
, complete. with the exception of the las t Section which would deal vii th. the gold and
administrative accounts.
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: Entry .53 3 ~
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'fhe Secretar-.f General :~hen proQuced the report and. annexes as drafted
and drew the attention of the Gormmssion to its dimel1s ions and vteight. ,{hich y,ould
tender it soruewhi.l.t difficult to hlncile if it v/ere left in its present typewritten form.
In order to show how other o·rg!l.n~zations presented tl1eir findings, he exhibited a
judgment of the International Court of J11stice and accor.1t'anyil\3 data, whi('~10 were in
the i'onn of three printed volumes:': o!~ convenie nt size. He also mentioned that the costs
6f photocopying a large number of' cJOCtUllents llOuld be considerable.
I
.
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Bxchanges of views l.;e~~/een tlie Colil:lussioners vd th the object of'
detennin~n$ whet:ler allY,' amendJnents or rearrangelllents of the. dZ'l";;.1:'t
are re quJ.red.
'!I
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describe~::i'the
The Chairman
Secretary GeneralIs draft as reiilar}:aiJle and
said that he had a cert~,in number'"of points- to w.ike. In the I~irst place, he felt that
~he Secretar-.f General had not sai:~ enough ci.bout the evolution \/hich htld taken place
within the Commission before the, latter 'arrived at definite conclusions regardin~ the
. ~ri teria (arising out of Part Inlof the Paris ,,~reement and of the def'initionof
*onetary gold) on which its decis:ions would be based. The GOlllruissiol'l had been inclined,
in the early stages, to use a u.orEl liberal,'interpretation of the definition than that
~hich itfinaily adopted af.ter'sb.apin~ its pOlicies On definite lines. 'l'he Comwission's
initial hesitation was reflected in. the prelilltinary dis1;ribution where some countries' '
(the Netherlands, in partic,'ular) ~cceived more than they would have received on the.
'Oasis of the i'inal conclusions r1h'ich the' Commission arrived at·later. The Chairman f.elt
that this should be eYrllained.
1',
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The S~cretary G~neral Jxplained ~hat he had I)Urposely Iilyoided stressing the
Coumission's initial difficultiesi'and hesitation, since he had felt th"t whp.t really
counted were the definite conclusions arrived at qy the Commission,re~ardine the
procedure to be foilowed and the 9riteria on which its clecisions. wottld be based. He
nad given the reasons for these ddfinite conclusions, in considerable 'detail, in his
. draft. He had thought that i t would b'e taken for granted that such :irrrportant decisions
~ould not have been ar:;-ived at Wi~hout a certain amount of trial' and error. _lith regard
~o the figures of. the -prelimina.ry;:dis tribution, he had given these figures, as well as
details of the formalities carrie9- out but. here again, he had notoonsidcred tha:t an;}"
4seful purpose would be served qy:'strcssing, in the report,-that the amounts distributed
"fere, in some- cases,' in excess of;"those Which would h~ve been delit-ered if the
Commission's definite procedure had been 'in force from the very beginning" Care had
been taken to leave a safe margin!:in eaqh case. He (the Secretary General) had taken
~he view that the Com..ussion could, be considered to have d.istributed What it thought it
qould safely deliver, on instructioru.; from the three Governments, at an ea.rly da.te, as
Ii. rna tter of urgency, to facili ta t~, the economic recovery of Europe, and he' had not
dlaborated further • .A somewhat siJiilar view had been taJ<:en up by the COllauission ifhen
~rarti:ng, for the three Governm.en::·s, a sugGested reply to the Netherlands' Note of
24 June 1958.'
,
:'
I
c~mmissio~~r thou~ht
.
The American
tllat it would be um'lise nnd unnec(;:ssary to
bring out, in the boctr of the report, the Commission's initial hesitutions and that
this might corifuse the issue.
:::
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, i : , '
Sir Ronald .lingate. '.h.dYiser to the :aritish Comnussioner ,was then invi ted'
to speak and he expressed somewhat' sindlar views to those which had been expressed by
the American Commissioner and the :'Secretary General. He felt that the point made by the
Chairman and other s iluilar points i::coUld bes t be brought out in a cove.dng letter from
'the Commission, accoIIpan,ying the report to the three 9-overnments.than in the report
~tself.
;'.
i
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i
The British' COUlllliSSionl:r, signified
The American
11a t
Co-'sio~r suggested that
this Was ciJ.so hiw view.
the covering letter should
(a) e:xplain the prinCi~;t.es ..ihich had governe~l the drafting of the
Conmission I s repor~:;
,
(b) bring out the Chaiman's point regarding the Co~ssion's initial
hesitations. as refl'ected in the prelimill.ary distribution;
j:!
.
(0) include aqy' other ~ointswhich might come: to light and v.hich the
COlllIIlission might w~sh to refer to, 'dthout. hov{ever, incorporating them
in its report; and;;!
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(d) refer to I:l.r..:l pCissages which the Coror.lission miaht decide ....t this or
at stilisequent ~.£etingz. to cut down, in order to avoid lengthening the:
re1?ort unduly lind e:;.;:plain that aadi tion:cl detuils eowd be found in
the Cor.uni::;zion' s archives.
'
'fhe Chairman ona the 13ritish Cor,ln-dsl::ioner concurred.
Decision:
'l'he British vi€;¥{ tllit certain points ,ui~ht best be deult Vii th in a
covering letter Was 'adopted and the American Commissioner's suggestion,
as to what these points should be, Vias approved.
The Chairman next refel'reo. to' the Commission's definition of monetary gold..
'this was, in his opinion, one of the r.lost i.tiportant basic aocuments ana he felt that
not enough had been saiCi. in th¢ draft report. /:I,bout it and about the manner in which
it had been formulated.
'
The Secretar-.f Gener<4 pointed out that the definition had been dra'lfn up
before he joined the Commission<l.Ild that there Was practically no aocwnentat'ion
concerning it in the SecretRriat's files. He had done his best to supplement this lack
of information but could not elaborate f",l'ther without receiving acditional details
which were, probably, in the files of the three Governlllents.
The Cr..a.irman. who was the Secret::uy of the Commission .tnc.. of' the Prench
Delegation when agreement Was reached on the text of the definition, gtlve certain
, explanatimlB and Sir Ronald ,lingate also spoke on this subject and suggested that
I .something might, per~l8.ps. be said about the definition in the covering letter.
,
I
'rhe ..\.Illerican COIIll.ri.ss~oner t'elt that the pages of the report dealing with
the definition of Illonetary gold l;l.ight be reviewed in the light of th.:; <uwwer >lhioh had
been given to the Hetherlands I I-lote of 24 June 19c:;8 or.d of a further stuOy of the
i relations to that definition of,'all the decisions'" eiabodied in the ad.'judications. 'the
i object Vias to achieve full consistency, an objective unlD;:ely to 'ba attained if' the
i COll1lllis,:;ion began to nnalyse the preliminary distribution.
I
Decision :
Sir itonald .lingute's ~suggestion Was noted unO. it was decided that the
Secretary General woUld review the pages in question in the ~ight of
What had just been said.
The Chairman's lust point concerned the COmmi:.ll;;ion I s a9-.juCiic~ tivml. 'l'hese
I ·:'ere lellgthy and complicuted documents "mQ he (the Cl:li.iir,:.um) rel t that un att!:llllj,)t
I
should be made to sum up the essential points of
th~
clair!ls ",nd the COll1lldssion's
~ conclusions in the light of the basic texts. This i'/ould, in his opinion, f",cilitate
I nerusal of the somewhat volumino~ report <:.nd these brief l'esUllltb I/ould be ea~;ier to
I~efer to than the ad;judications
themselves, ,;hich might, pel'he:ps, be annexed to the
! report instead of being incorporated in it.
I
'fhe Secretary G·enel'al expr'essed ::;ome doubts a:; to the possibility of:
: drafting rea1.ly satisfactory resumes. He reminded the C:ofJillission that it had been
I requested by the three Governments, in Janl~~ 1950, to draft brief reasons for
irejections. f'or communication to claimant countries. ~~nd that the Commission. after
Iseveral attempts and giving the ~la tter considerable thouJht, had arrived u t the
,conclusion that this Was impracticable and had advisod the three Governraents accorCiingl.x.
I The idea had been dropped. The Secretary General felt that it would be just as difficul ~
i to draft brief resumes of the contents of each adjudication and that an ",ccuntte idea of!
'the main points and findings, in each case, could only be obtained by reading the full I
:text of the adjudication. The conditions to be fulfilled in order to establish a claim
jwere the s.am.e in each case, it Was true. but no two cases were exactly alike and there
lwere numerous considerations and: addi tiona! arguments, for or against, which would have
ito be brought out in order to give a satisfactor,y picture, in each case. and this Would,
lin his opinion, lengthen the re~ume to such an extent that it would lose much of its
[usefulness. He (the Secretary General) had described. at some length, the basic princjpJeS
lapplied by the Commission and how its jurisprudence had been elaborated and. he had also
:grouped the main problems with whioh it had been faced under 14 headings and explained
iin detail how these problems had been dealt with. He ru,d left i t to the reader desiring
;further details to peruse the adj,udica tion concerned. lIe felt that it would be difficul
ito go further and that an additional analysis of the contents of each adjudication
i mignt, possibly. confuse the issues.
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"fhe Chairt:lan agreed that the drafting of brief reasons for re,jection
had turned out to be impracticable, but there was no question. at thi::; sta~e. of
preparing, for each Govenl.'1lent conc(.;r,1ed. a text cua.uing up the reasons which had
led the Commission to re.jcct some of its claims. 'l'he ob.ject which the Ch,i.inoan had
in /jund Was more modest. He \';ac anxious that the report should. contaiu a cru:..pter
where the principal characteristics oi' each elemen'b of the claims submitted would
be described in order that it should be possible to distinguish clearly by virtue
of Which disposition of ti:~e basic texts each decis:ton had been made. '1'he condi tions
imposed by these te;:ts were •. in i'act, not very numerous. approxim!itely 5 or 6. and
the classifico.tion of the cHd.ms' according to whether the conditions were or were not
fulfilled should not present,insurnlouzitable difficulties. He. for his part. was
prepared to establish a draft of this nature, where there would be no question of
s1.llllming up the particular processes by' which the Commission had arrived at each of.
its decisions. since these were set forth in'det1.l.il in the complete texts of the
adjudications.
Decision
It was agreed that the Chai:rm.rul would prepare a draft to show his colleagues
what he had in mind arid that the three Commissioners would then meet to
decide '/hat action should be taken on it.
The Secretary General, pOinted out. subsequentJ,y to the lvLeeting. that the
Chainnan IS draft would. probably. include a ..p:reamble which might duplicate.
in part at least. his' own explanations at pages 42 to 90 of the draft report
and that he would, therefore. be unable to put in an;y work on this part of
the report until some agreement had been reached on the Chainup.n I S draft.
The Chairman said that he hoped to be in a position to have his paper
distributed to his co.~leagues by the end of the year. '
/
-.
. The iunerican Commissioner said that he had one or two points of' hil'{ own,
which he Wished to make. First of all. he wished to express his appreciation of the
work which had' been done by the Secret!:l.I:Jr General, Vlho had produced a clear £ll1d
verJ detailed draft in accor~ce with the directions which l).e ,had been aiven. He
(the American CO!lJlnissioner) felt tha.t it "as not necessary. in a report such as this.
to set forth details. which were not absolutely essential. as; fully as the Secretary
General had done. The report ,:iould gain in appearance and be more readable if the
really ~aportant points were brought out and if non ess~ntialdetails were cut down
and. where possible. given only in tabular fonil. lIt;;; had in Illind (a) the :full texts of
the appointlnents Ot' the Cormuissioners (J...nnexes A to K) which could be.lleft out
altogether. The table in the 900y of the report would be sufficient. (b) the question
of the opening of the Bacics' ~ccounts (p~ges 96 to 105) which could be cut down •.
(c) the question cf the assembling of the gold pool and of the transportation of ;::;olu'
(pages 106 to 142) -.'1hich could be shortened a.'ld (d) the question of the handinJ over
of the delivery oz:ders, of cre'dentials and of the forrnali ties accoll'lplisned (pages
149 to 165 and 173 to 18,) which could be sl:I::lplified.
'1'he Secreta!"J Generul said ttlat this could be done, but th",t it I.-auld not be
as easy as it appeared, at fir;:>t sight. since there had been considerable and
unavoidable differences in thema.'1Iler in which the various co.ses had been oeal t 'iiitho
This work 'l'lould take some time. Ht:! had gone into the:3e matters in considerable detail'
and given dates, hours und ~a~s (a) becat~e he hud been instructed to do so and
(b) because he had in mind the, possibility that if. as aeaned likeJ,y. the three
Governments published a report. queries might be received which mi!,5ht be difficult to
answer if reference had to be made to the Commission's archives. ;'ihich would. by that
time. be in the custody of the, "Archives de France\!. lie had felt that researches
would be facilitated if veri complete info':nllation were Ulade available in the report •
•lith regard to (b). it had just been pointed out, however. that the very complete
draft. as prepared by himself. '.would remain available for purposes of reference. in
the hands of the three Governments and of the Commissioners. There was no reason.
therefore • .-my the final text should not be shortened. as proposed by the American
Commissioner. The Secretary G-en'eral suggested that. in view of what he had just been
asked to do. of the Chairman's;'intention to draft brief resumes of claims and
conclusions and of the fact that, in a~ event. a rearrangement of the draft report
would. probabJ,y, be necessary/ the best wa:y to set about this work would. perhaps.
be for him to review the draft~in its eLtirety and circulate the suggested fina.l text.
section by section, as and when these were ready. He would. however, have to stop
circulating if he reached the point where the Ghainnanl,s resumes should be inserted,
before these were completed and approved. since he would be unable to nwnber the pages
and references would become ~nPossible.
5/·····
201·177
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Deoision :
The Seoret&r,y General's suggestion Was adopted.
,I
The American CoDmissioner asked that the proc~dure which had been in force
up to then. whereby texts were circula.ted in the English language in the first
instance and only translated'into French atter approval. should be continued.
,
Deoision :
The Chairman said thatth1s would be done insofar as was possible.
The American Commissioner then said that he was of the opinion that. onoe
the revision referred to abo-te had been oOlllpleted. the Secretary General should
prepare the last Section of all. dealing With the ac:counts. which had not yet been'
drafted.
,.;
The Secretary General ~aid tbat. when the time came. he would have to ask the
Commission to indicate a date on which the accounts would be closed fcr the purposes
of the report. since it would,not be praoticable to amend the figures. in the light
of current business. once they had been prepared for insertion in the rep9rt. He
also asked the Collllllission whether it was conaidered desirable that a reputable !'1rm..
such as )lessrs. Price Waterhouse 6: C·, who audited the Commission's administrative
expenditure, should be called in to assist in the preparation of this last Seotion.
Decision:
"
'
The Calmission decided that, atter the revision reterred to above lad been
completed. the Secretary General would prepare the last Section de&l.1ng with
the accounts and that i~ would not be necessary to request the assistance of
a private P : l . r m . '
,
The American CCllllDissioner's last suggestion 1I'aB to the effeot that an index
should be prepared. in due coUrse. to complete the report and that. when the various
amendments were in the handa of the Commissioners. the latter should agree a time
limit for exchanges of comments and suggestions and. later. aqate for a lIeet1ng
With a vi... to reaching agreement on a final t e x t . '
"
Deoision :
,.
The American Commission~r's suggestion was adopted.
thi~
u
ose
The Chairman said that the procedure to be followed had. in faot, been agreed
under Item 2. The Secretary General would review the report in the light of the
decisions which had just been taken and he (the Chairman) would, for his, part.
prepare .the res\III.es of claims and conclusions for submission to his oclleagues. as
agreed.
4.
A:qr
other business.
(a) The e:z:cess of gold coins received by
,
Austr~.
'
The Chairman referred to, the Secretary General's las 10 note (INT-'528. of
2} September 195') on tis subject and asked his oolleagues if they had &.rV'
J
! observations to make.
,I
I
The American Commiss ioner said that he had ocnsulted the Federal Reserve Bank
of New YON and he gave detai~ of that BanIt's repq. which shawed : (a) that it was
impossible to make an estimation of the degree of importance which might be attached
by benefic1a.ry Central Be.nks to the receipt of ooins rather than bars and (b) that
the cost or traneporting 1 .. 70n.4oJ.8 kga of gold would null1f'y &.rV' advantage which
might be derived from the receipt of gold ooins .. to this amount. in the pool. His
Govel'DlUnt recognised no prem:l.uma on ooina in inteJ:'Dational tranaaotiona. It seemed
to h1ra.. Deftrtheleaa. that the" Govel"DlUDts might a tiU see a pOSS ible risk for them
selves and/or the CoaIII1aeion or be1Dg oriticised or receiving olaims based on the
imbalance:in distribution of ooin.. He further said that he would be prepared to have
the eaa.iaaion sound out the Austrians intOl'lllal.q but reoognised the risk involved
i f ~t did so and failed.
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~he British Commissioner said that bia Government had exar:01ned the matter and
arrived at the conclusion that., the three Governmenta' only obligation was to restitute
gold and that they were not bocipd to establish distinoti0D8 between coins and bars
When making restitution.
The Cbairman noted. with interest': the advice received by the .American
COIIIIIIissioner trcm the Federal Reserve Ba.nk ot Nell' York and the observations ot the
British Ccaaissioner. As he (the Chaiman) had aJ.read;r pointed out. each Central 'Bank
Was only interested in certainn17 special categories ot coins. ~aJd.ng into accoUnt
the difficulties and costs WhiCh would be involved i t an attempt were lllade to re
eatablish a balance in the dis~r1bution and the tact that it would, prcbabl;y. be
impoes1ble to deliver to successful claimant. the coins which they might 'll'ish to have.
he (the Chairman) Was of the opinion that th1Xlgs might be lett· as they were.
;1
Deoision :
It was deoided that i t should be recamaended to the three Governments that
the matter should be shelved.
..
I,
ii.;,
",
'
The Chai:rman reterred to the Secretary General's note (INT-'522,. ot 7 September
1959) on this subjeot. The Secretary General had a..ked whether the Coamission Was ot
the opinion that extracts trcm ~he above .....ntioned report and copies ot,annexes 7 and 8
to the report ot the Assembl;y ot the Agenqy, which was published in June 1951. should
be included, tor information. in, the Commission's report, as an annex. B1a (the
Chaiman's) vie" 'II'U that the report ot the Negotiat~ P01I'ersonly intended to deal
with matters ot reparation. He thought that the three Govel"JlJD8nta would prcbabl,y tind
it necessary to draft a separate'report on the subjeot ot the usembliXlg ot gold in
their respective zones of occupation in German,y and on their negotiations,. which Were
: not al'll'a,ys tripartite. which led to the delivery ot go:Ld by neutral countries and, at
lleast" one institution, to the pool. He suggested that, i t such a report Were drafted,.
Ithe Commission might perhaps ask,the three Governments tor a ccpyto complete its
Ireport.
' :'
I
'
~he
Secretary General recaUed that he had raised a somewhat spuilar question
in his INT-,J&;Lo, ot 17 Ootober 1958.
...."'"
I
In aMwer to a question by' his American colleague, the Chaiman mentioned that,
jin scme cases, the Negotiating POwers had negotiated in respeot ot both gold and
,reparations and that, in other cases, their aotivitie. had been 11m1ted to reparations
ior gold. alone. In the latter ca~egory. there tigured negot1ations with the Bank tor
iInternational Settlements 8.lld. With Rumania and there hnd also been separate negot1ations
I\With Sweden. None of these was,
co~e. covered in the report to the Agency.
:r
Decision :
I
It was agreed that the Coumdssionera. ind1v1d'lla.l.q. would take this matter up
With their respective Governments.
•
. INote : '1'he Secreta.ry General pOi~ted out. sub8equentl;y to the Meeting. thAt the
1 - revision otpages 106 to 142 ot the draf't report describing the part plqed
by the Coaaisaion in arranging traDaterlS ot gold to the pool, as an Aaent ot
I
the three Govenments. woUld prcbabl;y hAve to be postponed untU it were
I
knDWn whether the three Govermaent. propose to draft a report on the
....embliag ot gold in their respective zonea ot occupation and on their
negotiations with neutral countries. It such i8 their intention, the rel..ant
part ot the Colllllliasion'.. report would haw to btt amended in such a 11'8:8 as to
t01"lll a .equence to the three Government.' report and the leXlgth ot thia
sequenoe would be depende~t upon What .the three Governments would say.
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(c), Considerl).tion.of.a sg:;cestion by the 3riti1:lh COHr.lissioner that
un agreed statement should be approved of the breakdown of the
holdings in the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve Bank: of
New York. shov{ing Weights in kilo~rams of bar gold and gold coins.
into the specific reserves for the Hetherlands. Czechoslovalda.
Dan7.ig. ,\lbania and the-general reserves.
'ihe Chc.innan referred to the Secretary General's INT-j531. of
October 1959. circulating ,a suggested breakdown. as requested. He ....sked his
colleagues if they had aI\Y comments to make. An exchange of views showed that the
three COmmissioners had not had suffi'cient time to exatnine this question.
6
Decision :
It Was decided th~'t this question would be brought up on the .Agenda
of the Commission's next Meeting.
(d) Consideration~'of a question raised by the ::Iecretary Genel'al
regarding the Commission's channels of' communication.
,;
;
The Chairman said that the Secretar-,f General h"'.d dl'aWn attention to the
fact that it seemed probable that the next Assembly of the In~er-.iI.llied Heparation
.Agency would dissolve the ilgency. This would. presumably, automatically put an end
to the functions of the various Iklegates to the Ji..gency. Paragrc.ph 3 of the.'
Commission's Tenns of Reference read as follows: "The Tripartite CO'ualission for
"the il.estitution of 1i.onetarj Gold shall normally sit in :13rul?sels but shall be
"independent of the Inter-A:llied Heparation ilgenc-,f already lope..ted there. The
"Cowmission is nevertheless',empowered to communicate. on behalf of the three
"Governments concerned. with the lllied Governmen1;::;, l;:elllbent of the Inter-Allied
11 Repara tion .t1genc-,f. through the Delega tea accredited to the .zJ.genc-,f by those
IIGovernments. with the Secr~tariatof the Agency awl, ',ilien necessary. with other
"Governments, On questi,ons arisip.g out of Part III of the Paris .Agreement on
"Reparationll. The Secretary,.;General had suggested that the COmmissio,ri lJji~ht.
perh!:',ps. wish to enter ::lome: formal resolution in the l,iinutes of one' of its next
~,:eetings. noting the dissol~tion of the i;,gency and the! tenuinution of' the functions_
of the Delegates to the Agenc-,f and deciding that. in future. the COilllllis~;ion would I
. cOflllllunica te with formel' Delt:.;g<:.tes in their capacities as Jimbassadors Or liinis tar:::. 1
lIDless one or more of the three Gove~ents had some objection.
Decision:
It Was decided thh.t this watter should be brought up on the ..,;,genda
of the next J.<Ieeting of the Commission following the dissolution of
the Agency.
The i\.eeting adjoJ.rned at
5.30
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~alherto
. C:To1. i nlle'.n J French, Co'r!Un~ s sicine r
l:n:i '; ell
Mr Richard Lavers
TJ:lit 8d::~ngdorh A~ 't e rna te
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,,'not\,ed this fact' with S2,tisfa. c~1- iOTL
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201481
:'
�RG
9~'_ _
S:=:,.·
· Entry .!1?> I ~
Box
l'
·:, .... (
'CONfIDENTIAL
19~nd ~~eting
held on 28 June 1976
I
I
\
I S Winchester E~q
Al ternate Conunissioner of the Govern
I
ment of the enited Kingdom of G1Te a t
Britain and Northern Ireland, Chal rn;~_
IV N Ivenban-Smith Esq
Alternate Commissioner of the Govern
I
ment of the United Kingdom of Gncat
Britain and Northern Ireland
rge de
Tschaikowsky
Commissioner of t
French Republic
I
Monsieur Jean
Lemperiere
rnate Cominissioner
the
ment of the French Republic
1
Mrs Ruth H
PRE'ISS XT:
I
~Ionsieur
)
I
Phill~ps
I
I
I
~Iark
Lore Esq
I
Government of
th~
I
I
GOlvern-
l
Co~nissioner of the Government of tl
United States of America
I '"
Alternate· Commissioner
the Govern
ment of the United States of Ame~ica
I
SECRETARIAT:
I
I
I
I
Colonel J A Watson OBE
I
Review
of the Con~issi6n!s adjudication of 9 June 1958 re~ardi~~
the IPolish claim in respect . of the gold of 1:he Bank of Dan:;:iC!-.
1.
I
1 The Chairman
'k~d his' colleagues if the above mer:.ti0ned
adjutlication could be reviewed in the light of the information and
requbsts contained in the A~erican Government1s note of 26 May 1976,
I
the British Government1s note of 26 May 1976 and the French Government1s
note! of 12 May 1976 (forward~d under cover
a letter
4 June 1976
from H.E. the French Ambassador) all addressed to the Commission.
The adjudication was reviewed accordingly and the .Conmission
unanimously decided that the, Polish claim was va d.
Exchanges of vie\vs f oli:b\ved regarding the drafts, which the
io p~epare, of an ~djudication supplemental
"Co the Commission1s original adjudication on the Polish clai:n in
resp~ct of the Danzig gold and of a letter unde~~cover of which the
supplemental adjudication wohld be sent to the Polish Ambassador, with
a sp~cimen of a waiver and receipt such as had always been signed by
benef~ciary countries in such cases.
.
I!
Chai~man had undertaken
I
I
I
I
/The
C ONfIDENTI.-\L
I
I
201482
\
I
I
I
\
I
�DECLASSIFJED -
AUj"!Ority~6 qCf\jDQ
..,,'I.
'I
;
By ~__ t\ARA Date 1-~:9J'
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Entry .531~
Box
A
~
C,ONFIDENTIAL
-;
I
I
I
,
I
!
The -Alternate British ::Commissionertook note of various su;;gestion",
amob others that the additional adjudication should be dated 28 J~ne
197!6 g and it was provisionally agreed that the Conunission would meet
ag~in at 3h30pm on Friday 2 July 1976.
2.
I
I
Anv other business
.:,
The Se~retary GenerGll'l; answered a number or questions from the
Fre,nch Commissioner, in particular about the manner in which the shares
of Ithe successful claimnt, countries in the gold pool had J;>een caltulatc.
I
The Secretary General' also, placed on rec~rd, at the French
Commissioner's request, the fact that the del~very to the Polish
Go~er~ent would not affect the rights of any other successful claimant;
countr~es.
_
' I
- / ' The Secretary General pointed out that the Commission IS progrflmme
had been established long ago and incorporated in its very detailed
in~erim report of3 Mar6h }971 to the three Governments. The varibus
I
given had not changed since then. 1
I
meeting adjourned at Sh30pm.
#
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'
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, Entry .531 ,~
Box
l
I
"
/
-
CONFIDENTIAL
FINAL MINUTES
TRIPARTITE COMMISSION FOR
THE RESTITUTION OF MONETARY GOLD
190th Meeting held on 17th September 1974
PRESENT.:
Monsieur Roger Labry - Commissioner of the Government of
the French Republic, Chairman
I S Winchester Esq
- Alternate Commissioner of the
Government of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland
iohn P Heimarin Esq
- Deputy Commissioner of th'e
Government of the United States
of America
I SECRETARIAT
Colonel J A Watson
I
, I
1.
Examination of th~ Situation Reached in the Case of
Czechoslovakia:
The Chairman refe~redto a letter, dated 24'July, 1974, w~ich
had. been addressed to the Commission by the Ambassador of
[
Czechoslovakia, in Bru~sels, to a letter which he (the Chairman)
I had
I
I and
received from his American colleague, on the above subject
to a letter, dated
4 September 1974, which the Secretary
)General had addressed to the American Commissioner, in reply to
a!~·inqui'ry
from the lat:ter.
conditions, which did
~ot
It appeared that, subject to
cer~ain
concern the Commission, the American
I
Commissioner was prepared to sign the Commission1s adjudication
,
!
on the claims of Czechoslovakia and that the government of that
country desired to rect;ii veits share at the Swiss Bank corporaJio'n
at Zurich, and would c()ver all costs whatsoever
arisi~g i~
the
I
United Kingdom, Americ~"" and Switzerland, in 'connec-eior~.. with th~ls.
operation.
The Chairman said:that he understood that there might be a
delay and the American 'Commissioner replied
that he had been as ked ,:to apologise.
that the meeting should continue.
th~t
this was so add
He was anxious, howeve r
,I
" , I
/The Chairman
CONFIDENTiAL
201484
�RG .5",,-'-,-'_ _
Entry .".3 ~
Box
l
a
f
' •..•. 'N "\, l
CONFIDENTIAL
~
The Chairman declared that, in principle, he was prepared to
sign the adjudication,
~ut
that he was not in
~greement
withsoJe
ftems of the proceduree'nvisaged by the United States, which he
referred to.
The,British Commissioner ,reserved his p~sition.
A
conversation followed, in the course of which the American
~ommissioner
put forward alternative suggestions with a view to
rheeting the Commission I ~" normal requirements.
I
I
The Secretary
Gene~al
asked that the fact that his
~ntire
starf had been suppressed some years earlier, as a measure of
'/ ,1,t{,t... ;:';1:'.:,.-;-:; '.~
.; ,
.
, .
'econoIIly,' should be taken! into account.
I"""The
American CommiS,Sioner said that he would arrange for all
secretarial work requir~d by the Secretary General in connection
Jith this matter to be d6ne at the American Embassy.
I
The Commission took'note of the following suggestions:
(i) ,The American Conunissioner asked that the three Embassies
in Bern be eventually requested to open an account at
'~
the Swiss Bank ,Corporation; at Zurich, in the name of
the three governments constituting the ,Commission, to be
operated exclusively and jointly by the three
CommissiJners~
also that the Swiss Bank Corporation should arrange wiJh
,the CZe'chosloya!k Gover.nment for the payment in advance
of
ali
riosts
I
w~atsoever required by itself, the Bank of
England, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and
possibly the Commission, {such as travelling expenses and
I
accommodation ),:in connection with this matter.
(ii)
The British and,, American Commissioners would arrange for
the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve ,I?anJ.<: of New
York respectively to be informed of the operation
,I
envisaged.
(iii) Once the three ,Commissioners were in. a position to sign
the adjudicatio'D., they would do so and the Secretary
General would then, in accordance with previous practic~,
send the origin,?l adjudication to the American Embassy
I
for the last pages, bearing the signatures, to be reproQuced
.
I
by the Embassy1s printing depar-tment, 140 times in French
land
CONFIDENTIAL
,I
�I
I
I.,.
I
,: .,' - - ~,--~-. _,.,' __ ...1... _ _ _ _ _ _ ,_ _
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A\J~!ority.t::wa
\00
I
REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES
. . ,- i'
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..
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(j93
!
. Entry .53
.
. Box
By~__ I\ARA Dalei~~'
a~
l
:CONFIDENTIAL
and 165 time in English, to complete the copies, at
present in the. Secretariat, of the adjudications to be
. annexed to the three governmental report to the signatbries
Reparation~
of the Paris Agreement on
would help to staple these.
The
.
Ameri~an.sta~fl
or~g~nal
adJud~cat~ons
(two in English and two in French - one of each for thl
".
claimant and for the Secretariat) would be stapled andi
I
bound at the American Embassy and returned to the Secretaria
.in due course.
(iv) The Commission:;would give instructions for transfers
totalling 18,400 Kgs of fine gold from the Bank of England
and the Federal Rese~ve Bank of New York to the Swiss
Bank Corporati~n.·
(v) . Th'~American Cqmmissioner WOUld: arrange for a Czechoslovak
.. Representative,' duly empowered, .to take over the commis11Sion I
ustial announcement,
)
acc~mpanied
by its adjudication, as
well as its delivery order on the Swiss Bank Corporation, .
against signatu1re of the Commission I s usual form of recriPt
.1
at one sitting, possibly condubted by the Secretary General.
Th~ Czech repre~entative would be asked,
in advance by ~he
American Commissioner, to agree orally at the sitting to
waive his need for a delay between his receipt of the
announcement/adjudication and his presentation of his
letter of
-,
.,,)
reply~
'.;'. ,'..... ThE(, Secretary, ...General gave details of the quantities of gold
:':2iiIia~r~~li'" as follows:
,!
t\~~:·<':· -'.; l;~ .,' , '
"'Jf/
BARS
. COINS
Kgs
Ounces
I
I
8,002.6836
257,292.251
i
8,002.683..6; '.25'7; 292.251
r
2.
.;
Any Other Business
a.
.\
r .
Payment for the Room Occupied by the Secretariat at the
British""Embassy and Services
The Secretary Genera~~ recalle4 that it had been agreed, at the
189th meeting that payment.: would be made ~or the above.
I
I
He thought
/that
I
,CONFIDENTIAL
\
I
20148G
�r':RG-Sq--·· ----.
, Entry .53 a ~
Box
l
CONFIDENTIAL
Jhat, since the minutes pf the meeting had now become final, the
!
British Commissioner
'
mig~t,
perhaps, care to take this matter up.
'This was agreed.
\
The Secretary General mentioned that he had paid 2,950 franes
I
t\,o the Embassy for an internal removal.
b.
Authority for Entries."in the Accounts
The Secretary
Gener~l
recalled that the three governments had
decided that a recovery by Czechoslovakia, after the war, of
31. 7 10 kgs of 'fine gold from the'Swiss National Bank should be
C?nSidered as having been received by Czechoslovakia on account 0lf
its .share in the gold p0Ql.
i~I
This decision had been incorporated
the Commission r s adJ'udication and taken into account in all thk
'
calculations made to
'.
date~
but no entries had been made, so
f~r,
i
in
tJe Commission's books, s"ince the adjudication had not yet been
I
'
.~
signed.
\
It was decided that
~he
above amount ,should be credited to the
g old pool and debited to Czechoslovakia in the Commi'ssion's booksJ
.
c.
I
The Secretary General recalled that he had been authorised
to hate recourse, when nesessary, to the services of Monsieur P.
Japqmot, who
h~d
been his iassistant for over twenty years and was
ve'ry familiar with the Commission's business, accounts and archives.
Ha~ing
to
I
regard to the continued increase in the cost of living and
the val~e of ?1onsieur .]',acqmot IS knowledge and his helpfulness,
he (the Secretary General) had increased Monsieur Jacqmot
IS
remuneration to 1,500 francs per visit, as from 16 September, 1974
Th~re
had been two such
vi~sits
since the beginning of the year.
1"
The meeting adjourned;' at 1730.
,!
r'
,I
�.,
-
RG
Entry ..,-3 a ~
.5=...,;':....-'_ _
Box
'~.",
FINAL VERSION
TRIPARTITE COMMISSION FOR THE RESTITUTION OF MONETARY GOLD
Agreed minutes of Meeting No 239 of the Tripartite Commission
for the Restitution of Monetary Gold held at the British
Embassy on Wednesday 19'November 1997.
Those present:
'Mr Mervyn Jones
,; Bri ti.sh Commissioner
\
M. Philippe Malo
French Commissioner
Ms Anne E. Derse
Chairman
US Commissioner
I
I
MrEmrys
Davies
_Secretary General
,
Minutes of the previous meeting
I
t.
The minutes of MeetJng No 238 held, on 26 August 1997 were
approved.
\
Meeting in London of Task Force on Compensation Fund
I
2.
There was discussion of the issues :raised by the US
Commissioner concerning the mechanics of the final
distribution. The US shared the Secretary General's concern
about the possibility of short-cuts being made in the
e:stablished procedures, particularly in relation to the
r;eceipt. In the US view i,t was also important to demonstrate a
c:lear change of title from the TGC to the claimant country
b~fore the donation to the Fund takes place.
The US also
shared the previously exp'ressed tIK'view that it would be
prudent to seek fresh waivers from each recipient country. In
the light of comments by the British and French Commissioners
ahd the Secretary General " the US Commissioner agreed to seek
further advice from Washington.
31
The Secretary General reminded Commissioners of 'the
p~ssibility ~hat speedy action might be required of the
Commission if the Compensation Fund were set up and a claimant
cbuntry wished to contribute its share to it before the London
Cdnference. The signatures of Commissioners or their Deputies
m~ght be needed at very short notice.
'
\
'
"
The Czech and Slovak Republics
4.\
I t was agreed that, in order to prevent any future'
miisunderstanding, the draft Notes fo the Czech and Slovak
Embassies in Brussels should both make reference to the Notes
rebei~ed by the Tripartite Commission from both Embassies. The
201488
I'
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__ • .
~M.'~""'~_~
RG
. Entry -"3 a~
S;::...Cf",-· _ _
IBox
'~~.,
.
.
I
2
I
. . '
.
Frenc h Comm~ss~oner·undettook to provide French vers~ons of
Doth Notes. The Secretary General would then ensure that the
English version was consistent with the French version, and
issue the Notes to the Czech and Slovak Embassies.
I
!
I
~he
successor states of the Former Republic of 'Yugoslavia
5\
There was discussion of the way forward in dealing with
t~e successor states of the former Yugoslavia in the light of
the decision by the Republic 'of
llrtter of 3 November to the TGC
Minister, to renounce iti'share
fhvour of the Jewish victims of
a~peared to be three opti6ns:
~roatia,
announced in the
from the Croatian Foreign
.
of the final distribution in
Nazi persecution. There
.
(a)
The issuing of five identical Notes to the five
\
successor states on the lines of the draft enclosed with the
s~cretary General's lette~ of 15 October 1997 (see Annex A):
that to the Croatian representative would be accompanied by a
s~parate Note responding specifically to the Croatian
dEkcision.
\
(b)
The issuing ofa comprehensive Note to the Croatian
representative on the lines of the draft in Annex B and four
identical notes to the ot~er four successor states on the
lines of the draft in Annex A•
.~
(c)
Th'e issuing of
comprehensive note to the Croatian
.\
representative on the lin~~ of th~ draft in Annex B and four
identical notes to the other four successor states on the
lihes of the draft in Annex A but amended by the addition of a
pa~agraph which would adapt the texts of paragraphs 3 and 4 of
thl:! comprehensive draft to" the Croatian representative and
drhw the attention nf the recipients to the possibility of
cohtributing their final share of the gold pool to
cokpensating the victims of Nazi persecution. See Annex C.
\
Gold on Deposit with the Bank of England
I
6.
The British Commissioner informed his colleagues that, up
to the middle of November, '.the gold on deposit had earned the
TGC a total of £227,724.58. Commissioners agreed that it might
we]l be possible to roll-over the deposit for a further month
after the present period du.e to - " on 15 December ~ The
end
i
,
Secretary General was asked to consult Comm~ss~oners on or
abdut 7 December.
7.
The Secretaiy.General ~asalso asked to discover whether
it might be possible to put thegol~ on deposit for less than
onelmonth. (Following discussion with the. Bank of England the
Secretary General confirmed,that this was not practicable.)
I
'
I
.
201489
�RG
S;::..'1-,-·_ _
Entry ..,.3 !I ~
Box .~:- ...
3
Secretary General -Insurance Cover
I
~.
It was agreed that a decision would be made by the end of
qanuary1998 concerning ~he funding of insurance cover for the
Secretary General for a second eighteen-month period after the
durrent period (end July.'1997 to end NovEHnber 1998).
\
.
,
.
TGC Office Rental
.
.
.
.
t~e
9\. It was agreed that the· Secretary General should pay
rr=nt for the TGC' s office., in the British Embassy up to the end
of February 1998 and that he should take an early opportunity
tb raise with the British Joint Management Office the
.
p~ssibility of staying o~:in the current office rent-fre~
after the end of February~for the duration of the TGC's
e~istence - which. was likely to be only a short peri6d. In the
light of the response, it ,might be for consideration to take
. up the suggestion made by. the French Commissioner that the TGC
move to rent-free accommogation in the French Embassy. Given
t~at the TGC'sarchives w9uld eventually be moved to Paris,
t~ere might be practical advantages in such a move.
I
Tl TGC' s
Archives
. , : ..
10\. The French Commissiorter proposed to initiate discussions
with the appropriate officials in Paris: no doubt a visit to
Brhssels would be useful a~ might a visit by the Secretary
. Geheral to Paris.
I
The London Conference -
th~Secretary
General's Paper
11.\ The US Commissioner raised a number of points about the
draft of the Secretary General's paper, suggesting inter alia
th~t it be expanded by the Jnclusion of more detailed factual
inf\ormation and cover in greater det.;iil the origins of the
golld in the gold pool. The British Commissioner expressed
concern that the Secretary ,General's paper should not stray
intb strictly non-TGC terri:tory, especially into areas on
which the TGC itself had lrt:tle information. The US
Cominissioner agreed to seek:' early clarification from
Washington, particularly regarding the suggestion that the
pap~r should deal with TGC'9roie in the recovery of the gold.
The TGC's Final Report
12. \The need to finalise the draft of the TGC's final report
to the three Governments was noted as was the need f6r a
dec~sion on the nature of the report by the three Governments
to ~he Signatories of the Paris Agree~ent. The work of
prod\ucihg French versions of! these reports ought to be
undertaken soon.
,.
201490
�RG S:....;'1'---_
Entry $3/~ ,
Box
'~.
,',.
4
Danzig
I
13. The British Commissioner reported that the Commission had
:l:-eceived a communication, from what purported to be the
tGovernment-in-Exile of the ~ree City of Danzig". The three.
Governments would need to decide whether a res~onse would be
~ppropriate and, if so, what form that response should be
t.ake.
I
I,
,
,
Ghal.rmanshl.p
I,
"
]4. There was discussion of the ChairmanEihip of the Commission
~rom 1 January 1998. It was agreed that following further
rleflection, a decision slt,ould be made after the Lond<;n
"
C10nference ,although the matter had already been decl.ded l.n
principle at the TGC meeting of 22 May 1997. The British
Cbmmissioner said that, if for operational reasons it would be
mbre convenient, he would be content to retain the Chair.
,
\
" ' ,
The next meeting
I
15. It was provisionally ~greed that, depending on the 6utcome
o~ the London Conference,' the next meeting would be held on 17
.,'
...
D£kcember 1997.
****************
,.'
201.191
" .
�"=i{f"~$9-'- "
,-:
...
(
Entry "'-0 I ~
Box ".3··
--~.-.-.~-,.--
c 0 NF IDE·N T I A L
T RIP ART [ T E ~ 0 M MIS S ION
FOR
THE
-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
RESTITUTION'
0 F M 0 N'B TAR Y
G0 1 D
-::-=.;....:-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-="
':
'REPORT TO THE GOYERNMEW'S OF
T~
UNITED STATES OF MIERICA.
THE UNITED KINGOOM OF GREAT BR£TAIN A@ NORTHERN IRELAND
.AND FRANCE.
,
v9
L U ME
III
-=~-=-=-=~-=-=-
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
I
9
20149 ,t-
�C ~:A PTE R
I
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
I.
THE GOLD (AND WLLAR AND POUND) ACCO!JNTS
1. The accounts at the Federal·
Reserv~
Bank of New York.
(a) How these were opened and operat~d.
The first of the account~ was onened, without prior intervention
of the Commi ssion, at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on June 6, '1)47.
The bank wrote to the Commission, on June 26, 1947, stating that it had been
requested by the Banque Nationale Suisse~ at Berne, to release not less thRn
1,659,119.140 fine ounces of gold from its account with them and to hold
such amount at the disposal ot :the Commission. The bank added that it had
been lnfonned that this transf~r reoresented a oayment agreed between the
AIJled Governments concerned arid Switzeriand under the Washington Agreement
of 1946 and that, Qursuant to an authorization and instructions of the
.
United States Treasury Deoartment, acting as fis::a. ag·ant of the United States,
it had o:)ened a gold account on its books, on June 6, 1947, in the name of
the Commissi.on and had earmarke,d in its 'vaults for this account 4,0]1 United
St"ltes Assay Office gold b9l"s containing 1,659,121.)21 Troy ounces of fine
gold. A coPY of the Bank's letter of June 26,1947, il3 attached hereto as
Anllex
12.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's lett!lr crossed, in the nost,
letter dated June 24, 1947~ from the Commission, which had been prep9l"ed
oy the Commissioner of the United States, addressed to the Secretary of State
of the Un! ted States requesting:l that the FederBl Reserve Bank of New York
ShOllld be authorized and iostruqted, through the Secretary of the Treasury of
tho United States, to open a dollar account and 8. gold custody account in the
name of the Commission on its bOoke. This same letter contained a list of the
duly 'l.uthenttcated dgnatures of the Commissioners and,Deputy Commissioners
authorized to ooerate the two accounts and the Commission's acceptance of the
general conditions of the bank governing the operation of accounts of this
nature. Later, on November 19, 1947, the Bank wrote to the Commission, giving
details of the special and permanent authorizations, governing the operation
of the two accounts, whieh it had received from the Secretary of the Treasury
of the United States and information regarding the bank's charges. Put very
briefly, the bank made no charge' for holding gold for the Commission under
earmark and made its usual charge for the actual labour costs of receiving,
checking, weighing, delivering and handling gold for the account.
rt
As and when changes took olace in the composition of,the Commission,
t.hese changes were notified to the bank and certified ()opies or originals of
the author Lties for such changes:, and authenticated spe<:imens of the signatures
of the new Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners were furnished. Copies of,
such notificationa were sent, through the Commissioner of the United States,
to the Secretary of State of the ynited States ,for the :lntbrm!ll::l.on cf 'Ihl Tret;sury •
(b) Th, Commission'a stetus under United States law.
With regard to the Commission's status, in law, as an account
holder and to the question of immunitl from attachment, the action which \01803
Itaken sho\ols that the Commisaion ";'as held 10 be a jaridical person and that it \oIas
,conSidered that gold deposited in: its /name would be immune, by virtue of the
Commission's establishment by the, three Governments and its compOSition,
'from attachment in the United States.
I
I
2/ .....
,
....
201·193
�I
'
...,~ ___.__._____ ~__ ~. ____.
~~{t
. DECLASSIFIED
I ...",. -_.- --", .
REPROOUCED.A!~NA~~~~~~~,c;~
.j . J'
J
! ,,:,
t,:
1A1ju!on\Y~ ::L!:.:dDO
,,'
t:\m
I
By ~__ ~ABA Date ~(lqj'
. .,.,..• .,.!..~,--¥-.~!.~--,'
:
'
RG--"s(F"
=-.;;---
Entry .".3 II ~
Box " B,
~~~~---
- :c
The gold account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was
the only gold account to be opened in Ithe Commission's own name. It was
oJene~ in this manner by decision of the three Governments and, as a
resullt of their action, the Commission became their agent, pursuant to
P"lr9graph 5 (e) of its Terms of Referen'ce, for the ooeration of the
I
'
account. The three Commissioners (and their [)eouties) were automaticalJy
empow~red to sign, jointly, all instru!ctions to the bank since they
const~ tuted the Commission. As will be seen later, a different procedure
was adooted in regard to the gold accounts at the Bank of England and at
the Bbk of France.
: ,
\ ' Each central bank has its .own rules and practice governing the
holding of gold and the ooening of gold accounts and the status, in law,
I
'
of ac<;ount holders and the laws and 9recedent governing attachment vary
depending on the country in which the accounts are kept.
(c) The rules governing the holding of rold bars and coins in
the United States and the Qroblems which arose.
In the c~se of the FederAl Reserve Bank of New York, it would
a:.>flear\, from thecorr~spondence exchanged with that bank, that the latter,
norm.~lly, holds only United States Assay Office gold bars, which are the
only b:'lrS which are good delivery on the American market. The bllrs-rre set
<\slde ,in the bank's vaults under earmark for the account holders' account
and thk latter receive from the bank a .Jist of the bars held and a firm
credlt in respect of these bars in Troy, ounces of fine gold.
The bank was inclined, upon receiving foreign bars Imd coins, to
hAve these melted down and converted into United States Assoy Office bars.
This oberatLon entails certain costs an<;i 11 loss in melting.
\
There are 'lbout 26 different types of gold bRrs whi.ch are good
deHvery on most of the European markets and most gold coins have a
recognUzed value and are oreferred by many countries to bars. Since the
countrUes with which the Commission waB concerned were all European and,
therefdre ,accustomed to receiving bars 'recognized as good deli;'ery bars
on the I\main EuroDean' markets as well as foreign gold coins having a
recognized vA,lue, the Commission enquired whether there would be any
objecti1on to the setting aside by the Federal Reserve Bl'I11k of New York of
bars an1d coins answering the above description, intact, for its account,
as well! as all United States coins (whi.ch are only redeemable at their
face va1
1ue in the United States). Thifi orocedure was agreed but the bank
only gaVe a "said to contain" credit for such bars and coins. Miscellaneous
gold bai-s which were not good delivery on the Eurooean markets and muti.lated
and uni~entifiable coins were, converted Jnto United States Assay Office bars.
I
\
2. The accounts at the Bank of England.
(a) The Question which arose regarding the security from attachment
of any gold belonging to the pool which might be transferred to
the Bank of England.
I'
This question was first raised within the Commission at a t-1Get.ing
in Sentember 1947. On February 7, 1948, the United Kingdom Commissioner wrote
to his ~rench colJeague, in reply to "l. question which the l;.ltter h9.d raised
at a He'3ting on the orevious day, informi.'ng him that he had. t.aken this
questionl up with his Government and t.l::lt :·the position loins '"-s follows:
J/ .....
�RG
S.;;,;..'1,;;..;., _ _
E,ntry 110 a~
Box .' 3
-" 3
It was extremely difficult' to reDly precisely to this query
since no precedent existed and, ther7fore, there was no Court ruling to
vhidh reference could be made.
I
The Bank of England was of \he opinion that a mlnlmum risk
vould arise, insofar as concerned gold deposited in the United Kingdom,
if the gold were held on Treasury account for the Commission.
I
RS
Gold held in this way would be ftt least as safe from attachment
gold held for the Commission in the Feqeral Reserve Bank of New York.
I
Her Majesty's Treasury had,stated that gold on deposit in the
BanK of England in the name of the Commission would enjoy e, status similar
to that of gold deposited by the central bank and monetary authority of a
I
'
sovere ign State.
1
I
The Treasury would secure the bank against all risks and liab.iJities
arising out of the account as was cus:tomary witli Treasury accounts.
I
It is clear from what rrece'des that it was ori.ginally intended
that the account at the Bank of England should be ooened in the name of
the ICommission, as had been done in respect of the account at the Federal
Resirve Bank of New York. As a resul~ of further consultations between the
t.hree Governments , it was, however, finally decided to open the account in
the Iname of "His Majesty's Treasury qn account of "the Governments of the
United States, the United Kingdom and France uu , as will be seen from the
leteer, dated March 9, 1948, from the Treasury of the United Kingdom to the
Gov~rnor and Deputy Governor of the Benk of England, a coPY of which is
at t~ched hereto as Annex 13.
(b) The decision to transfer the "Frankfurt gold" to the'Bank
of England.
As will be seen later, the ,main portion of the gold 0001 was found
by the United States Forces in a salt: mine at Merkers, ill Thuringia, and
tran1sferred to the United States Fore':i.gn Exchange Depository at FrMkfurt.
Somel of thif'l gold wal'! delivered direc:t from Frankfurt in the :1reliminary
distribution,. referred to brlef1y in Volume I, Chapter III, Section 10,
and 'which will be described in detail' in Chapter III hereafter, but after
thisl had been done, there still remained some 4,000,000 fine ounces of
1.n the Deoository.
~!lrly
:\
in 1948, the Commissloners received letters from
their
res pact i va Governments informing them that the three Governmen L!:J had decided
t.hftti the ~old held by their respective Renresentati ves in Germ9.1lY should. be
remolved to the Bank of England and to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
'lnd lauthorizing the Commissioners (or their Deouties) to act jointly as
Renresentati ves of their respec live Governments for the purl10se of issuing
suchl requests and making such arrange'ments as might be necessary to th i s
effect. These letters further .9.utborized the Commissioners (or their
Depu~ies) to act, jointly, as Represe,ntatives of their resr);)ctive Governments
for the ournose of operating the gold. account ooened at the Bank of England.
Copies of the letters dated' February 25 and March 12, ]948, which
were received by the CommissiOner of 'the United States of Americl'l from his
Government, are attached/hereto as Annexes 14 and·15. Co~ies of the letter~,
bothl d!":lted March 1, 1948~ which were received by the Commissi.oner of the
Uni ted Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelfL11d from his Government, A,r~
atta~hed hereto as Annexes 16 and 17 ,;, and a COQy of the let-v~r, dated 1>1arch 2,
1948~ which was received by the Commissioner of the French Re:rublic frum hi!",
Government, is attached hereto 'lS AOII~X 18!
i.I ... ..
:201495
�RG
S'1
"'--"~---
Entry ..,-31 :l
Box . 3
- 4
. It will be observed that it was left to the Representatives of
the th·ree Governments on the Commissi on to decide how the pool should be
di videb between the Bank of England and: the Federal Reserve Bank of New.
York. " he Secretariat of the Commission,: furnished a comprehensive renort
on the rossibili ti,~s in regard to despatch from Germany, in rl:lgard to
transoprt and in regard to reception i~the resoective centr~ll bank~ and
gave details as to costs of trans:)ort,risks and insurance. The clalmant
countr!ies were, also, asked whether they would nrefer to receive gold
I
'
.
alloca,ted to them at the Bank of England or at the Federal Reserve Bank
of New York. The three Representatives ex~ined the position from all
Rngles in the course of a number of Meetings and arrived, unanimously,
at the conclusion that the interests of;' the pool ",:ould best be served I)y
deHve,ring the whole of the Frankfurt gold to the Bank of England. One
of thei re'lsons for this decision was that the total cost of trRnsnort,
i!l~;l1r"lnce and of the necessary arrangements for dell very to London
'llllount!ed to only one third, approximately, of what it would have cost, to
send t'hfl gold to New York. The three Re,:Jresentati ves advised accordingly
and A]h the FrFifikfurt gold was, finally, sent to the Bank of England.
(c) The opening of the a,ccount.
The three Rer)resentatives wre,te, on March 18, 1948, to the
Governor of the Bank of England, referdng to the letter which the Tre!lsury
of thel United Kingdom had addressed to ,the bank on March 9, :).948, request Lng
that al gold account be oneMd, on the bimk's usual terms, and giving the
signatures of the Renresentatives and their Deputies authorized to oper:l.te
the ac:count. Although it was not the Commi ssion but the RenresentRti ves who
were acti!1g as ggents on this occasion, it was found convenient to use the
Commislsion's usual letter-heads when writing to the uank and no objectLon
was r~ised.
.
I
I As and when change s took rJlade in the body of RepresentB.ti ves,
these chAnges were notified to the bank, su?ported by certified coni.es or
origin1als of the authorities for such changes and a cO"y of the notification
WHS fo1rwarded by the Re:Jresentative of .the United Kingdum t? the Treasury of
the Un!ited Kingdom. It is, ~lerhl'l.:)s, not' unnecessary to mention here that the
three Governments imrA-riably designated.. their res"'ective Commissi.oners for
th8 Reist i tution of Monetary Gold to act 'l.S their R!'lpresentatives Cor the
I
.
8
nur:,osl of
T::e::::~:tt:: :::dB::o::t:~~; hnd \"as opened on Mny 20,
]948,
when a 1U!U1tlty of gold handed over to 'the three Governments ~)y the Government
of fium1atlia was delivered to the bank and the flrst consignment of gold from
r'r>l,.kf~rt was enterad in the books of the bank <)11 July J2, ly/,g.
(d) The rules governing the holding of gold bars and coins I3.t
the Bank of England.
The pr'3.ctice of the Bank of England with regard to the recei"t Qr
gold differed, un to December 1, 1955, .from that of the Federal Reserve Bank
of Newi York. Gold bars which fe 11 within one of the 26 categorie8, or so,
which were considered good delivery on ·the london market, wer':3 freely t-lccepteu
and th~ bank gave a firm credit in Troy ounces in respect of such barfl. B3rs
which Lere not good deUvery on the Lon'don market were melted down and
I
.
converjted into good deli very bars. Good dellvery bars were not held sepoT"t.e
for each customer, as is the c':lse at the Federal Reserve BIU\k of New York.
They w~re still kent senarate from the bank's o\~'1 gold but Lhe bank, whuri i.L
executrd'ill order given by a custoInt1 r ,rnerely debited the l"JU,~r"s gold b'lr
FlCCOUfl
with the exact amount of the order tn fine Troy ounces of Io:old. [C
the trl'insaction involved delivery of gJld outsi.de the Banlc, the indi.vidu'Jl
u!\rS d~Jjv')red were not necess'1.riJy selected from the identic;~J bars rt.)t;:e~.vud
Cr'om th,·) customer.
"
r
5/ .. ...
"
:'
�RG S'I
.;;.;.....;---
Entry .,-3 I ~
Box
.-3
- 5..
As from December 1, 1955, however, the bank reverted to a
previo1us practice which conslsted in the setting aside of specific bars
for thle bar gold holdings of their customers and they orop0l:ied that
this system should be applied, as fr.om ;December 1, 1955, t.o the gold
held ~or the account ooerated by the Commission. The latter accepted.
This meant that, as from the above-mentioned date, transactions in bar
gold ~ad to be made for the account in 'c.omplete bars.
'
I
J~~ed b~~::::-the
With regard t.o coin, it was
bank and the .
three Hepresentati ves that the bank W.ould ,set aside the gol::!. coins
receiv~d for the acc.ount .of the three Governments after weighing against
the we~ght indicated on the bag labels. The bank was unable, owing to
the na~ure and volume of the consignment, to examine individual coins and
was reUeved of responsibiHty or liability in respect of any counterfeit
or fal1se coins which 'might be found amohg the coins in questi.on. Such
counteirfei t or false coins were, in fact, found when deli veries werill mad,~
and small differences were made good by' means of additional deliveries.
The nhe ounce credit which was given by the bank' in respect .of all the
co.ins'tt recelved was described by, the ,bank as "the crtlculated content of
. sundry gold coLi set aside for the account ll •
The bank's practice, up to December 1, 1955, simplified the
Commission' s book-kee ping and the drawing up of deli very orders since it
was alWays I)ossible to deliver the exact amount in fine ounces which it
was debred' to hand over, whereas the F.ederal Reserve Bank of New York' s
posslb~1i ties in this respect were limi,ted by what could be made un from
the bfirs actually set aside for the Commission's account.
With regard to charges, the bank originally levied a safe-custody
charge of t %0 on receipt of the gold which was delivered to it for the
account of the three Governments. based' on the number of fine ounces rece i.ved
and
~o for each three months or oart thereof during the peri.od the gold
was se~ aside. These charges, however, were based on the assumption that
the go~d depos i. ted would be held for a :very short period [lnd, following uoon
a demarche made by the Secretary General of the Commissi.on, in consultation
with the Chairman, the Bank agreed, on March 18, 1949, to refund to the
account of the three Governments a portion amounting to £27,760.12.3 of the
total ~afe-cu3tody charges amounting to £34,510.]2.3 which it had levied up
to that date and to reduce its charges thereafter to £500 oe r three months
,
or part thereof;. Later, on May 21, 1952, 'When further deliveries had been
made from the account, the charge was r~duced to £250 per thr!~e months or
oart thereof, and later still, on September 1, 1958, when the major portion
~f thel quasi final distribution had beeh effected, the charge was reduced
'7 to £125 ger three months or part thereof. Thls amount WIlS further reduced
": to £87 1
.10.0 per three months or part th~reof as from June 1, 1967, as a
result! of a demarche made by Her Majesty's Government following upon 3.
unanimous resolution of the Commission whIch had considerably reduced its
expend~ture lind had suggested that, since the Federal Reserve Bank of New
York did not levy safe-custody charges,the Bank of England might, perhaps,
be periruaded to waive future ch:u-ges in thLs respect. Handling, assay,
melting, refining /lnd other exceptional' charges were, of cour:se, claimed
seoarately by the bank in accordance with its usual practice.
t
'
6/ ......
�RG s:..,q;;...·_ _
Entry.",3 a ~
Box ".-3 .
.
'
.'
,). The oroblems which arose in connection with "said to contain" and
o:ther similar forms of credit and how the Commission dealt with them.
occasi~n
!,
I
.I
,j
~',
\
It was on the
of
delivery of gold by the Government'
of S~eden to the gold pool that the C,Ommission considered the policy it .
would adof)t in regard to bars and coins which were described as "said to
conthn" a certain number of Troy ounces of fine gold. One of its functions
I
"
under its Terms of Reference W'iS "to announce the total value of the pool
I
"
ll
of monetary gold • The Commission, therefore, had to decide whether the,
accebtance of credits on a "said to contain ll basis w~s compntible withi ts
obI ikations under its Terms of Refererice. As will have been seen, the
problem arose in connection with gOld'bars (other than United States Assay
Offibe bars) at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and with gold coins
both at the latter bank and at the Ban,k of England.
I
\
I
I
vi
The only way in which a firm credit could have been obt"iineo.
wou14 have been to have had all the bars at the 'Federal Reserve Bl'Hlk ot
New York which wer(~ not United States 'Assay Office bars and, also, all the
colnd, melted down and converted into .United St'l.tes Assay Office bars ,md
to hJve had the coins at the Bank of ~ngland sent to a re:inery for
conve:rsion into bars of good delivery 'on the London market. These o[JerHtions
would hAve entailed a loss in melting and comparatively hir,h costs for
handl!ing, trnnsDort, melting, .<\.ssaying'j etc '" This was cleaT ly unnect'; ssary
Find undesirable.
.'
r.Olic~r
\
The Commission dec ided that it would be good
and in the
interest of all concerned that the above-mentioned bars and coins should be
set a~ld8 Intact, without conversion,' for eventual delivery to the claim~t
counthes and it ,,,-uthorized the Secret~ry (lener::Ll to consider the "said to
cootcin" flnd ot..her similar .::redits as firm credits for the ourCloses of the
Cornmi~si.on' s book-kee::Jing. The Commissi:on decided that the replacement of an
odd counterfeit or false coin from the '0001 would cost considerably less and
oresflrlt Jess disadvantages than the conversion of these coins i.nto bars. It
did, However, decide that it would reproduce the "said tJ contain" fonnula
Ln thel announcement which, at the time ,of writing this r~rod" h'ls not yet
been m1ade, of the total value of the 0001 avai19ble for distribution as .
follow1s : " •...• Troy ounces (or •...• ' kilograms) of fine gold contained or
saj d t6 he cont''lined in gold bars and bags of gold coinsl!.
I•• The account at the Bank of France.
Cont~ol Com:nissio~
\
On Jun,e 14, 1951, the 'r'inanci'!'l-l J..dviser,
f,:)1'
Gerrnany, British Element, wrote to the Secretary Gener"l of thn Commlsslon,
l nforming him that i in accord'lnce with instructions received from 11 i. s
NBjesty's Government i.n the United Kingdom, the British t:lement of 1,he
Al1iedl High Commission for Germa.llY was I\old~n~ at. the disnosaJ, ~f the
,
Commission some 2,350 kilograms of f,old, orlglnatlng from depOSIts m....de In
the Brl tish Zone of German:! in .accord r U1co wHh the proviBions of Hi 1 i tary
Goverruhent LAW 53.
.
\
The Commission originally thour,ht of deoositing this gold at the
Bank of. England, where a gold accou.nt waa already open, and the Secret,Try
Gener'l] began to make arrangementsacGordingly.
.
The French Comm.i.ss.i.oner !3ugge~;ted,· however, lit a Meetill t; on
,June 27, J.951, that the gold should be ~ent to the Bank of Fnmce where it
would be conveniently situated for deli.very to FrDnce, via ilel~iwn, tn some
future Idistribution. It was Rgreed thrtt :\.11e French Commissi.oner would tak'~
til is ma~ ter up with his Government.
"
7/ .... :
"
201498
�RG
S;:;....'I;;...;,.._ _
Entry43a~
'3,"
Box
,, 7
On August'21, 1951, the Fr~nch Ministry of Finance addressed
a let te r, a cony of which is attached hereto as Annex 19 , t.o the Governor
of' the Bank of France, requesting him to ODen an aCCOU'lt in the name of
the three Governments, giving the nantes of the Renresentatives of the
three Governments authorized to operate the account and asking the Governor
to dommun.lcate with the Secretary GeI}eral of the Commissi.on who would make
the necessary arrnngements for thede'livery of the goJd.
I
Monsieur Pol Gargam, the Secretary General of the Bank of France,
Hho \wa::; also the Commissi.on's princinal o~rmanent non-resi.derit expert,
ther1euoon asked the Secretary Genera~; of the Commission to come to Puris
for ,\the ourpose of examining with the bank the formall ties to be '\ccomnllshed
w l th a view to ooening the gold account.
The meeting took rlace on August 24, 1951. It was attended by
!l i.gh officials of the bank, including the Secreta.ry General of the li/iIlk,
the 9hief Cashier and the Head of the Legal Dep'P'tment, who pointed out that
the il.etter addressed to the bank by the French Ministry of Finance was based
onlyi ul,on 11 verbnJ agreement of the three Governments. They said that, in
the event that an attempt should be made to attach the gold which WHS to he
de poki ted at the bank, it would be necessary for the bank to produce Ii
re'1u~st in writing from e!3.ch of the tHree Governments that an account should
be ohen in their names. A formal communication to this effect from both t.he
Gove~llment of the United States and the Government of the United Kingdom was,
in the view of the bank, essential. .
The account would be opened' under the following 'heoding :
,
ltGouvernement des Etats-Unis d' Amerique, Gouvornerr,ent du
ItRoynume-Uni de Grande-Bretegne at d'IrlMde du Nord,
"Gouvernement de la RepubJique FrMgaise, conj ointement et
"indlvisement (accord du V.. 'janvier 1946, dt§cret du
"5 mars 1946 et arrete mini steri el du 27 sentembre 1946) II.
The bank also requested that', shice the Commiuli0ners would be
ncting as Representatives of their resoectlve Governmem:, 1'or the nurnose
of o~eraUng the account, their instructions to the ba.rlk should be headed
liThe ~errcsentativcs' of the Governments of the United Stutes, the United
Ki IIgdorn a,nd Fp'Ulce It •
\
The' Secretary Genernl of the Commission, referring to the question
of the special Jetters whicb '..,rere requ:ired fC0m the Gov8rnments of the
UnitetI States 'HId of the United Kirlgdom, poInted out th''lt, although he could
not n~t'judge any decisions whi.ch the three runresentut,ives m:cght toke, he
t.hougllt thut, since the orocerlure which.had been adonted, orIor to the
meetli1i;, was the same as had be<;n used when the account at the U,Ul:, of
Erlglruld had been opened,. the Representatives of the United Stutes and oj' the:
United Kingdom mi~ht, oerhaps, be r.FJluctant, fit t~at stage, to ask their
resne6UvF) Governments to accom,di::;h additional formali ties.
fn~t,
Fn~nch
\
This turned out to be, in
the case and it wus the
Government which, finally, made anapnroach to the Goverrunents oC the
Unltect Kingdom and of the UnHed StAte~. The latt.er furnished, in due
cours~, leiters, dat,-,d respectively SelJtember 28 and October 11 ~ 1951,
copied of which are attached hereto Rs·i.Annexes 20 and 21, for the use of th"l
bank.
8/ .....
,
"
J,
201499
�RG
Entry .53 i ~
Box' 3-
S.;:;....'1"--- _ _
1
,I
"
The three Represen tRi.i ves thereu~on addressed formal
comn;unications, dated October 12 I'\nd ,I}, 1951,. to the blll1k, giving
s:1ec;ilnens of their signatures and requesting that some 2,)00 kilogrAll1s,
whi.ch were to be sent from the British Zone of Occupation in Germa.ny
to tbe bank, should be accepted, for the account which, by that time,
had been opened.
, -I
The gold \Jas subsequently r'iown, without charge, ,to the bank
by H.trcrRft of the Royal Air Force and the first entry in the account
WIlS tlated Oc t.ober 17, 1951.
•
I
The Bank of Fr<U1ce did not levy safe-custody charges but madfJ
its usual charges in resnect of handling, assaying and refining.
After converting such gold as waS not good delivery into
good deli very bars, the bank set '"side the indi vtdual bars so convert,,:'d
'lnd the good deJ.ivery bars and coins received for the account, furnished
Ml ih',entory th,"reof and gave -'3 firm credit in kLJognms in res[lect. of
thei ~ content.
Chrmgc's in the composition pf U',e body of the RE"lresentatlves
wer~, n0tHif:d t·) the bank lo Rccord(1ll::e with the rrocedure \Jbict l has
'lll'eadv Deon de;:;crlbed in the cases of the two other b8Jlks FlJ'ld a cO:Jy
or die" not! f'iciltlon W1-lS sent by the French Representative to the french
",nitc, or n,,"oo.
5.
H0W
:'
reg,uests for [lur::>oses of audi tl'were de\ilt wi th;
I
Requests for informlltion or':confjrmRtions recei veci,
com'!';lr-3ti vely frt'!quently, from the vat;ious auditors of tht'! banks were
de'.lt Wt th ':Jy the Secrettlry Genen13, under 8. fl:l8clal 8uthori ty notif'i.ed
1.0 t~e banks by the Commiflsi oners wh08e signRture s wer':' not lIlw·'lYs
Clvadable, jointly, at short notice.
'
9/ .....
!
)
.
�5 '1 ____
___
Entry .,-3 I ~
RG
Box
. 3,
- 9
C HAP T E
II
~
.-=-:::-=-=-::::-=~-=-=
THE POOL OF MONETARY GOLD
1. The two i tern;:; of information regu ired Cor the purl/ose of detF'lrm ir!J..!.lR
til!l shllr,!s tn _t.ho ",old !lOr) 1 I\V'1 i 11lhle j;o,' refit.Ltll.~Lr2!Ll.Q...!.!!\,jl
t!~~'i'~'lIJ.Hl:',u dW!!!1!LL. !l!.l.lJ.!lll'.'L'
'
Thesl.~ were, on the one hllnd, ,'the amounts of Lhe cla'tms of' !~:H~h
"()I'ltlLry round e:lt,<\h] L:lhed by the C;nmml.:':sioll 'Ind, on Ule oth(~r'. tilt) In:-d
'1:lllw I~t· I.he p001 of mOfloL'lry 1501d'3.v!d,lRble for disl.riiJuLion to ttl,',:;,;
C()UntrHl!i,
.
\
A rec'1pi Lulfltory sch(!dule of the cbims found est,.L,,I i.shed I:fts
f,Lv(m i.n Lhfl J",st Ch rlpter of Volwne I. The relev':\rtt adjudicutions
have lleen quoted in full in 'lolume II. ;
')(lell
The next i. tern of information required for t.he ourposes or U.e
cHlcuhtion W9S the total value of the 0001 of monetary gold. The latter,
thereDore, form:: the subject of the ore sent chapter.
i'
,i.
The res:·)e..:ti.ve rolf;s 0[ the thre8 Governments and of the COInOllSsiDn
in Ithe assembl Lng of the gold 0001 •.
I
I
Ch\~1ter
As will have heen seen in
II of Volume I, where the
functi0rlS. ,ire described In:det'lLl, the ne.'~oti.:ttions wi,tll
neutra!l countries for the surrender ot' gold to the nool of monetAry gold
we re chnducted by the three Governments, 'l,nd all decisions T'l:,.gnrding what
shouldlor should not be nut into the Dool rested exclusi vely with them.
Once they bad decided, however, that a certai n quantity of gold should be
I
,
'
adJed to the pool, they nee.rly Ilh/ayS ertrusted the CormnissLon with the
sor:1etires comnlicated task of arranging:for the physic"l delivery of the
Itold to one of t.he three ii.9.!1kn Ln which the pool was I'!.s~>embled.
C;()r,lmis~ian's
n~t
-,
. \
Although the Commission was
re:nonsible for deciding what
f,0ld sVouJd be nut into the 8001, i t was a 'Jart of .its functions, under
I''lr'lgrl:l.ph 5(c), to announce, in due course, the totll.l v8.1ue of 'the nool
'tV'l Lhhle for resti tut ion to each country anti tled to D3.rtiC1.i):IL0 .in it..
It, th~refore, took cognizOJlce of all deliveries made to the eold 1)001 '1.3
n result. of negotiaUons by, or' instructions from, the three Government-s.
J. The composition of the gold 0001.
The gold making un the nool CIID, c:onven.iently, be class:~fiod
under twenty-three he"ldings, !1 list of which is given below, i.n the ord~r
in wbidh the gold was entered in the books of t.h·,! banks in whicb i t W/1S
deoos l ted or I tn those cases where the gold W&5 delivered direc tly to a
cl~im,ult country without ::Jass Lng through 9. bank, in the order in which it
was en~ered i.n the gold accounts k8pt hy the Cornmi ~,sion on !)Cll·.df 0[' the
I
'
f·
throe GovL~rilments.
10/ .....
,I
1.
201501
�i
!i
- 10
(j)
Gold recel ved from t.he Governme'nt of Switzerland.
(ii )
Gold delivered by the Commander-in-Chief of the United States
Forces in Germany directly to the Governments of France (on
account of the Governments of B~lgium and Luxemburg) and of
the Netherlands.
.
i;
(ii.i.)
Gold delivered to the pool by the Government of Rumania.
(i v)
The "Frankfurt gold".
(v)
Gold received fnm the Bank for Internation'll Settlements for
deli.very to the 0001.
:;"
(vi)
Gold delivered to the
:1001
by the Government of Spain.
(vi 1)
Gold delivered to the
0001
by the Goverr~ent of Sweden.
(viU.)
Gold delivered to the pool by the Comman<il.Lng General, Uni.ted
St~tes Forces in Austria.
:.
( i x)
Gold del ;vered to the pool by the Powers administering the
d.is:Josa] of· German assets in Jaoan.
(x)
Gold delivered direct to the Gi?vernment. of YugoslaviH.
( xi)
"Law 53 gold" delivered to the pool by the British Element of
thf.l AU ted High Commission for: Germany.
(x i i )
Gold, fl!::lrl to be Germsn Reich prorerty, seized on the "erson of
fl Germ[l,n agent in the British Zone, Austria, and deHvered Lo
the nool.
(xiU)
"L:iw 5) f',old" collected in the,: American Zone, Germ:my, de 1 i vered
to the 0001.
(xiv)
"Ll1w 53 gold" collected in the' French Zone, Germ1l11.Y, and
delivered to the nool.
Gold seized from the former German Legat.i on in Lisbon IU1d from
the former Germ'u1 Emb9.ssy in Madrid and two [';o.ld coins colJcdf:lcl
in the AmericM Zone, Germany;, delivered to the ClOOl.
.
(xvi)
Gold (commonly described as "the Salzburg gold ll ) rJeJJvered
direct to \he Goverruncnt 0f Al;lstria.
(xvli )
G0ld h'lnded over to the Frer.ch authori ti.cs by the AmRrican
Huthorities in Germany, deli.v~.red to the nool by the French
Government.
I
Gold found near Hintersee, Austrb, delivered to the
Americ.'1.n uuthorities in Austda.
1
(xviii)
I
;1001.
!I
Gold surrendered to the french authori t :,es by M.1 'Abbe ~'J'.;.Y;';;l.ild,
naris!; r)riest of Pete r3he rg/Fulda, anti de li vereu t.o the nool by
t.he Frer,ch GoverrunenL.
(xx)
I
Gold found in Germ1l11Y by Fren'ch officer~l when nrisoners or \Iar
in t.hat country, h'lnded to the competent French authori tics unon
their return to France and deHvered to the 0001 by the i,'rench
Government.
(xxi)
GQld recovered by Czechoslo'l:'tktn debited to that courltr.Y's
account and credi ted to the 0001.
(x:xLi )
Go Id de Ii vered by the Governni~nt.
(xx i. ii)
fJund
b'y the
0001
Sec'lnci deliv~ry hy the Goverillnent of Sweden of gold t.o the
(xix)
I
~t
of
Portugal.
A detail.ed account of encl'
Annex 22.
11/ .....
I
i
201502
"
�_-
RG 5'1
.........
Entry ,-,,3 I ~
Box': 3
I"._"·I~ _.'~~h"''''''
,
-11":
4. A recaoi tulatory schedule.
~ounts
"
;
\
The actual
entered under each of these twenty-three
headings Ilre g1 ven bela.... .in the form of: a recapi tu1atory schedule
I
'
I
Amount (in Troy ,ounces)
Delivery
I
described at
I
iri bars
I
( iI)
(1)
1,659,121.321
1,758,474.352
578,700.153
2,010,610.525
120,243.777
3,267.271
230,049.065
2,903.063
4,815.541
1,656.130
1,086.512
I
(n)
(iIU)
(.ir)
(vi)
(v,i)
(V~i)
(V~ii)
I
( i'x)
(xl)
(xO
I
(xU) ,
-
(x~ it)
18,514.852
0.620
644.5.31
I
(xlv)
I
(y)
2,731.6f!l
(Xii)
(xi U )
(yiii)
.
(xix)
192,904 .1.84
I
(xx)
(xki)
(xlii.)
(xlii. t)
,
160.689
119,279.728
128,562.491 ,
.
-
,I
1,:623,183.8993
"
-
"
2,141,676.100
1
...
,I:
-
"
;.
61.842
-
,
I'
!
-
,,74,226.111
,
"
Total amount
' (in Troy ounces)
1,659,121.321
3,381,658.2513
578;700.153
4,152,286.625
120,243.777
3,267.271
230,049.065
2,964.905
4,815.541 '
1,656.130
7,5,312 .623
585.4f!l
2,280.993
104.564
,
, 1,216.435
135,991.774
I
2.8\J7
3,149.812
-
"
9.385
7.845
:
,:
I
d
6,833,726.792
.
. in coins
,
-
-
585.4f!l
20,795.845
105.184
1,860.966
13:6,723 .461
163.496
3,149.812
192,904.484'
9.385
7.81+5
119,279.728
128,562.491
- 10,816,223 .8/...63
3,,982,40/7 .0543
.,
I
F
'
(1) Th~ countervalue in gold of various small balances forming part of
the 0001 but credited, ror·technica1 reasons, to the pound or dollar
acbounts is included under this heading.
The total value of the 0001 df mon~tary gold, befo~~ deductions
of ~1Utrorized charges agaiQst the pool,w!l.srtherefore, 10,816,223.8/.63'
Troy o)lnces of fine gO,ld, of which 6,833,726.792 were in the form of bars
Ilnd 3,982,40/7 .05/.3 were in the form of ("loins.
12/.....
"
"
201503
I,
I
�RG S9- - ' - - -
"'
Entry .".3 i ~
Box
3
- 12.
r
The figures given in the !3,bo've recapi tulatory statement are
acyurate ns it is !,ossible to make them at the present time but Lt
is not imnrobable that, when the gold accounts are fLnally closed, affer
this ~eport hns been submitted, small discrepancies will have come to light.
Th,) mkLn reason for this is that the coins deoosited in the bnnks were,
'is h:tk "llro'ldy heen expln.ined, for' the:most p~t in bags which were m8re1y
w"!Lgh~d against the weight indicated on the bag labels. An exa:~ination of
indiv~du'l1 coi,n:> would h;:lVe [)resented too .many difficulties from a
techni cll1 ~,)O Lnt of view nwl W'.luld h,'J.Vel, in\lolved unnecesflary expenses.
Odd c?Unlerfeil orf'llse coins have already been found in very smn11
1.uanlitles in deliveries which have be!3n made and it is not unJi 1('~ly thlt
mOffe ~ i.ll be found by the central banks of successful claimant countri es
Lf emd when further deliveries ere effected. Such diflcrepancies as m~,:': he
rou'lui;n this connection and, i:>erhaps,,:on other accounts, are, huwe'll::',
J:i,kely to be negligible in relation to:: the huge Cjuantityof gold distr.·i.:,uLed.
<;)"
5.
E:rJuirL'~S
m'ldp. with
11.
view to ohtaillillD' some return i'or the {'old heLl
illl the "001, "ending Ulstribut ion.' :'
I
'fh,:! Commi.ssion m:Hle extensiv'e en'l.uirief; with ') viel.j to obtqilli,r1!{
:oome retur::, :in r'wour of the oarticj:':~qnt8, for the i~old held in the ')001,
"e!1dipg di stri'l:uU on. These enquiries showed, however, that there was no
Dractical method whereby such a return could hRve been obtained 'll1d the i de:J
I
'
h'1<1 to [JP' abl3J1doned.
:
i
,
i
I
I
I
i
i
I
I
I
I
1
I.
'I
"
I
\
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
!
I
I
I
I
,
iI
~,
,
13/ .....
if
I~
;,
, I
201504
�I
. 'j
..
':
, , ,-___..~-"-.,,-. ."-~----"- ____
".. ".. .
.' --".-,--...-.,,,~,,'It
DECLASSIFIED
R.EPR.ODUC.E~ AT ~,.~~?~~L A.RCH1ve.... '1
sJ'ii;:e;~
. '.:
. I' . ·:1 -:-,~,,,,.
Auj"iority ~p CfR \[)O
;,
.
~) :~t. 8y~__ NA~ D2te1-5~'
.
~"'.f
~~
___.ha_,!,!'!. __ ,,~~..::~,
,
RG----Sif·· .
, Entry ..,-3 I ~.
Box' 3·.
w
- 13
C HAP T E It
III
THE PRELllHNARY DISTRIBUTION
1. Iniltial statement.
.
b~come
I By the middle of 191.7, it had'
obvious that the nEJcesslty
for contributing towllI'ds European economic recovery rendered it i.mpernti ve
thqt als much gold as could reasonably be returned to 'circulation should
be reslti tuted with the least possible delay to countries whose reserves
l:l1d been looted by the Germans.
It was clear, however, that t:he Commi.ssion would not be in [1
"osltton, for s'ome time, to mMf! a full' and rim-il announcem0nt of the
. total value of the gold pool available for distribution by way of
r'cstltution '1nd of, l.he amounts of the shares available for restitution te;
(;lac!; c10untry enti LIed 'to participat,e i~ the pool, in the manner Qrescribed
Ln the Commisslon' sTerms of Reference~.
I
The complexity of some of th~ claims before the Commission
rendered 11 lengthy examination indispensable. Many of the claini~; were
incomp!lete. Adequate data were laCking 11n many cases and would not be
rorthcpming [or some time. It W3.S not k,nown what Lhe nool would amOlUlt: to.
Aceru.;lll:; were expected but it. was i.mnossible to ten when they would be
de 1 i '1e~ed or how important they would be. 'The wa,Y had been left onen for
certath countries which had not p8rt:icipated in the Paris Conference on
Rconralt lon to ~ldhere, at a luter date, :to the arranGements 'for the
]'estit.ution of monetary gold agreed upon at that Conference and i t W:lG not
known I ' would' or would not do so. A full and fl.rw.l anliouncement
LheU",r they
,
war; OUt 0[' _the question. The difficulties which lay in t,he WflY 0[' such rm
'1l1Jlouncement were insuoerl'lble at that t'ime.
I
commisSi'~n
however,~:
The
knew,
within reasonable Ijrnit,s, what (':old
aV"lilable for immediate distribution and it was sRt.i.~;fi.ed th'lt. f.1. r:ert:Li.n
numberlo[' the cl'tims before it., among them some of t.he most l.mf)ort..'lnt, were
Ullt'luestionably valid. These two elements were sufficient to f(H'm a br·wis
I.'or A. hreliminltry distributio:1 but it WRS clear that equality of treotrn0nt
could hot be achieved in such '1 distribuLion lind t.hat sOflie countries would
f'ecei.v~ more or less. in relation to th~ir tot'll clB.ims, than others,
dep~nd~n!3 on whethe r their c 1a.i.. rros figur~d runon·; those wh 1ch the Commi. ~;s ion
wa!) ::;atisfled were unquestiollA.bly valid', or whether they felJ into the
C:;>. tegof.Y 0f c lcdms which .were '13 .vet incomple te or required furthCll'
(:oIlsidern.tion.
,
'..JilS
.I
th~
The Commission reported to
three Goverrunents accordingly.
Its Tefm:.~ of Referenr.e did not provide for deliveries on account but the
three ffiovernments, custodians of the pool, were in a position to take a
decis.t6n tn this respect. They decided that the necessHy for contr.i.!>uting
.
I
LI)'.!·:trds "
r,uropean economic recovery shou 1d nrevail over aD other
(~onsidJr!ltions and the Commission organi7.ed 3. prel.i.minFiry d.istrihutlon,
whi.ch ~"l.S ('tlready been referred to briefly at the end of Ch'lpter Ill, .
Vo]ume I I, in connection with the difficulties. encountered by the COlllmi.s.sion
when 8djudi~ati..nB.
11./ ., , ..
201505
�-_....
Sl'f
""'-'-=---
Entry ..,-3 I ~
'-.-.~'"""
RG
Box
.' 3,'
- 14
;;:. 'Fha Commission's letter
of
October 16! 1947.
in'~
I
cJ-'l.im~mt
The Commission,
circular letter addressed to all
countries rm October 16, 1947 (Annex,24) informing them of the position
readheri in the Corrmission's work and ::of the decision which had been tAken
to ~ffect a preliminary distribution, dre'W their attention to the f"let
that, l.n calcuhting the amounts to ~e allocated, i t had mainta,ined a
SUff'I'lclent reserve to satisfy claims Mhich 'Were, Elt th'it time, held over
for further considerl:l.tion and which mIght Jl1.ter be found vl:l.1.id. All
countries were, therefore, made aw rlre, of-the fHCt that rishts to '
res~itutin~ ~Ii~h might be recognize~ in respect of such claims were
f;!1fegu"lrde(i.
j.
I
I
'l:he stlilldard forms adopted for the prel iminary distribution.
A form of combined waiver m:d receipt ,and
form of recel:-;tt;:;
q
h" uS9d once '1,1."11 ver had beon sirned, as well as other forms or ] cc;r:e l'
im
t'll1Ce, we re <11~reed UOOtl be tween! the three Gove rnments in Gonsul tation
nd r
witli t.he Commi.ssion.'
,',
I
A s;)0cirncn or the :::tlllci'.u'd'1·0rm of combined wai vc; and rec'li:"t
IJ:;e;! will lle r',JUnd ~J.t Allnex 25. TI1 ~s: form was intended to cov9r the
,
nbl ~g'Jt.i(Jns inmo::;ed U1)on all ol1.rticip rmts in the pool under P'lr-.gr:,li'h 8
(ll' '11'''Irt
1[[ of the Puris Agreement on Reparatlon !lnd tl) ~;afef,Ui,lrd the thr",e
Covurnment.s, their t1l;:Jresentative::; on the Commission :md the Commissi.':m
'
~::r'6" :::,::~o'::O:::'::~~:~rd f,'rm ,r r",ie' u"J 11 h. [ouod "
wi
I
The
ad~I,)t"d to meeL spechJ
documents were
circllmst'1.nces .Jem'lIlde'J.
aDOVe
f':;'l'!irmn'~llts 'l.S
situ"t.ions. nr
I
'lhe,Commission -lecided thnt:''llJ chim'U1t coun:ri"1 ,mUL]ed to
"):lrtici'l'""e 1.11 the nonl would he f1dviiSed by me'ws 0(' ~l circid:lr Jel.\.l~!' ,)f'
any l'l~JqC:!Li.:';l m~de.; to one or !Tlore o'C t.heir number, in the; :1l'8J iml:1f.ll'Y
' '.1:~::::: .""
I
"mt
0
r the
"ellm inJr, Ji ,Cr ibe tioo.
ell~h
r~;l'erred
rt, cnrJ be t:;lken tLat, in
u[ t.ht! C'Wf::,
Lu, ' ,
'wnror:ri;lt.e instructions h"l.rl be(~n recl'livud rrom the t\,ree ,,;oV'JrrlJil',!!lt::;
::ml t.1t'lt. the recipients h'lti l'urnished ;lJl w,cessr~ry f't;;qUfJ,;'l:'" il":':-':";"] ,.
'lILI SL; jL:~ble Dowers. In order nlJt to "lengthen thir; '~ccount unduJ.y,
the CormnissLon will not I$ive the n'3.mes of the R8;:>rescntl1tivfl'l (nuinly
Am()'ls:.>ador!> or Min i ste rs) with whom ilt communic!:tt.ed 0 f' who :wpe:.tr<;d
bel'6re i L. R8cipir;mts will be design'lted by the tl!J.mes of the' c0un'~rL03
'Llo t: 8.nd the words "Government of" ,whic " ',mulct norm'"lly ,)rcceJe t.hem,
wLl be omitted. A fully dl':lt'iUed accDunt of the pror;eedinrs if] 1.0 r'e
COil I
in t.he Commission's arr::hlvcs. !
l5/ .....
;t
20150
�RG
S=-9,:;,...· _ _
Entry 43 I
Box
3
~
'.,1:
- 15 ;"
I>
(1) The delivery to Austria ..
Austrill was not Ii stgnat,ory of the Paris Agreoment but
ndheryd to the arrangements for the r.43/?titution of monetflry gold by a
Protocol (Annex 4) dated November 4, 1947.
t~e
\
Pl1.rIlgraph D of Part III of
Paris Agreement stipu] ated that
th8 trtal. share which Austria would receive if ~ t were eventually admitted
to na~tlclpate should be set aside and the ConUTIlssion arranged a set aside
accordingly.
delive~ies
I Austria received four
on account, two upon
the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York and two upon the Bank of England,
I
be tween January and September 1948.
'
I
The st'l.l1dard form of combined waiver (which covered '111 fudJwr
deliveri.es) and receipt (Annex 25) was"used for the first delivery nnd a
I
" .
•
r!:Jceipt, only, (Annex 26) for the others.
.
I
~onunission
On August 4, 1953, the
debited the Austrian Government
. wi th the amount of the so-called "Salzburg gold ll • This gold had been handed
to Au~trifl by the AmericM authorities, in Febru::try ]9/.7 but was subsequently
foundltn b8 Bold which should have bee~ put into the gold pool. It was
<.!Ons idercd D.S having been received on account of tts sh!;tre by Austria.
(See ~at'.eG 26 rlJld 27 of the adjudicati(;m on the Austrian claims and
Annex 22 (xvi), of Chapter II of the prosent volume).
As a result of all thel3e oPfin"ations, Austriet recei v'ed
1,,',15,:655.8/,] Troy ounces of gold in the prelimi,nary distribution.
,(il) The deliveries to FrlIDc~ on behalf of Belgium :ll1d Lllxemburg.
Put very briefly snd in gene~~l terms, the Na~;ir'nal Bank of Belgiu.'ll
tr'l.nsf1erred its gf')ld reserves, and those of the Savings lhi,k of luxemhurg
which
was holding, to the Bank of France, for safe keepinp;, slwrtly,before
the Ge·rman invllsion., The French authorities, in their turn, trlws('erred hoth
these I~uantities of r:old, with gold of their own, to Kayes, in Senegal, where
they c:onsidered the gold would be safe~' But the Vichy Governrr:eut, under
pressu.re from bhe Gerrn'l.ns, 8flused this .gold to be brough t back to France
wherf:l itt W'l.S seized, under various pretexts, by the Reichsbaak. After the
war, the Nattonal Bank of Belgium brought pressure to bear on the Bank of
fran~ell'() restitute in its entirety the two qU3,ntHies 01' gold with which Lt.
had been entr-usted and the Ballk of France did 30 on the unlj~rstundlng t.hat
8Rlf.iu~ and Luxemburg would lodge clai:l1s to tht:l gold before' the Gornmj~;,i.on
und, uhder arrs.ngements conc ]uded bet",een the three above-men t ion!!..! bn.n ks, .
returnl to France such gold as 1.1:)11111 be :allocated to the two Gount.des.
(SClC [)!'le9 20 of the adjudication, on the Belgian claims and 9 :tnd 10 of the
adjudi~ation on the claims of luxemburg).
lit
!
The delivery documentation had to be adapteo in sudl 'l w<ty that t.lle
Commission should receive from Belgium and Luxemburg t.he standard form of
combin~d waiver and receipt (Annex 25) ,: duly signed, less the last c1 'lUse of
the waiver providing for the return of ,gold to the 0001 i f the l!'ltter wer-e
overdr~wn as .:3. result of litigation (See last. clause of Annex 25). The l'3.tter
underthking hRd to be given by France, -Lhe actual reciD1.ent of the gold,'3.nd
F'r'1nce also had to ~i ve sui tab] e di!lchd'ges both to Belr-iwn and Lux~m!'.lUrg.
16/ .....
I.
20150'(
�DECLP;SSlfIEO
I
AlJU'":orlty ~Q
By ~__ NARA
'3'B'DO
Date1:<J.-:tT ..
RG Slf
---.;::----
Entry .,.3 a ~
Box" 3
The delivery orders in favour of the Bank of France were issued
i,nOcyober 1947 upon the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Military
Governor, United States zone of occupation, Germany (the "Frankfurt gold"
had n6t yet been trfil1sferred to the Bank of England). Special receipting
arrangements had to be made at Frankfurt.
I'
Other documents were used as,well. The Bank of r'rance, for
instance, was authorized to melt down Pru~sian Mint bars included tn the
del i v~ry, subject to subsequent 9.djust~ents in the accounts.
I"
I
As a result of all these operations, France received, t'lking
Into !l.ccount the deliveries from Belgi~ and Luxemburg together,
.
:2 , 976 ~ 529.'.1•.3 Troy ounce s of fine go ld.
(i 11) The second del i.ven' to France! via Belgium alone •
.Early i.n March 1952, the thr~e Gover:nnents deci.ded that ~
rleli. very of 25,000 kilograms of fine gOld should be mnde ,as a matt~)r of
I
urgency, to France via Belgium. Anrocedure on similar lines to the one
I\dont~d above, save th!l.t Belgium only h9.d to sign Ii recei.pt !md no waiver,
was f?J.lowed. Fr!J.Ilce received, in thls oart of the nreliminary rUstribution,
80.3,768.550 Troy ounces of fine gold, making up with the amounts nrevio'lsly
recet;ved, .3,718,263.1.39 Troy ounces of fine gold lnthe orelimi.nary
distri bution. ,
,
I
In these cases and the ones that f':>llow, originaln or copies of
the documents concerned, the most important of which have been, or wi.ll be,
mentdmed, were witnessed by the three:CommissionerG and handed to the
Ilartik::; entitled. to rece.i.ve them.
.'
, I
(iv) The delivery on account·; ~o Czechoslovakia.
The C'l.se of Czechoslovakia w~s 11 straiGhtforward one. Tho order
wns upon the Federal Reserve Bonk of ~ew York. Czechoslovakia signed the
Gtru1d$.rd form of com'bined waiver (v9.1~d for all subsequent deliveries) and
receipt.
I
~ount
The
delivered to it i:h the preliminary distribution was
195,28; .85/. Troy ounces of rille gold. :
(v) Allocation to Greece.
An oJllount of 1,216.324 Troy '~unces of fine gold was aJlocatecl. to
Greecp but Greece did not press for the~Uvery of this mnount, whi.ch was
Il. smalll one, and the matter remained in suspense.
(vi) The deliveries on account mail to
effected on behalf of It~lX'
by
!tilly and
the deliveries
The Italian case was a compl.Lcated one and can best be described
t(lk tag the events in chronological ;order.,
17/ .....
201508
�(a) Octo.ber 1947 : the Co.mmissio.n set aside:go.ld fo.r Italy
pursuant to Paragraph D of Part III of the Paris Agreement, as it had
done lin the case of Austria. All claill),ant countries were advised of thts
in the Commission's circular letter of October 16, 1947 but no allocation
101M m'ade since Italy was not yet entitled to. participate in the pool.
I
(b) December 16, 1947 : Italy was admitted to. participate in
the ~rrangernentsrorthe restitution
m9netary go.ld by a Protocol
(Annex 5) which stipulated that 14;422 kilograms of f.ine gold were to be
set ,Jside tn favour of France and 8,857 kilograms of fine eold in favour
of yJgoslavia out of any alloc'ltion m&de to'Italy before any distribution
was ml::tde to Italy.
' :
.
of
Itali~n
I
(c) April 12, 1948 : the'Con\'mission advised the
I\mbassador that Italy's entitlement, including the set aside, in the
nrelVminary distribution, was 1,018,134.248 Tro.y ounces of fine goJd.
I
s~:gnifiedt~at
I
t
(d) M'IY 13, 1948 : France
it \.las prepared to
lI.,421.575 kilograms of' fine g'old in settlement o.f Italy's ,
ohliGations.
rece~ve
(e) June 25, 1948 : An orde upon the Bank of England for the
above nmount was issued by the Commission, at the request of Italy, to
Frnn~e !lgai.nst signature o.f a joint receipt and ackn0\.11edgment of tbl~ f'llll
:tnd t'irml discharge by Italy of its obligations towards Fr9Jlce ul\d'.:lr the
F'ear:~ Tre'1 ty md Protocol. Franc~} "l.lsq signed an ackno\.lledgrr:ent of the fuJJ
:.ll1U flinr.!l dlsclw.rge by the three Governments and the Commission of !\Ily una.
all bligntlons arising out of the saId Treaty and Protocol.
d
.
1
(f) ,Tuly 2), 1948
Italy received from the Commission
(l) the receiot signed
9Y
Frunce as described at. (e) f:\bove;
(2) an order upon the Bank of EnglaJld for 269~710.78/... Troy
ounces of fine gold I,nnd
(J) a statement to the erfect that the Commission hlld set
'3.s1de 8,857 kilograms of fine gold on behalf of Italy for
Yugoslavi,a.
:'
,
.
The tot,').l involved in these ,three transactions was, 1,018,131..2/,8
Troy ounces 0[' t'ine gold and. Italy signed the Gtand.'lrct form of combined
w'livcr "..lid receint for this amount.
El(C~'1.nges
I
(/:;) Se?temher 2, 1948:
of corres!,ondence had i.:.lke!l
rl:lCe between all concerned and Yugos~avia h'id reduced its claim under 1,.h~~
I'e'lc~ TreJ).ty Clnd Protocol to 8,393 kilograms of fine gold (464 le8s th,::tJ1 h;,Q
been Istipulated in tbe Protocol). Ita~y asked that this amount should be
delivered to Yugoslavia and 46!,. kilo.grams to Italy. Yugoslavia received 3!l
ordef. upon the Bmlc of England for the amount in question Clnd thG C)rucedur8
fo1l6wed ilnd receint and disch;U:ges given were on exactly simil!:l,r ] ines to
thos~ described in the case of t.he delivery to France '3.t (e) above.
(h) September 2, 1948: On
~:he
same day, Italy recehred :
(1) thE'! documents which' Yugo.slavia hlld just slr:;ned ,1nd
(2) an order upon the Bank of Enghnd for H,917.91,J, Trny OIl()I.;';S
(or 464 kilograms) of' fine gold, against receint of' a .
combined receil')t ""~::J (;;,sch(l.rge.
In 3.1], there were ,:b l i vcre'.i. to ItaJy or on b<:half of Italy
1,018,13/,.042 Troy ounces of rine !,old.
:
18/ ....•
l'
i;
201509
�I
' ,. :'--------,.- ,..
REPROD~CEO AT THE NAT'ONA~ A~CH;~~~ l).r:;:.iJ
DECLASSl fiE D
_J;_ _ _ • _ ..••_ - _ . _ ....
.
.
r-"~-:- ]'1;:-
, .;
Rtf' iii
::::.....:;---
A'J~:0rity~p CfB \DO
Entry .5':> i ~
. " .i.::1 !-~~~::.~__:~~!;~:!!J
Box
.3
.~ ;.
- IS':'"
,i
(vii) The first delivery to the Netherlands.
The Netherhnds
s.ignature of the standard
deliverly orders, one upon
Hi] ita& Governor, United
received, on November 12, 1947, against
form of combined waiver and receipt, two
the Bank of England and one unon the
States zone of occupation, Germany ••
,exchanged on the lines described melting:c&Se P~ssianBank ofbar~ were at
I Letters concern.ing the in the of of the Hint FrA.nce
(it) aoove.
I
The Commission also delivered'.to the Netherlands, at. their
r8quest, an interpreta.tive stlltement (Annex 27), the last paragraoh of
wh ich fer:ids as follows:: "It is the int~ntion of the Tripartite '
IICommj:~sion for the Restitution of Monetary Gold, at the appropriat~
"time, to publish 'is fully as may be oo~sible an account of its action,,".
After certain exchanges of letters, it was !lgreed that the
Netherlands would be shown on the Commission's books as .having received
69.6821 Troy ounces over ·md above the amount mentioned on the receint
'j
s ie;ned at Frankfurt.
, r(;)celVed, ~he thiS resultofoftheallprehmtna.TY distribution, the Netherl,'i.nds
,I in n~t part
th~s~ oper'3.~ion~ wa~ that
Troy o~nces of !'ine gold.
1,153,976~2093
:
(vii i) The second delivery to the Netherlands.
The delivery of a further amount which the Cornmissicm had
decjdea could be delivered to the Netherlands on account W1.:> susoended
'3.t trle request of the United Shte:> unt'il the end of 19;.9.
On December 30, 1949, two orders dated Decembl.~r )0, 1949,
one upon the Bank of England and the other upon the Fed,"r:,d Reserve Ba~k
of New/ York, were del i.vered to the Neth~rlands which, at the request of
the United St'3.tes, were required to sign a second standard form of
combided waiver and r e c e i o t . : '
.
I
Ten counterfeit coins were found in the delivery from the Bunk
of England and certain adjustments wer~ made, as 'l result of which the
Ne the~hnds were finR.l1y found to have I.rece I. ved I, .02) Troy ounces of fine
gold ~v".lr and above the amount stipulated 1n the order Uflon the Bank of
Eng1:!nd.
I
,
The tot'll amount received by "the Netherlands in the ne;;1"
:>econd deliveries was 2,139,278. 4 .393 T~oy ounces of fine gold.
Illl(i
, !!
(ix) The first delivery to Yugoslavia.
On SertemiJer 2, 194 8" which ~as the day' Yugoslavia received
S,Y:!J
kilogr.'tills of fine gold on behalf,of Italy, pursuant to the Peace
Treaty and Protocol, it received, from'ithe Commission, Ii dflliver.y on
~Ccouit in resoect of its own claims. '
j
"
.
[
The order ur.>0n the Bank of England'which it received, !3.gllinst
:Jie;nature of the standard form of combined waiver 8.nd roceipt, IJas for
6,919'.692 Troy ounces of fine l~old.
19/ .....
"
i:
, ,I
1,
201510
�,-
.
I
~
:.
_.~~
4"~~
RG
:..
~EPRO~~EO AT THE NATIONAL A
S.;;;...9~ __
Entry ff31~
Box
3
(x) The segond deliver'{ to YWloslavla.
Yugrmlavia received, on November 17, 1950, against signature
of 1(he standard form of receint, alone, an order upon-the Bank of Enghlnd
WhiC1h wns executed for an amount of T,629.648 Troy ounces of fine gold.
Yug0s1avia was also considered to hA.ve received the fine gold
content of 16 bars whIch were delivered direct to Yue;oslavia by the
.
I3ri.ti sh authorities in Germany, owing to a misunderstanding (see p"lges
66,167 find 68 of the Commission's adjudication and 3 (x) of' Chapter II,
Volume III dealinG with the assembling of' the 0001. The 16 bars cont,dnl3d
1,656.130 Troy ounces of fine gold.
•
..!:.
i
I
The total l'lJIlount delivered t~ YugoslFivia in the nrelimiMry
distrihution, taking into account the three items mentioned above, was
10,205.470 Troy ounces.
5
I
-
-
.
Recaot tuJ 'itor" table.
The countrles whj ch r~lrtt~ipated in the preli.minllry dlstl'ibl.1 t,j ;~n
'me! i,he '1Jl1ounts they received are li:'lted below :
I:
;:
---
TOTAL ANOU NT.
AMOUNT
(Troy ou~ces of ftne
COUNTRY
in bars
I
AU::iTRIA
'
NETHERLANDS
J ,428,119.232
3,718,263.139
14,917.9~4
of It'11y to ( YUGOSll\. VIA
. !
1 ,!.J 5 ,655.8/.3
195,283.854
I
LUX Et--iBURG
657,638.643
2,290,143.997
on behalf ( FRANCE
¥UGt);.;I.AVIA
463,664.343
,
-
,
.37,656.645
1 ,J75 ,662.113
10,205.1.70
,.
..
I
-I
269,710.696
-
269,8/.1.059
5,145,551.476
Note.
----.-.-
758,017.200
BELGIUM
I
CZECHOSWVAKIA
I
ITALY
I
(Troy ounces
of fine go1d)
in coins
"
I
I
RF:C)<~ I'JED
d)
I
I
\
~
1,018 ,lJ'•. 042
62 ,OJ', .85/,
24,)78.209
:2, ])9,278 .1.j9.3
763,616.)263
.:; ,,'.13 ,]04 .1653
·195,28) .P;54
i
10,205.L,70
:
8,558,855.6!.l)
"
)6,055.503 Troy ounces of·irine gold were allocated to Alb.:-.ni"1
but th8 allocations were subsequently cMcelled in circumst'l.rtce;;
which have been de:;crlbed)n the 'lna~_ysis of problem 7 in
Cho.pter IV, V01wne 1.
20/ .....
201511
.
~
"
�.~,
RG .5'1
=.....:;---
Entry ~3/~
Box": 3
... :".
:- .20
L
CHAPTER
IT
-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-
THE SECOND AND JUASI l"INAL
DISTRIL;.UTIOI~
1. Preliminary statement . : '
Origi:~aJ.
I
According to the
plans mnde by the ::iecretariRt, a
ch'ipter would have been devoted, .at thls stage, to the two announcc~II:~nts
required ot' the Commission under paragraph 5 (c) and (d) of its Term~, of
f{(~ Cerence. [t had heen assumed that these announce:nents would have been
1::I,(1e prior to the comrletion of the Reoort and they would, logicll..lJ.y,
II!.!'/(! figured in' such a report sho~tly after .the adjudic.9.tions and the
~\ccaunt 0[' lhe assembHng of the pool of monetary gold, that is j·.o S::1.y
rf'Ler the infonnation nece!;sary f,or the c'llculation of the share in the'
pool of each sucC'cssfu] claimant country. The preliminary distribution
llesc:ri.h8,j Ln the inrmediatp.ly preceding chapter would not h'llle affected
~I·.he two 'l.nnouncernnnts which w()uld~ merely, have t9.ken it into account.
,
Til8 mai:1 rel~sons why it W'iS 'found necessary to effcet the
{,bolle-menti 0ned prelimi.nary dLstribution h.1.'1"3 :tlready been described
uut others :trose or were arising I(in connection with Bor Mine gold, th~
:1;oJ J('us-Hieg ca31~ (Annex 22 A), ~he gold of th8 jJ~nk of Albania, th~
U!lI1zig g<)ld, the Istcambi case and other questions).
Governm8~t'.tJ.
A TriQartite
Conference was held in Brusse.ls fr(lln
I
,J allU9.ry 5/10, 1950 (Annex 23) fOI{ the purpose of exa.rnining these probl ems
:'I:ld ot.hers connected wi th the c·:mipletiort of the Commlrlsion's work nnd tile
;I'"cument'ltion to be used fn '/1 fiif.ll distribution.
A number of dec i.sion3 I;"er~ taken at th i.s Con['r:rAIJ'ce but
,:Jers Lst(~nt'l1\d not unreasonable Jemqnds from cJ.'l.ilORnt countries fot' '1.
l'urLhfl: distribution of gold re'l~hed :.he three Governments rmd the COlOrli ;,[;i.,1I)
I L ' ] tIme wli8n sOlTle of tl">e ubove-mentloned oroblems were stilJ Urlrr:~s 'J] vt'!d
>1
ill:1d wh~rt, '1.::; l">'1~ r1.lre'1.dy been se~~, the Ame~ic~n C~~lmbs~oner h.'ld not beer:
(lUthorlzed by hiS Government to Slf,l1 thFl adjudIcatlOn WhiCh h'-ld been nr0!,qr,"~!
en the Cz.ech clAi.ms. At the same time, a deH'Iery of gold, the runount of
Which was not known, from Port.ugal to the gold pool was expected (deii.IlLte
Lnformation on t!I(~ latter subject W9.S only received in December 1958).
I(i'u rthermor'2, proceedings which might have affected the composition of U:e
I[old pool were taking place before .'1:1 Italo-Dutch Concllh.tion Commission
sitting in Rome (Annex ~8). It wis evident that the Commission cOl:ld make
nai ther of the two announcements required under its Terms of Ilefen~nee. In
view of this situation, i t was flnally decided that all the adjudications
(witr. t}-,e exception of the one on the Czech claims) should be signed ,wd
despatched with an announcement q,f 9. second and quasI fin:.1.l distributiun.
1
1
The events which led u'p to the sec:ond .:lI1d quasi final di :.3trH)ljU"~1
c·m uest be described by quoting :'thfl most important of the nffic.i.al
<.;O:IIIIIUI1i.r:Cltions exchanged between :;the three Commissioners, indi viduc1]:1 y or
<'0J:I ecti vely, and the three Gove-i.'runents and between the former 'lnd the
S~cretr:Jry General. These wilJ r()~:m the subject of the it:llHediately· fo:1 .Iowirli~
::;er:tions.
:'
.'
. 21/ .. , ..
I:
1
I'
.1
I
�RG
S'l.
-----
Entry .5':> I
Box·
~
3
\1,
,
2. Til,: Commission's formal communication of May 24. 1951 to the three
GOlJernments"
I
The Commission which, in Hay 1951, had no renson to believe
tint:. the announcements pursuant to its 1'~rms of Reference would, for
r(!::Jsons IWhiCh have been explained, be pos.'tPoned, addressed, onMay 2!+,
]951, "l formal communication (Annex 29) to the three Goverrunents
COllstituting it, with a view to clarifying certain matters whieh had
'I risen in what. it considered to be the final 9tages of its work.
No
rorrn:11 ~ritten reply was received from the -three Goverrunents but the
Cornmi~ston understlinds that, in a gener'~l way, the .views it expressed
met with the approval of the three Goverrunents.
I
). The Commission's Resolution
'
0['
October 19.
195~.
. I
At the Commissi.on's 130th Heeting, on October ]9, 195.3, t.he
Chrli rman recalled t.lnt, during t.he e"lrHer part of this meeting, on
Or. tober! ]6, 1953, j t h:ld been agreed that he (the Chairmcm) would dnl.ft
'\ ,;ug:!,ested minute which. would be c',)I1l111uniciltp.d t.o thp. three Governments
('onst i tht ir:g lli'J Commission, informing them of the oosi tion of the
GO!lllfiiSS\ion wllh rat?!lrdto. its ndJUd.i.cat.i.,ons and of the 'lbU ity of t.he
,C()II![~ilss loners t.o sign the flgreed adjudications on tIDy date decided by t.lle .
Um:le GOlJernm'2nts when .two points arising in the Yugosla.v W1d 'It::]] ian
"djudic1atJ.or\s h'ld been cleared. He then :proceeded to read the folJowi.ng
~"xt h:.: h
::,,:::::::dd:" to
I
[
I
I
,
that had
""/'''
e
hed
,,,do,d
It
00" "Orne 10 •
"Ulnnl[l;OtlS decision on nIl tbe ':!!l.ses on which it hnd bean c:).]]-.)(.J upon to
lI a djudi1
cd,e !lJld ti'':flt tho texts oC these 'adjudications lind been tlf:reed til
"En!.'li.~!h thou.:b thp. French texts werA not, in 0. few cases, comrlettld.
.
I
'"
,
"L 1.1:13 ",xpected till'll. th'2se ]nUer text.s would be ready by the end of the
"Y<!rtr.
.i
There were, howe'ler, two cases where further inf t;·r:!'<1.tLon ',Ie.::!
"'IWUit~d before the CommiEsi.oners felt that they c')uld si.gn the present
u'lcreed texts. The first conct;rned 11 sll',:;,l1 portion of the Bor ~ane claim
"wi t.1l t(-J!~ar(l t.o whir:h'the French CO'TllniG0ioner h~ld informed his co]Je:tgtle1~
"Unt he [lw',ited certF.lln informJ1.tion from his Government wh.icb rniL;h!., Or'
"might/not, arfect the COnimission's prey,ent decision or till"! 'tC';ct Uwr<wf.
f1Th~ second ~oncerr.cd the Istcar.',bi Dortion of the Itl:1liM chdr.! where the
"i~meri6Iln Comm;if'~;ioner,stated LI:Ht he might n)eeilJe cert.9tn inform.''1tion
"from his G'lVernment whieh ;
mivht, or mirht not, 'l.frect the Commisr.ion'z
I
"
II ,Jresent decision Qr the ,text thereof.
"
~
"
Jubject to the above two poir:.ts beini~ cleared and to the Fren~h
"t.ext;: being completed, the Commission wished to record t,h,tt t, would he
"oreoured to sign the adjudications r:lt .such time "lS the three Governments
"const.ituting the Commission deemed appropri~t,ell.
'ig~eed
j
'l'his text wns unaJ1 imously
and it was dec{dnd that it
he incorDorated in the minutes of:. the meetin~: and that the
Coml~.i:;~ioners, inilividually, W')uld C01!l!Dunicate thj~ minuto to their
1'~c;Jlect; 're Government.s.
'
101(,(11 d
22/ .....
201513
�DECLASSIFIED
AuU':orily~O Q'!3\DO
By ~__ ~~ARA D2te ~~5..1.'
-Ficf -····S9~-· .
Entry --"3 i ~
Box < 3.
4. The British Commissioner's letter of April 27, 1954 to the
Secre1ary General.
On April 27, 195L, the:British Commissioner, Chairman of the
(;:o1nmi Sf, jrm, Sir RonR.1d Wing'ite, w~ote to the Secretary Cri:lneral, enclosing
1j0r r,i r~111,'ltion ':\ copy of a letter, dated April 9, 1954, fr:om his
q~~erl~ent, authorizing him to sign the adjudications and to issue,
.jioint.ly with the United States and French Commissioners" any public
innounccment which should be made! in 'connection with thEI. adjudications.
I
r
m"k.,
Th"l Co!aml:~Rion, however,
·
unable,
WIlS
for a number of reasons,
f::~:rt:::: ::::: :::r:::r:::t:n:::::~YB:: ::: :and
[st<!·"moi cn.ses'took longer to settle than had been expected; that
.1lT1"lr,'.!ments to some of the adjudicatj on I': , . requested by the French and
f,medr:an CQ~lrnissioners, were discussed ::lver~a considerable period in the
'j':lUrse of' ",hlch there was a. ch9.ng~ in the AmericanreprE~sentation.
'!""t".n-r.. the oem,letion of the Pre"h text, w.e h.ld ur for .ome
time.
:;. The Amerl.clUl Commissioner's letter of March 7. 1957 to th!i! Secretary
General.
,
A copy of this If!ltter,. which the SecretarY General circulated
the British wd French Commissioners, is attached hereto as Annex 30
tn 'i.kw or the important fact that this was the first formal notification
th.<;t the American Commissioner, w~ilst willing to sign!l.ll the other
I
,.
,
!lfljU(1i,:~:.tions, was not authorized to sign the adjudicatton on the Czech
I
'.
fbims whl.ch had been prepared. ~he problem referred to in line 2,
pl.lrllgrbr.,h J, of the letter arose in connection wi th gold dell veries and
~a~ R0ttl'3d wHlin the Commlssio'n.
.
r.')
I
6. The Commission's communication of March 30, 1957 addressed to the
three Governments.
A copy of this important communication recommending a
dist.ributlon of as much gold as ~ossi.b]", will be found At Annex JI.
I tJl"l CommiRsiontoconsidered could be distributed tn each case. amounts
'Annex A the above-~~ntioned communication showed the
which
I
Once tbe principle of ithiS distribution had been agreed by the
Governments, two further schedules had to. be prepared, the first
,sholJine how coins and bars could be a::>portioned on an equitable basis and
th~ s<?Jcond Ehow1ng on which banks. the Ue 11 ~ery orders could be drawn.
It.hr'f~e
I
The two schedules whiqh were finally agreed upon by the
cr.,mrnbsion, after careful conside'ration and exchanges of views, will be
,['OU:l,J at Anney;es 32 and jJ. It was on the basis of these two schedules,
,will c,., were d!\ted June J, 1957, th'at the second f.J.Ild quasi fina.l distribution
!wa~l effected.
"
The apportionment of ooins an~ bars on an equitable basis was
renderArl necessary by the fact tflat there was a promi1.m1 of roughly 20 %
on co i ns in the free m!l.rkets •.
23/ ....•
201514
�RG S9.
"'-'-----
Entry ""~ I ;t
Box / 3.·
- 23
7. The instructions to proceed to a second and guasi final distribution
1Lven Iby the three Governments to the Commissio~
I
These· instructions were sent to the Oommiflsioners,
.
JIHliviwully, by their respective ,Governments and they were circulated
i)'y the Se1cretary Gener'!.l on Barch 24, 25 a,nd 31, 1958. There are certain
dH'ferendes in the three texts and, in view cif their importance, the
COlnmif,3icln deems it. nece3sary to quote ali three of these texts,both in
thl3 Engl~sh and in the French versions of ;;the report. The text of the
BtlUsh, IFrench !IlH.I AmericBll instructions ,wa], therefore, be found
respectively at Armexes 34, 35 and 36.
;
.
I
II
'.
Six enclosures were sent with the instructionn, namely:
(11) a drafl covering letter Mnouncing a further dist.ributlon:
(b) a dra.n receipt;
(c) a draft covering letter to: Greece announcing distribution;
(d) a drfJ.ft covering letter to, Poland 'RImouncing distribution;
(e) a draft covering letter to:Albania announdng d:istribution;
(1') a draft. coverinf; letter to'the Netherlands Government
Dl1rtOuncing further distribution (to which was atl,ached a
special draft receipt). Dotb the letter Ill1d the receiot
provided f':lr the return to' the gold poo] .by the Netherlands
of any gold which might be: allocated to them by the Italo
Dutch Conciliation Oommi1Os.~on sitting in Rome (Annex. 28) •
The British and American texts' of these enc10sures werH identical
the french tex.is were exact translations of the others. The Commission'
h"s selebted the BrHish texts for enclosure with thi.s report. They v/iJ) be
found at Annex 37.
".1[0
An examination of the six: enclosures showed that they were derlved
from the document'JUon used for the oreli.m,inary distrJ bution RIH.I the docum'mt
atJon whilch the Tripartite Conference of !anuary 5 to 10, 1950 had rf!con;mended
to ihe trree Governments for use in making the announcements provided for at
DHragrapp 5 (c) and (d) of the Oommission!s Terms of Reference, at a time when
i.L W'3.S thought that such announcements could be made (Annex 2J ::l.nd apoendices).
Th is profedure havi ng been temporarily ab.l3.ndoned, the three Governments had
,!nH!nded the v'ldous texts in the lil~ht of; the new requ irem~mts und of inform
Ation ru~nished ~nd recommendations made ,~y ·~he Commission.
I
~he
As wil] be seen at Annex 23,
'I'ripartite Conference of January
5/10, J960 m'lde a number of other recommendqtior:s to the three Governments
'l.l1d thosb which concerned the Commission 'and which were adoDted by the three
G'werruneht,!; were eventually out into effe'ct through the int~rm0di:'l.I'Y of the
three Gohunl !.:sioners. Details ,are incorpor~t,ed in the appropriate dl'llyt".lrS anti
:5ection8 of the present ref.lort.
P8.r~graph lJ.' of the main instructions issued by the three Govern;;II:!' I.:.;
[n replYI to tile Commission's communication of M'1rch 30, 1957 (Annexes J~, 35
mo 36) ,announced that a finul decision on certain ,.\uestions, described t" tflCl
:>:H'.:tgrB.uh, on whi(:h agreement h9.d not yet: been reached, would be sent to Vie
t'8s pecti,ve Commissioners Jater. The French Commissioner forwarded the French
'/erslon of this complementary instructiort on May 6, J.958 to the Secrl.'t?ry
;u~lera.l, for circulation, and the America'n CommissIoner took similllr act.i,on 0:1
, :'b.1 21,' J.958. No communicationw"ls received iwtbe ::lecretar.lllt,on thi;l SUbject,
I'rom the [jritish Commissioner b~lt. t.tle Americap Commissioner's letter, A. CODY oj'
..'i:i.ch will] be found at Annex )8, tOf,ether with a ,cony of the cOrlplemenl,ary
; i;!'5tructioo forwarded, shows thilt the ]:•. tt,er'\,oas trir)f'lxtHeJ:r '1r:;reed.
2l./,." •
,
;,'
201515
�, ;1
,
"
;.. 24
;.
,.
.,
il
l:
I
;i
8. Amendments to three of the enclosures (at c and
with tile instructions of the three Governments,;
r!
.Annex; 37) sent out
. I
'..Jith regard to enclosure (a) (the draf: covering letter
announcing a further distribution), it:;was noticed that the following
par'lgtaph had been omitted : liThe Commission would be obliged if you would
"indi.6ate t fit the s/Ul1e time, the exactiidesigno.tion of the institution or
"other body in whose name the delivery:;order should be drawn. up!! and it
was dec ided th at it should be added asi,oaragra,ph 8.
•
.
. I
Wi th regard to' enclosure (c~,
was observed that the draft .
letter to Greece did not· take. int.o .account the fact that GreElce had alrelldy
been kent a letter of al1ocation in the preliminary distribution, in whtch,
howev&r, it did not pnrticipF.lte owing i.o the smailnes3 of its share, and a
I
wlC.i. '1er. It was also obs.erved that, if ~he somewhat unusual pC)1.Iers which
Greec+ had- recently communicated were. ?onsiciered valid, T)llragraph 6 of the
let.ter to Greece, requesting powers, w()uld have to be amended. A' re-draft
by t.h~ Secretary General, to meet these difficulties, was adooted.
rt
"
I
~fi~,
I .
th~~,
With regard to enclosure
it was 'observed
at
rJ:1ragrclDh 6 of the draft of the Commlission's letter to the Il/etherlanJs,
DS seht out with the instructions of the three Governments, the Commlssion
w!lS m~de to state, c'l.tegoricalJ y, thati:gold of the Netl,e.rlands was looted
from the BanI( of It!lly by the Germ!l.lis.pt appeared, at first sir-ht, that
ll,e Cbmrni3sion W'lS not competent to make this statement, which might have
been honsidered as prejudging matters ~n which the Conciliation Commission
in r{QI~e WitS cal] ed UDon to adjudicate .<:The Commission studied this que,st} on
Rt ltk 151st t·leetlnr; and the Commissiohers, indiviJua]Jy, submitted a
j
.
;1:
:;uggnsted re'-draft, which was agreed a~ the meeting, t.J their respective
Gave rlunents who Il.;mroved it.
;.
I .The
letter,
'IS
amended,
w~.s;~
in fact, des;latched to the tietherLlr,t1r;
wi til thfl sp'eci'tl for:n of receipt which:1the Netherl,wds were l'~qllired to sign
but, ~s wUl have been seen in the nnll11ysis of problem 1 in Gh'lpter IV,
V"'lum~ I, the Nether19,nds, havbg quer~ed the. ,Commission's decis ion, did not
t'l.ke rossession of the.share alJocatedjto them •.Heanwhile, ,m August.17,196),
the I~alo-Dutch Conc.Uhtion Commission rejected the NetherLillds' c J:dm to
restitution of gold from Italy (Annex 28). Thosenarts ofr.he letter and
rccei~t (both still irl .possession of trie Netherlp';'lds), which refer to 11
I
,
retur? to the pool of 9.Ily gold receive~ by the Nether1ands from Italy,
no ]OlaGer moly.
"
I
,
I"
I
9. Adal1t.'l~,i')n
II.
:'
of the delivery c.iocumentiJ.tioo •. r(:furred to iYj' section !lbove,
1.0lmeet cert'lln requirements in thei:cases of ·l3elgium'l.nd Lllx'.~mbnrg •
.I
This Jocurnentation was
dr'lW~. u~
00
1 toes simi lar to. th020 wb.i ch
h'ld been !1.drlDted In Narch 1952 for the 'second delivery to France on lJellnH
of BeiEiUIn in.. the preliminary distribU~ion(See Gll'l,rt~r ITT (iii.) of the
'IrcS8nt Volume)..
,I
f:
I;
"
:ti
;.,
l,
25/ .....
. l!!: .
201510
�- 25 ":"
,
r
10. The nrocedure used and the formal:!. ties carried au!: in connection
with the second and quasi final distribution ••
r~ised
I
A number of questions were
by the Secretary'General
regarding the procedure to be appl:!.ed al)d the formal1 ties to be carried
out in\connection with the second and quasi final distribution. These
were examincd by the Co~mission, which rUed as follows on the main
no ints rldsed :
"
(1) The adjudications to be sent out with the letters
ann0W1C ing a further distributlon were one of the two original sets of'
adjudi6.1.tions (in the English and French, languages) which had been
~rerar~d by the Secretariat for use in connection with the announcement
rrovid~d for at D1.ragra?h 5 (c) and (d):of the Commission'S Terms of
Re fererlce which, for reasons which have ;:1l1ready been explained, could
nQt be made at this stage;
(ii) All these adjudications ('with the exceotion of the
I1djlldicatlon on the Czech claims) would::be siened by the three Co:nmissi6ners.
Thl? raees would not be. initial1ed nor we.uld the Commission's embossed st'll11P
be :; !1pJic!l;
I
(i t i) The Secretary Gener,,]' s signature woulLi l'if,rure on the
IJ(ljudicl1tioIlS, below those of the three .Commi.ssioners;
(tv) for practical reasons, trye Secret'lry Genorf>l, alone, would
the Heprcsentatives of beneficlffry countries and he, . 810'ne, would
i,e n~srlons Lble for witnessing the latters' signatures.
\
rp.(~(JJ ve
ll. TJ
Resolution .donted
b,
tha G_,l.ion at its 1,2nd "aattn•• tor
suorn i ~Ision by each Commissioner to his Government.
I
At its 152nd 14eeting, on May" 7,1958, the COI;uolssian Hdopted
the following Resolution :
:
I Th~
n
Commission, haYing regard to the fR.ct that all unsettled
"questi1ons huve been 'di.sposed of, are confident that the documentation,
"Le. :i'::ltters of allocation, receipts arid deciaions, which 'lre already hrgely
IIcomple:ted, will be ready on May 23', 1958 for despatch, when signed, to the
"duly 1111 thorizeu Re prosentatt ves of t.he 'C laimant countries'concerned. The
"Commislsion agreed th~t each Commissioner l,/ould so report to hi.s Government,
l
"ill 'lcc orul,l1ce wit!'! ?"lragrapil 15 of the. inG t.ruc t:i.onr. each h /lS T'::lCe i. v!:ld, wi th
"the rehuest for tbe authorIzation t.o sign referred t.o in that i)'1rngr:lPh".
12. TJ
<ill thod '"ti on.
of the three 0.0vernments •
I
The French, Arneric A.n 'l11d Bri nsh Commissioners, by letters d'lted
M,"lY 9, May 27 and June 9,1958, ini'0rmed the Secret'lry' Genel".d
Lh"lt tl'fY were authorized to slgn all dO,cuments and to proceed with the
distribution.
respect~vely
26/ .....
.
>.
201517
�RG' ---slj'~-' .. ----.
~
<f
Entty.53i~
Box··3.·
-' 26
13. Technical arrangenients.
The way had to be prepare'l, from a technical point of view,
for a distribution to be effected On the basis of the two schedules
referred to at 6 above IUld attached to ·the present report as Annexes 32
Rnd 33. The texts of delivery cirders had to be agreed with the Bank of
Eng 1.'lnd and, since the latter, :in~ofar. as bars were concerned, had to
sat: 'lside complete bars to meet, as near as was possible, the orders·
which were about to be issued and of which the Secretary General had
given detqi1s, a re-arrangemen~, had to be made in the bar gold holdings
at the bank, which exchanged 107 of its own bars for 106 of the bars in
the gold pool and credited the ,Commission's sterlingaccoWlt with the
difference in pounds sterling. Coins presented no problems, except for
the fact that the Commission had promised,to have certain Czech ducats
set aside f'Jr the Czech deli ver.y. This was arranged. Letters were
exchanged between the Secretary General and the Bank of England on these
subjects on April 30, May 15 and June 12, 1958 and between the Commission
and the bank on June J and 6, 1958.
f'
14. The signature of the COmmission's §dludications.
At a Meeting of the Commission held on June 9, 1958, all the
French <.l.nd English texts of thE! Commission's adjudications were signed
by the three Commissioners, with the exception of that on the claims of
Czechos lovakia which was signed only bY, toe BriUsh and French Commiss loners.
The American Commissioner did ~ot sign 1). All the adjudications (save
that on the Czech claims) bore the date of the Meeting. At the same time,
the three Commissioners signed:, the letters addressed to the duly accredited
RepresentatJves of all the cla~mant coo ntries, except CzechoslOVakia,
enclosing one signed original text, in the English and French languages,
or the Comml.ssion's adjudications on the claims of their respective
Governments and, in the case of those entitled to participate in the
second and quasi final distribution, announcing the amoWlt allocated to
the Government concerned in that distribution. These letters were dated
June 11, 1958 and they, together with the adjudications referred to therein,
were delivered by hand, against receipt, to the respactive addressees on
June It, 1958.
Details of the acrual distribution are to be found in the
Commission's arohivea.
27/ .....
(l)
~ further examination of the adjudication showed that it would
have been preferable to at~~ibute responsibility for one of
the decisions taken ,ther'3i~l to the three Governments rather than
to the Commissi~n (soe t.he analysis of problem 14, Chapter IV,
Volume I of the report). The adjudication was in suspense and
its text was modified wi th the consent of the three Governments.
At the time of writing thls report, the decision is still
unsigned.
I
.
----.----'-----
--,-'-
201518
�.,... ,'.
,.
~
27 .:.
15. Recant tu1 f:!.I,Ory scheduJa§.·
,
~hiCh
theseco~d ~d quasi
·1
(i) The oountries
partibipated in
final distribution are listed below I : . .
.1
.
.
AU::lTRIA
I
J:lELGIDM
..
.
.
.
.
"
. IN BARS
.
.;....
;
TOTAL AMUUNT
RF.:c!l:IV'ED
(Troy ounces
r£ fine gold)
AMOUNT
(Troy ounoesof 'fine gold)
ClUNTRY
I
I
.
IN COINS
.
197,725.755
I
WXE~:BURG
,
79,980.686
372,948.269
815.508
I
G:lliECE
-
292,967.583
.,
I
ITALY
YI
792.022
1,607.530
-
409,920.847
16,391.292
YUGOhLAVIA
31,613 .597
197,725.755
,
{t09,9.20.8L..7
2/.. ,113. 045
7,721.753
24,650.190. I
I
113, l4I~ .651
949,1.34.582
56,~6J
.787
1,062,579.2))
As h'l.s !llre~dy been ex:p1a.1ned~ Belgium' Md Luxemburg nssigned tbe.i!'
shares to France under speoia1 agreements .entehid into between the
Nation'll B!l.Ilk .of Belgium, tteSllvin 6 s Bank of Luxemburg and the
!:lank or Frlince.
.,
"""," r".
(i t) The f01J owing runount was, allocated to the Neth.~r1I1nds,
no.t yet taken dell ""'7 of 1\'
I;
I
UOUI~TnY
I
'fBi!:
TOTAL MIOUl'lT
ALlOCATED
(Troy ounces
of nne f~old)
AHOU:NT'
. (Truy ounces ,. finl') : ',u.ld)
,of
IN BARS
VI COINS
I
;~E'l'HF:RLANDS
58,106.255
73,711.787
, IJl~818 .U:.2
.
1
I ,.
"
I'
,
.,./
28/ .....
!
,
,.
!
"
,
,
,
,
I
'.
I
i
,
I
I
I,
I
"
"
"
,
"
.....
!
:1
i
I
"
,
2015191
!
�I
:-.-.: .. --+----.-.
1
-.It
'-
DECLASSIFIED
REPRODUCEDATT~~~~I~NA:::~~!.:':~;Je;," :\ A"~~~ 'ffl ~~
i
,
"f;
By...:>
I ...~ .. _
-_ t'-:ARA Date~, ---
.~
RG Sq'
::::...!:.--
Entry ",,3 i .~
Box . a,
___ .~~!!'!::~--~-
I
'
- 28'~
(Hi) The followil1g amounts 'were (as annou,nced to Albania and
Pobnd), placed in the cu'stody 'of the three Governme,nts !:>ending deCision:;!
regardrg their deliVery:"
I',
'
':
I NTRI
TO~:AL
AHOUNT
AIJ.OCATED
• (Troy ounces
a: fine gold).
A,H 0 U N;T
(Troy ounces of'fine gold) ,
. Cr
IN BARS'
IN
-, COINS
I
'.
'
I
I
"
, ALBANIA
31,959.464
.
18,657.066
I
I
' 50,616.530
-,I
POLAND .'
I
in'respect of
lithe Danzig gold ll
29,327 ~547
50,237.942
,
79,565.4 89
' 12"( .t4l",i63~
,
.1
I
82,197 .406
130,182.019
47,984.613
I'
"
(iv) The ,following amount
which remuns unsigned
,
~lward
I
'
reserved in respect of the Czech
WtiS
'
'
I
I
Clr
A II, O,U NT
(Troy ounces of fine gold)
"
..
IN BARS
IN COINS
II
TRI
TOTAL AlI,OUNT
'RESERVED
(Troy ounces
of fine b"O Id)
','
I
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
I
258,254.314
~
:334,395.537
..
.
592,649.851
:
(v) To como1ete this account,. "i t must be mentioned here tr:ll.t the
PoJtsh Ic1aims, amounting to ]J8,718.5309 kilograms, were re.1 ected in their
entirety, for ieasons given in the Commission's adjudication, which was
nottfl~d to Poland in accordance with the procedure described at Section 14
II
'
•
29/ •..••
~I
201520
�...
-:...--~,.
RG
S;;:;....;'1:...;...,_ _
; Entry 4:' I ,~
, Box"', 3·
- 29
C HAP T E R
V
_=_~_=_=_~J=_~_=_
l'
PROTESTS AND
WUERIES
]. Preamble.
,
I
The fate of three shares created 'as a result of adjudicntions
cf the Commission !U1d set aside in the gold' rool remains undecided.
The fir1st is in respect of gold of the ex-Free City of Danzig, clai:ned
i
by I'olahd but immobilized :Jending deter::1 in!ttion or Poland's Western
CrontJe:r in the neace settlement. The second .1I1s declared at.tdbutnble
1,0 Albohi!'!, on ac~')unt of its chlm to th13 gold 0f the Bank of Albania
hut setl aside pending the settlement of lthird :)arty claims. 'I'hl:! third
!;"'lre was '3,llocated in the second and quilsi final,.c:iistribution to the
,·jetherlhnds whiGh did not 'collect it 'lnd olueried the Commission's
',djudic~ti:)n. A fourth sh!U'e was e'l.rmarke(t as a orovision'll :ne-asure in
f'wour
Czechoslov':l.kia in the second ,~d quasi' fio!}l d.istribution
wh Lch could not, otherwise, haw;! been c'llculated. The share, however,
h'lS notl nctually been created since the iAmerican Commissioner has not
been 9.u th0rized by his Government to sign the adjudication which has
Qf;lCm nrep'lred. It is not known, at ore sent , whether the adj UdiCfltioll
;,wd thel corresponding share will prove ac:ceptable or not· to Cz,~choslov rtkb" which h'ls received no announcement.
.
pr
1
.\
i'rotests and 1ueries were received from .nJ 1. fOil I' C0untri.,·)s
in triP. ord,n i.n whIch the latter are mentioned abo'le And t.he Co;mr.ission
:;rof'losek to de:"] with them in this, the ,lust chapter of its report.
<. The
[05it1OO ,."hed lo regor" to POl:",d.
I The Poli.sh claims were divided, into two
parts: one eoncern.hg
nurf.lJy folish dem'lnds '3.nd one in respect of Poland's cla'i::i to the gold ~)r.
the ex-Free City of Danz tg. The comn19te: his tories of theRe t~JO chims
rt,,'Ure \.n two separ.ate a'djudicatioCls of :the CO;';lmission in 'loluillc II of
tlie pre kent reoort. These histories were. summarized in the analyses of
Pro:)lem~ ;,: nnd9 respectively, tn Chupter I'l of Volume I.
The Polish nrotp.sts and queries covered three different neriods
,
. .
19 •.,
J
]]
OUgl ,lnl ng res!,cc t.i ve I y on M)'1 13', 1 7' on • u 1y (
.:irc
'" ]9I.9 nn d on J une.,
I
1958.
t·hrch 13, 191.7 was the date r)f the C'Jmwlssion '5 lett-I:ll'
its creation ~tnd enumerating the various bas k texts 'llld
nri.nci.oJes which were to govern its ,-,ork: A CODY :)f this letter IHW, with
r;.,rbjnlreservutions, sent to Poland which hrd not yet been ~dmitted by
I'r·)t,')c~)l to narti cioatc in the 0001.
Fll1n0 1lrlC i.n~
rec~vered t~
.
I Pob.nu, '-'hich had
i
pre-war monetary reserves in
t,hcir 0?tirety, was not long in noticinc:that the COn~lli5Sion '5 definition
0(' [!;onetal'Y eold nullified its chances of obtainbg restitution in res pee t
0[' gold looted frlm nriv9.te :1el'sons1nd ~t addressed t'J the Commission 'l
c:msideraolfl number 'Jf nrotests and queries, some of which ,,]80 conc,~rno;].
U~'.' llnn:!ie; gold. A tyoic!-ll eXNll:11c will ~f~ found at Annex 39.
I
I,
)0/ .....
.i
1
'
. '-"1
201521
�I
. _.j
-
"
-
- .. i ~
---1
.~
. ,.
REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAl AR
~ -~
,~.
'.. J
DECLASSIFIED
' 1Auj':ority~Q q'B\OQ ..
:
...
I
RG S=-..:'1:....;...._ . , . .
. Entry .$31 ~
Box ":··3
I
By~__ NARA [lale~~~J
I ....,... "
• •• __;.. ~...!!"~.~!~~_."~_
- jO
Hr. Edw).\rd I:hrtol, the l'oliSf; GhlU'gc d'Hfaires, was heard by
the Commission, at his request, on October 6, 1947, but i t was not until
J:J.lluary 116, 1948 that the Commission decided that it could despatch a .
c~;uUous letter to Hr. Bartol, clarifying the posHi9n lind explaining
that, hi the 9.bl3ence of ';1 Protocol admitting Poland to p:J.rttci!')ate in
Lhe P001\, the CornmiSGio:1 did ·not consider that it was able to reply, nt
!J'!1.t St!;lgC, to th~ vrtrlous noints put forward by Pol<.lnd.
July 6, 191.9 \·10.5 the dn.te of the signatUrE:! 1n 1onl10n of the
Prot,oco] (Annex 6). The COmmisHion wrote, On July 20, JW+9, to the Polish
. .. . t ,i t::;'
1',HltS ,,:n reqU'.~ lnl;: a dd' t'
. 1 lana l ' f t "lon an d exp 1 qlla. t'
In arm:!
10115 rflgnr'j '
1111::;
l
the Poli!sl· d'1ims. The Minister replied bn November 3, ]949 and thi.s
I
.
(';~Ch'lJlg'], of letters WI}S followed by considerable fu·rt.her corre::J:">ondence.
Titer', wdG 'lJ1 unnleasrtnt interview on Narch 18, 1950, at these'lt of the
'.;~)r:;:flissllo'l, bet~ee1 the Secret!lry Gener~i' and 11 Polish e:<per-t,
1,:". C"e~nichowsk.i., accompanied by !vir. Jurkiewicz, Fin:lncial CounGe JJ or,
\.;ho '"Ild~'lvoured, unsuccessfully, to establish contrf1dictions between \-Jh!! t.
W1S 8;'1i..<:1 '1t this meetinc 'll1d on ?revious :oc.c:lsions: The Secr(~t'J.ry Genc!'aJ.,
Ci.n!l n y ,I 'lUt. '111 end t.o the conversation. I'
I
On April 15, ] 950, the Pol bib Ch~! rge d' Affa i r'3S addres::.;""i ' l
l';l")i:tIIY I'!o::municf,t.ion to the Comn,issioncfs, '3.lh!glng d:'sel'i..llli.n!ltion ,'In.)
',,,;kin(; t:h~lt 11 p.)J ish Representattve shoul'd be hcnrti by the COlnmll:lf'.ion,
'l<iil il:h sJnt'1 firill re:Jly, siCn0d by the Secr(~tar-y Gerter'11, rofuti!l(~ Lhe
I'u] L"l: ,lrgl.lments. A co:)] of this lett~:r, .d'l.ted ~:Sl:r jO, 1950, .I!iieh gi Vf'::~
['I 'lCcuJ'tte impr'e:'.::loll of the sHuntion which lIn.d Ilrl RI'l:'1 by t.h1t tlE:e,
.1 i,]] he: r'.lUIllI ,it I, nnox i. [; .
Uri .July 2'/, J95U, the Comtl.lsdon wrut.e t.., till:! PnJj:'!i ~ji!l;I:I.(;[·,
wit.h iUi uDu·3.1 nr:'lctice ii\:such c:!f;e:.:;,
trl'tt it h.JI.l
l),.;cn um,bJe to ri!!U t.h~ .Poli.:,,1, claim:,; v'lliJ md of('(~ring
'uld Q hear.ing
r,r:t'or,.' t!h~! Gommi :;:oion.
'
ill
"cco~d·.l.Ilce
Aluk:;~,nder
Hini~tr'r
I:iru,jS',~Js,
f H.E. :;11'.
Kr!ljewski, . Polish
in
. r,',"):;:.;,{ Dr. ~:'lId'rfd L'ICh~, lJ.in~ctGr fur For.;ie;n "('I'·.i I'; , trhrs"lw, ;{lid
;)1'. Pmo/ell Z Leli:::.;ki, Couns,:!llor "t Ule HiJ~ist.ry oL' l"in·.,n: , '11·.·.rsnw,
:.1.:l:,,;ured i)<:;:foru the Corr.rui:;sioll on Se~)ternber 5, 1950 nne! the hCrc,cl'1G W:J:~
r:OrlLinU~ld un FI;)\)r'1'.lry,12, 1951. Prof(,ssor Lachs deveJoned'his GDv<:,r'lfll,;ni.'::.;
:.ri:;'Lrn,;n!{ st.:llfulJy 'J.nd r'~ferred to '1 ml~ber :Jf clOCUi'I~;·Ili..:·;, 'Ji,;rC)uillunt:;,
,j,.:) c10.r'.! Lion:=; , etc ... ::;ome or which werl~ Inot in the Comld,18ion's r10~::-:~:;si:'t\.
C(C;'(:'II'C"i"'" "'y th"l Secr·;tnry Gc:lr.Jr~i1 '9n c·,.:)led the Gonlr.!tfs.ion to t'lk~ CO,;II.l/,:'l.nc:e
l.lf ;r:Ost
1°t':~iL,:~:3:h~o::::~:: :::o::s:::d:oi::~:~:~~nL:~:h:h~n~::::'::~:~<l to ,[rHw
·If·i~ur;I·:)nt:.'
in f·!V:.Jur or l'oland from the rr..inutes of
convers·lti.,)m~
··il' EG'I Il'ld
t:, :(,m pll.1c"! tn Londo'n, prior to the :,ig!1q.tuI'C .)f the Pr·otocoJ.. Tlw C::',:,f!l i ;,,;j l)~l
1"10. no· i<ho'",J,:::dge or t(wse minutes :lnJ [ld~:·luat.e inforrr.'!ticn W!U; obt· ..ll>.)(i :'r::;:'
t;h(·) thr-e\: Gov'~rnm',nts, suuseque'ltly to tb,~ he:lri:1g, by th8.ir re:"l"Jccttve
C,.HlIt::br;j:oner;. ',Iho, wiU' fu1J knm;bd 0 c o~ :,11 tho i'ncle; ',1[' thts c.olll'.lic'lt,~d
':",',0 ,
Ll:(l(} r,rocefHled to their fi..:-Hlings.
.I
th(~
;
tho
.runo 1], ]';158 W'tG
,J."lte of
C-:mllnim,ion'c lcltt':r (Annex. j7,
'.;It':.' ],):;ure I.) enclC):Jin€: the COf:1mission '5 forrH".l !H.!judic:ltion on the i'oJi3h
Gc>vc.'rnm:;lnt •s cl:.lir.:!:l '1.nd, ~s '1 :FiLter of :lmfOrnl'ltton i'ar t.hat Governmc:,l,
tlic Comldis3ion's JlJjudi.c:ltion ,,.itt r(~sra~t to t)1e gold of the B'ank of D:UlZig.
)1/ .....
I,
,
�- 31 ...
On July 2), 1958, Mr. Aleksander Wolski, the Polish AmbassadQr,
h,lVing asked for an appointment, called ~t the Secretariat and" on'
instructions from his Government, read out 'l letter of 'orote6t JI dated
July 16! ]958, to the Secretary General and left it with him (Annex J,I).
He led the Secretary General to understand that Notes, on simUs.r lines,
I
.
' .
h 'Jd be(~ril daoli vered by the Polish Ambassadors in Washington, London and
P:l ri s., to the three Govermnents consti tuting the Cominis::;ion.
\ The Ambassador's letter stated:, among other thinGs, that "his
Gove rnment conside rtJd that the Commission' a dec i6ions were wi thout fountl
'Ition, in law and in fact, and expressed': rEtservations with resnect to
thuse d~ci.sions and with respect to the deli very to other countrIcs of
eolJ which the Polish Government considered it was entitled to.
After the Ambassador's visit, the Secretary General hA.d reported
VI:,t he WllS under the impression thllt Poh,nd contemplated further acthn
'.md suggested that it might be adv'isable, in these conditions, to reject
Poland's a1J egations at a comparatively ,early date:, since too long "l silence
mit~ht pbssibly be exrloited by Poland to' her own ends. A number of dnfts
of sugl:~sted replies were examined by the three Commissioners, in consult
!I,tion with their rest)ecti ve Governments,. und a final text was agreed
(Annex }~), which was despatched by the Secretary General, on September 29,
1958, tb the Polish Ambassador, rejecting his Government's allegations and
I
,r'~servl:itl ions.
There \Jere, of course, other e.xchanges of lesser iml)ortance during
the above period.
i~othirig further was het3.rd, uffer th'l.t, from Poland Ul'ltiJ 1':169,
when I1n Aide-Memoire (Annex L,J) on the Danzig g,)ld was deli..verl~d by the
I'olish Ambassadors to the thre(~ Governrr.e:nt.s, on April ~l in Paris, on
A:->ril 2Y, in ~vJash.ingtQn, on May l)inLondon,reiterat.ing Poland's eclrlier
dern'lndsl th~ t the share in the gold pool 'set as ide, by dec i s ion 0 r the
Commiss~on, i.n f'lvour of an eV0ntual successor to the free City or D,'.nzig,
should be deliv0red to Poland.
,
The three Governments referred: the Aide-Hemo1 re to ttle COlfijni.~~don
ror its views on certo..i.n points arising ;out of this case and the Corn[Jli~;don
~X'lJI ineU the situ ';;ti on , insofar a3 it was concerned, at its 179th and l50th
~"Jetingls. In vif-lw of their imnortance, relevant extracts from the minutes of
these tGo meetincs "lre guoted hereunder ;infull
;<;;<tract from the minutes'
0:'
the 179th Meeting
"1[, 8xwnin'ltion of an ·aide-memcire from'the Government e>I PoLmd nwarJing
"
"
th\:} IIDanzig gold", Agreement on views .to be expressed to tbG
Golvernments reg'lrding the contents :of this ."liue-rnemoi re .
~
"
The Chairman then turned to the luestion of the Polish :l.i;ie-11'I0:"Doir'c:
"on the lhnzig g,)ld. A 'prelimin r1ry exch.:inge of information showed ttJfi.t tl:e
liP::>lish '3.it.ifl-rnemoirehad been delivered-to a11 three Governme!1ts : onA:1dl :d.
"itl F'ar.ir:, on A:1ril 2/ in w~!shington, !md: on' May 13 in London. i
"
\. The Ch'l.irmlln s'lid that, nlthough his GoverrUlicnt hA.d not yet
"r23,ehed 'lny fundament'll conc lus.ions reg3.rding the new PoIi sh request, it
IIconsid1ercd that it crmld not merely st~nd by an eleven year old ~lecip, LC1n 'HI.!
"set :slid? the new rer'l,uest. It was o[ the oP~riion L~13t 'l. further:H,ld ~hr.)r"llg!;
"CX'1mln'ltlon sh'Juld be made,·hflving re(.;~rd, 111' partlcu]:lr, to .the Jill'H!J.ca]
"imnl il,tions which mi.ght 'lri:Je out e>f 'jl reverS'll, o[ th(~ (bei.s i.Q~l t.'lJcen L,:1
"1'158,ITl1e French j·iinlstry for For"L.7 ;ifC:lirs hnd I:lerely ir·r:.irme'.l the offi>c:.,l
"from t)ro ?:JJi.sh E~hassy wr.o h'ld deJi.-':,·:r,-ld the 'dJe-iIl{!r,:)l.r(~ j):,.,t, 1.!,;:.; docurr:e'J 1. '
"',nn1d b'1 crlr':)fully exami.ned.
.
j:':V, ..• ',
"
. I'.
!
I·
�- Ji:':'·
'I'he British Conunissioner sai'~ thnthis Government, on the ,one
"hantl, hatl merely stated that the aidefmemoire would. be studied and that,
lion tHe other, it would welcome the views of the Conuntssion before
"renctiing conclusions on the request received from the Polish Government.
n
:rhe American Conunissioner s~·d that his Government had 9.lso
"told the Poles th1.t it would revlew tliematter Ill1d let them hav'.:: its
"reliction but th'lt it hnd not yet reached a position and would welcome the
"vil)ws' of the other two Governments. :
, '
n
t,~
intere~t ~.
\
11ith reference
the
the British Gove;nment i'n
flh/wing the vie,IS of the Commission, the American Commi.ssioner suggl)sted
"th'lt itt could be said .that the initi!ll react16npf ull three Conimissioners
nwas that, whilst t.he Commission 1r/ould not be competent to comment, on the
IIpolitlc!ll or jurldica:1 aspects of . . . .
the Danzlg case, it could comment:
I
.
'.
.
"lQgit~mately on the technical asnect, that is to say that it could give
lithe three Governments its view as to whether or not a reversal of the
IICom.:~i~si.on's decision on tho Danzig ca,se would r-eise any problem of' a
"techniical ortier.
.
11
The Commission decided to examine this question again at
11
1
"next
~':eeti
ngll.
i~s
Ex:tract from the minutes of the 180th Heet.in.,; ••.
"2. Further exa/llination of the Polish !lide-memoir':'! .del;' vered lo Paris on
AI2Hl 21. 1969, in Washington on Aoril24. 1969 aiJd in London on
II
MaY 13, 1969.
' .
II
Ch~tirman
di.scus~i6n
II
\
The
then initiated :/rurther
of tho questi,on
"or.the Polish 9-Ue-memoire on the Danzig gold, taking9.s his starting POlllt
Uthe i riithl reaction of the Commts:'Iion· at the 179thMeetine thRt, while the
UCotnmtcision would not be competent to comment .on the politicaJ, or Juridical
lIaspec~s of the Danzig ca.se, it could c6nunent legitimately Oll the technic>\l
"aspect, that is to say th'l.t it could give the three Governments its view 'li>
lito wh~ther or not a rl)versnl of the Commission's decision on the Danzig cr(se
, '.'W':)Ultl ir !1.ise TIDy problem of 0. technical :order. The Cor.unission' s discussion
"of thtis qU\~stion fooused on three aspects which were suggested by the
"Americl',n Commissioner: (1) whether the power exists to alter the Cor,1T,,1!181on':>
"l.l1.r1Le:" decision on the Ik1n?ig gold; (2) whether Mtion to 'tIter t,h(; e:>,r.l ier
"d(.)ci:::10n mi~ht\ serve as an uadeslr'lble ,procedept Cor other C'lses~ (J) wheth::r,
"U ttL"H.1 decided th!lt it W(iS (Jither impossible or umlesirable to !~lter tho '
lIoriglnhl doci.s i on , it might nonetlwle:>s" be .DOS:: '.!11i~, whilH le1wing the
I
"decisiF'l uunltered, for the three Gover~nents, acting ns holder:~ of th.:'j <::01.1,
"to malIc some '1ct;:ornmod'l.tion to the Poles'.
'~merged
"
\ In the ensuing discussion, it
that. the three Commissioners
"were ip general agreement on the following points : (1) It would be possibli ;
"for 'the CommisBion to alter its original deCision; (2) HowevHr, there was 'i
"risk that this would create an undesirable ~recedent for other cases ,~
I
'
"L:onsequ(Hltly, there would have to be strong arguments in favour of HJ.t'YC'i.n!;;
lithe decision; (3) It would be 'extrernely:undeslr.'J.ble t()r the three Gover'nmc!ri~.t.,.
"whUe ieavinc the Conunission'a decislon'unalterod, to :!ccommodate l'olt1nd in
"their 9ti!,!lcity as holders or the gold. '.l;hiswouldullUI')ubtedly hn.ve. the \.lrr'~ct
"01' untl~rmining the authority.and the prestige ,of the Commission !1.ll.d would
"c~st doubt on the validity of all its o~her dec isions.
jJ/ ... "
,201524
�RG-~'-
!jif._
EDtry ""'3/·~·
Box,a.
- JJ
"
There was also discussion of hqw the COrTunission could explain
"why i t decided to alter its original decision. The Chairman selid that a
"possible oxolMation might be that it w{ls not really apnropriate forlhe
"Corr,misdion to hold in its original decision that the gold sh01;lld not be
"delivel~ed to Poland until after the final peace treaty with GemMY.
"The Chdirman believed that this was a decision which ought to have been
"taken by the three Governments rather than the Commission. He believed
"that t~e Commission should merely hwe est!l.blished the valldi ty of the
"claim find left it tOo tbe ·three Governmerlts to decide when and in what
"e 1. rcum~b,nc',~s the I.~ward would be made. The American Commissioner
":jssociAtcd h-Lffiself with the Ch'-lirman'5 viSW, whiJe nt the Mms time I
"rointirlle out tho dflnger that such r~[Jso~ing mi;;ht concetvnbly be
.
"aDnlic'~blC to other decisions as well I'I.pd lead to. their bein!;' ch'lJlr=n~ed.
"The ~ecrctary General Observed thg,t this was indeed nossible but th:J.t
"it wHSlby no means er:tsy to cite fUly par~icular C"lse. The British
"C()illm i s~.11 oner reserved hi s position on lh is expre"s ion of views by ttl,)
"GIUl i rm'\n and the American Commissioner"',
'.
j.
The
Lo
i " 0" ,e"h'" in regnrd t" Alb an i a.
I
i~;
The c(Jrnnlete history of the AI;HIDb.n cl!:drn
La be found in
n of the 9resent report.' This
,history\w'ls suml~,p.ri7,ed in the analysts of Problem 7, Cha;)ter III of lIolum8 L
IL '.;:>11 be divi<ied into 'l number of phllses, most of which did not ~on~ern
t.!:~ Comrhb5ion L'Jut 'l.re r[;ent.ioned below f6r efJsy reference.
Ule Comr::i~:sLon's adjudication in Volume
Wfl:'~ Ji~)C()\lc:rr:!d
I
Alban t", in its reo.ly to the -luestionnaire whtch, as
nol di~;close' all the f'lcts of the case, claimed Ulili'. the gold of
;!1e Bank of Alb'1ni"" e:-;t'lblished in Rome, was moneta.ry gold belongine to
t.] i)'mia, wi thin the rr.eaning of P:J.rt III of the Paris Agreement,
1IL"~r, ~jd
The Commission, on t.he basis o~ the AllJ.'mi9J1 reply, found that
the gold '.la" the COv'ilr for the note it>sue which W9S the recognized legal
tr~nder .in Albunir• .'lnd th'1t !l normal relc_'tion existed between this i'.old,
rlt. the time it. W~lS looted, and Albani" '13 rr.onet'lry system, 1:. consequently
considered the c131m valid.
I A~; r(~!3ult' thi:~
!~old,
'1
or
(k:ci!lion, two nlloeatiorw of
on:; ('or
1, ] G/, ,26li6 ld 1 0t:rrtm~; 'lnJ ru1oth~r for 17 .,19]1 k 110,~r'11I18 (i.e. n' tot,,} (Ji'
1 ,1:': 1./.517 kHogr!;.ms) \.lere notified, on Feoru ary 16, 191.8 antl J)n June,)O,
1':11,8 rebner::t,ivcly, to AlbanL. \JLich, [l)w,ever, did not seek deJivery'
tll,;;:l' tliately,
This
W'lB
the end of the first phase.
On ~i'irch ]8, 1949, [taly SUbmitted a memOr'lnJulO cLdmi.ng th,,1. th8
should be rfd,urned to the Blink Qf Albania In Rome, Th i.:; ~In5 eontr:-Iry
c the IColiIlllls"ton's rules of procedure rind W!W refused.
Gil] d
I
Un June 22, Italy entered '1 formal OD;JOS i t,.lon to t.he de 1 i vdry DJ'
LlH; golll to Aluan ta 'lnti contentled that the gold W!.1S HloneL:H'y gold n\.' 1 t!:.l/.
t~
Further in['orm'ltion regarding :these two Itali!?Il d,;m"rches
to be
in t.ho al1aJy:;is of Problem 7, Ch::;oter IV, volume I, where, hO\.lt-lver, in
order ~ot I.e) lengthen thfJ text unduly, u:'aetic 11IJy no Jates 'H'e g:i ven.
(,{jlma
I
I
The ':lbove f(lets CO:1sti tuted t.he second
ph~lse.
201525'
�-~-
-. - .-.'.
RG S'I
""-----
Entry ""31·~
Box " 3.
J:
I
A con::i.derHble exch"..n,;;e of correspondence bl~twecn the Dcleeate
of ,abania ,'ll1d the Secretary General fo11owed, the former requesting delivery
'1.nd the lat tur gal ni ng time pending decisions of the Commission. regardir.g
the new situation which had arisen.
:.
'
The Deleg3.te's first r.equest for details regarding the formdities
to be carded out, i.n order to obtain delivery of the gold which h!ld been
al1ocn.t~d to Albania,w'ls dated May 19, 1949. This WliS fo]]owed by ei,:ht
ot.her letters, two of which were so offensi',re th~\t on€: was returned to the
[)t;lp~fltJ. by the Secret~l.ry Genero.}, on hi~: ~wn initi:l.tive, fU1d the otr.e:r on
inst.ruciiions from the CO!TUniS2ion. Ne'lrly:all these-letters gave rise to
e xchan~els of Notes, and opinions and drlif,ts and, redrafts, between the:
:)eCret'·H~y Gener'll and the three COr.1missioners, in consultation, when necessnry,
wi ti: their resoect1 ve Governments. The Secretary GenerHl took action afl S:Jon
''\;) unani1ml ty had been reacl:ed 8.S a resul~ of theu.e· exchanges or pursut~.!t to
lecisionls t9..l{en At formal meetings of the Comrnissi'cn. Nearly as mue\'· t'ial," 'vi'l:';
Clevoted,1 during thil:1 period, to an examin,ation of, fUld exchnnges of vlt!';;; on,
]eUers iwhi,r:h were oassinG between the Cc:mmission and the Italian Amb'i,:;s~uor
,,1)(1 iJotes ;Ihlch were bebE: received from the lntter and from '3. s:)ecial
Rvpresen1tat.lve, .:J.;Jpointed b:{ the ItE,lian :Governlrlp.nt, all of ',.,hieh affect.cd
the Cornrr,!is3ion's attitude vis-,a-vis Alba~i:J.. The Secretltry Genero] deSP'ltc l10:i
seven re{l],ies in n,lJ. One of them, dated :July lJ, 19/..9, sta.ted soecificalJy
tbl.L he h:-vJ received instructions to thu effect that delivery W'1.s :msponued
..
.
"ti on.
':1i"rHllng IeX'h'TlJn'~ t'
lOll 0 l' t·h e It] tan OOpOSl
a ,
th~ thr€!~ :Comrnissioners ::dgnedIt!lLi<w O";.losi
u'leLL.,r
a
the
I
On Oceemc),,)!' 5, 1950,
'u,hJruf.f.ea to the,! Albani311 Delegate,
t.o:J thc) 'JbJiver.v, informing him t.hat
,tlJ Oc·,t ibns to Alb,1,n b ".nd that the
r:~)mt)etenhe, it hud decided to refer
enclo'sin~;
CtH"Y 01'
1 10'1
..
the Commission had decided 'to C!lnc:,} its
prob~ems ruised being outside i. ts
LhelJl :to the three Go'vernmenb.
This w'!:! the end of thQ thi.rci rhase.
"
0Ilrill!; Liw period from Febnwry,: 26, 1951 to ::lart(!mber 30, 1')5~:, jhc
D(,}el'f1t<i) addressed nve further letters of orotest, one 01' which WA.~ l'etu rne.J
by ti;c S~cret"I.r.Y Gener",J. as unaccBpt'lbL~t,o' the CommissioJ~ wL ich, 'ul!3w~rir:g,
:,)[1 June p, 1951, one elf the Delegate's lotters dat.ed May 3, 1951, referred
tlLm to the evonLs wh.i.th h9,d led to tho si'gnature, on April 25, 1951, i.n
W'lshingthn, of ru1 a~reement betwI;en the three Governme;')tt; wbich h9.d i:,eol1
noUi'ied\ LG Albanitl Hnu stuted thlit the Df'llegB.te's leLter h,td bHen tr'I[is:"j!.t,("j
t.o ttl e
thl
'~,~" ~:::.::.~:::::
,"s",,, l 0,', on
"~"~
,,,,,,, "'" 6, 1',';2, uno \,I.;" "n' [";",, ,
I' ,,,..
t.l1.! lif!.k,.:':I,.~, r",f'.:rreo him t.o t ts letter of June "'7. 195], rCG:-:l]h,d 'Uut!,
l'r'l)res!>o~ :,)'Iuser-HuJ] had bHBn at'pointed arbi.tt'ntor nurSU'ltlt. to the ~h,;t:ini,:L;l!1
Mrreemp.nl 'Inri stt!tod that cople,;. of tho D~leF!(t.e':l letter 'UlU oj:' I!K! C(\';;l!,:,~ i.'"I':
"".
I
~
re~ly h~a
I
been Gont. t.n t.he
Prore~sor,
f0r informntion.
~he
~nd~.l
'
Tbe Comm'i!'Jsil)rl feels Lhat, for
sake cf ehri ty
Liluu,:h it'".d
not conce med in the Washington Agreement, or the l.rbi tratio;') th!lt [:oJ] 0wed,
e xce r) L i hsor,~r J).S it l!:lnt its Secretar;y General to <tct IJ.S .Secretfj r,y:;e:;(; r", -; ·:,t
th~ s0.;st.lor t.he Fl.rbi tr<:tion, th~ st'ltemen):. which accompanied tr,eW,:;l.shlngLon
;\~;r'eemQnL should fi t:urF.:,'.8xceptionnlly, 1r the body of this report, Cor.'?!lsy
r~;d"~rf}nc4, rnt.her th:l.n ns AIl annex. The statement J:., accordlnr:Jy, ',FlUe",d;;J
fu:] belbw.
'
'
)')/,
....
i
.I.
201526
�p,,,,<,..•.
I' .
- 35 -
STATENENT TO ACCUMPANY
"
"
PUBLICATro:~
OF THE AGREEMENT
,,
BETWEEN THE QOVERNMENTS OF THE; FRENCH REPUBLIC,
THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND ~ORTHERN IRELAND
lAND THE UNITED STATE0 or' AMERICA FOR THE SUBNISSION .
ITO A!~ARBITRATOR OF CERTAIN CLAIMS ~JITH RESPECT TO
GOLD LOOTED BY THE GEffi.1Ai~S FROM ROME IN 1943.
II
II
11
If
"
T~e Governments of the French Republic I the Unit.ed Kingdom and
"the United States, who 'have, Wlder Part HI of the .final Act of the Pads
I
'
IfG0nfcrence on Reparation, the duty of dh;:t,dbuttng monetary gold from the .
I
.
"nool formed by the gold found in Germany by the AlJied forces and recovered
"from thi~d countries, have found themselves unable at the present time t.o
"reach 11 60nclusion with regard to a certaln quantity of gold to which cl·dll.:;
I
..
"hRve been made, both by Albanb. and by n:aly, under par3.gra()h C of Part III
HoI' the phis Act. The three Governments have therefore decided to submit th~s.
"~uesti()n to an arbitra.tor to be selected by the President of the Int·::rnati.on'11
"Court of Justico and to obtllin from the drbitratoran opinion whethE.'ri,H'::mi::
"or It:{ly, or neither of them, h'ls este.bli'shed 3. claim to this amount of' !(old
"under Pa..rt III of tbts Act. The three Gov.ernmcnts hnve sianed an agroeme~t
"provtdin\; for thh, refere~lce t'l an :J.rbitra.tor, the 'lgreement. providinf, thnt
1I the nrbil'trator I before he considers his orinion, shaH afford a fulJ
"oDportunity to AJbania,to Italy, 'lIld to ,each of the H,ren Government:::. to
11 :.;ubmi t
to him such evidence. and leg~ll :;.rgiunents as they may des ire to uo.
,"The thre1e Government:·: will accept the opinion :"f the arbitrf;1.tor 'lS decisive
"Oll t.he ,J'uestio:l of the cl:'tims m~de under 'Part III of the Paris Act.
I
If the opini.on of the arbi trlltor should stHte that AlbanLlha's
;.,:t(;!d 't t::him under P"rt III of the' Act ~ the thr'·)e Powers i'tre coni'Nntetl
"by "not.Her questi,0n because both the United Kingdom on t.h,) f)ne h.<1.nu 1111:1 Itl'Jy
lion the dther h.~nd mnintain for dHferent:,re·'lsons that the gold whi.ch f)n thi.s
Hhy,)othedts f'llb to Albania under P(irt IiI of the Paris Act should be .
"r.lelivi~rJd to them.
II
"f! ;,tobJ j
II
The United Kingdom m~linta1ns that the (;:01<1 should be deliv0reJ to 1.t
"uecRu:;o 1. t. hHs obt'lined. in the Intern'ltional C:lllrt of ,Ju:~tj ce 11 judgl1lf.mt
""E'linst Albnnl". for' £8/,),947 in resp,~ct of the deaths of (wJ injur1e~; .'\.0
"fll.~mbf)rs of the i3ritish N.'lV'j 'l.nd thA IORsof 'l.nd U'IJT:14.;8 L;) I3ri.tbh w{rSilinr. in
"the Corfu Channel, !l$ 'l result of 'tn undisclosed r.1ine-n(~ld, for whi.ch the
"Gourt hkld th'1.t Alo9.:'1ia had '1 reflr:lonsii)1.Jit.y. This judgment hlj[; relJ!'lir.led
IIcompbt~ ly urfsat.i8 fied and, [11 t1:ough discuss i.ons have to.ken ~.1lnce beV.i(~e n
lithe Sri ttsh and AJ h3.ni'ln 9.gcnts in the case, Alui.'.ll ia h DS nf.lt nff'en;d·.'lnythinr
"more thltn '1 token SUM in scd,isf?.ction \) f' tb i.s judgment, 'mil flccortiin[ly the .
"di:;cu<>sions betHeen the two agents have been ~)rok,:;n off. The United Kim;dom
"cGntend~ thA.t in the circumst'lflCeS, if Atbani'.l flstabll shes a claim to tile
"golLl unher P.:;l.rt III of the Paris Act, it" should be cteJiv'~n:d to the UnUcd
"langdom/ in partial sntisfaction of. tbe j\,ldg;:Jent of the Internc,Li()[)',] C0urt
::Of
JUstl'iC:t:~:~::()A:::n::~erted
a claim' to the
~~oid
involved
her(~,
whi.ch .
I!'lri~lf~s from
!1 IP'.l.tter not cover<:Jd by P~rt III, n~ely t.he Albanian taW of
1)th J ·lhuB.ry, J 91..5, whereby AJ b.'l.rti·") cO:1fisc'lted \J Ltbout. any cor,pen{;Iltion t,ho
1I:);, SGts
the :'htlom,l B~mk of klbanh, .,tbe shares' tn whLcli WCt'r:.; for Ul8
"most D'lrt held O'{ t.he It9.liw Gov~rnmcnt. The gold in queHtiu:1 cQnsUluV~cl
"'On tm:)6I'tn!lt '~ss~t of the' sald Bank out~lde of Albnni.?i., :md ItF.ly r.ontencis
"th 3.t ~r~der ·intertl'lt ionti] law no extra-t~rri torbl 0 [fect shou] J be gi ve:l
"the AI~,mi:m Government's confiscati.cm~.nd the ::old should b'J deJiv0I'(·d to
"ItI'J.ly.1 In mldit ion Italy J3.ssert.s IJ cbini to ,thL~ specifi.c ![.old: b'1.:,,"d ?11. the·
";')rbvisions or the Italinn Pe'l.!~e Tr€ ; 'Ity. Fln'l11y, t.he effect of the IbllEln
"Ponce treaty as reGards the re"oecti va !,ights :)f the intereRted p:\rlj 05
"would nave to be considered.
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201527
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Entry --""0 I~
.5;:;;..'1.;;...' _ _
Box-3
- J6
"
The three Governments have agreed that, if the opinion of the,
"r,!'bH,ra1.or :ts t.bl. Albanh has established a claim under Part III bf the
It £lilT i s A~ t, to 2,3)8.7565 kilogr~sof TlIonet"l.ry goltl looted by G€mnany,
"tht1y wifl deliver the gQld to the ')nited Kingdom 1n parti (11 satisfaction
"of the judgment in the Corfu Channel cftse unless within 90 dayr-; from the
"dllte ofithe communication of the arbitrl{tor's opinion to It'31y :ind filbania
"8ither (a) Albani.';l makes an aoplicntion to the International Court. of.
"Jwij;lce Ifor t~e determination of the '1ue~tion whether .it iG, proper t~\~t
"the gold, to which !llbe,niB has est'iblished a claim under Part II [, should,
"UI) deli~ered to the United Kingdom in ~!i;rt11il satisfaction of the Corf'l
"~h 'tnne] jud~JO'~/lt; or (b) Italy rr;,3ke:; an ~pplic'lt.lon t.o t.he In~orn:\t: (lna]
":;Qurt of .rust.ice for the deV::r;ninution 01 the question, whether by rcnst1n
"of 'lOY heht whicil she clll.ims to Dossess as a resu.lt of the Alb"ll1ia!l Law '
"of' IJthIJanu:iry, 19/.5, or under the provisions of the ItH.li,<iI1 Peace Trt:)aty,
":::;e W)l't should be de] iver(~d to Italy rather than to Albnnla 'lad 'igref~:" t:.>
",o.CC'111t ~he jurisdiction of the Court to determine the 'lU€ ) stioo whethcr th,.::
" c lalm of the Unit.ed Kingdom or of Italy to rect1~lJe Lho g<Jld shouJtl h.w'"
"pr lori iy, if thls issue should arise.
I
R~PUbl
I
~nd.
The Governm,'mts of' ttle french
ic, the Unl ted Kingdom
"t.h8 Ur.i~[d Stf(teri def:hre th~:.t. they win;'!J.ccOl"lt as cefend'mtr: the jllri.:;;.JLct.i'·n
"of l,h0 ~ourl, for the ournone "f t.hf;' Jeter:ni!l,1.tion ,)f such appHr;'Ji.ions by
"[t"Jy or' by Albl;lflh Dr by both.
It
of
The tbrc~e Gove rnmen ts 'J,gre'; to' ;~onforll1 irl th<'l 1I1!3tt.el'
the cl01 Lv,; t',/
iPJd wi.th anyriec'jsloos of the bt,(!"'n'ltionul Court of JLl~;tiCO' gtv~~n 'W the
"r'~::;uJt. '"f ;'UCh"'l:;olic'.:tioo3 by Italy or by Allnwl-1".
II
I
~l
"')j'
Th is
W!:iS
tho ,')nd of. th,:;, fourth 6hase.
I
'I'
On Febr1lary 20, 1953, t.he Secret'1ry Gencrd, IlctJ.n[ as ;;ecr,,'hry
i~\i lie ra1 'l.t th':J :;8!lt 'Jf the ,'lrbi t 1.".1 t.i Q~l by' PNfessor 5:turjer-H ell], de ::;nntchcd
:3 t:ony or. l.he Pr';:lfes:';ol"s'1rbitr':\1 :ldlJii~e:'to the Deleg!tiG,(see ProbJ.em 7).
It must be r,~c'l.l1ed here that the Commbsion ir.<.:()r.()or~ted tho
'Irbitr3.1 advice h.ter in its adjudications on the A1bani olfl :1nd ltaJbn '·:1,,110:::.
Upon rec~i ot. of' th., Secret~ry ~ner:l.l's c:JrnTnunicntion of f<:'!bru:lry ;::0,
1<)5), the ue!eg:lte wrot.e, Oil July J, 1':15/., refusing to I'of:'Jgnhe the ir;ter
Vf~llt.ion dr t.he'three Gmrernr.lentr. antl requesting delivery to the Sbte of
AlbDnl~1,
the'CommJssion 11lswlOlred, on July 27, 195/., rt:cnlll:1g til;;.t the
;tlloc'lti'.m to Albani," hll.s been c'lncelled,that the Commis:3ion h(;l.s not 'f2t lflJ1de
_:nm,J:1 ltd declsio!tS and st'iti:lg that it w~s, t.her!:!f::>re,· premature to s'peak of
1.[", ~);wr.l~~!,i:)n 'Jf the CQJJl!nission's defln:t.e' dflci::;ion.
land
:1
TId
r; 1,.1 ItS
t.he end
01'
the
r i fth
Dh'lse.
{JPCltI r~!cHi :)t or the C~):nltli :.:si',n'fj letl.'~r iJ(' Jtlth:~ ]J, ]<)5;'; ;.n:.i Lil"
r"r!fl:d ,!djwlic'ition which accOIr.p!l'ILJu it, the De]JJg'1,t.!~ 0[' Albani 'I, r,):d'j'i:Jg .«,
i'fl.ds, "ddressed a letter of prot(';!st tll'l.ted August. ]J, 1958 (,;nnex J.l.) to the
GOI;i!"i~iSiQlln; Bricf1y }meaking, the De]cg'tt~; cont8st9J t.he Cl)mmi:;::;icm'!l ri:.'ht t.:;,
.Ii I',_,~;t lh,-,t ;.Joani.') 's 3hqr~ should, in view::d' thtrd party d.'lims, renr',in i.::
tLc (;u~toldy of t.he thrc: G:Vf~rr,ments pending i1 deci~jo:l ns to its ·dj.sp~sal. ,.:13
hf: cJnlm0d ihut the Peru: Ii.grcement plr:ced the Commlsslon under 'lJ1 obll i}:ltlon
to cleJiv,+ to Ali)(;1nb its pro rat3. shar'e h the gold pool. ThR Secret.aryGCJrh;Y-!Li
'o.clmowledge,l recoint. of' this letter.'
""
, ' .
Ion Jece:r.bcr 17,
1958, the
Deler;~t.9
ill,!'o:,llrl~,;
•.:r('n1.e, I1skinr. whal
shl3.t,p. sh~)1tld !;.0
liC(;Jl taka:! to comply '..Jitb his r~quest t:!:1t, hlba.'1.i~,'~
1.1..' the t:it~.t8 onnk of Aluanb.·
),,:,
deliv·~r.~.i
)7/., ,'..
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201528
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RG . '1""'""' _ _
Entry 53'1 ~
S-,,-'
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.•".. ,f.
Box'
3
. I
- 37
flfter exchanges of views between themselves 'ind with 1J:eir
rC's!Jcctiye Governments, the three Commissioners 'luthorized the Secratn~y
G(merfl.l ~,o despFl.tch a reply, on Aoril 23,',1959 (Annex 45), refuting the
Delegate rs arguments, referring hi:n to the statement which accomp'll1ied
the Washington Agreement of April 25, 195~ between the three Governments'
and infofming him that no decision had, as yet, been notified to the
Coml~issid>n rega,rding the disposal of Albanin's share in the gold 0001.'
~id
.1 Albania
not m1l..ke 3D application to the Intern:.itionsl Court
of Justlge ~s pr'JVlded for in paragraph (!i.~ of the washington stl)tement
but Italy did and, as can be seen from the. judgment of June 15, 195/. of
the Intefn'ltional Court of Justice in the ".case of the monetll.ry 50ld
removedJrom Rome in 1943 (preliminary question)". Cl.c.J. reports 195/.~.
f). 19, ",'lIe:, number. 119), the Court, unanimously, found that the juris
rii(:tion ?onrerred upon it by the common agreement of the three Governl:,(~nts
:.:,nd Italy did not, ln the absence ()f the consent of Albanin, authorize it
t.o acljud}r.'lte u?on the first submisslon iil the ann1,'icntio!1 of the ltHli'111
u0ve rnmet;1t and, by thi rteen votes to one, found th,'it i t could !lot
;~djudicil.t,8 upon the second submission in ~he 8.pplici1tion of the IbJi'1l?
l,overrunflnt.
I
1
Lh"
in
t ',"
'1.
The
Commi~sion understll.nds,
at It he tim0. of writing this re:)ort,
T ,~::: ::t:::::b:: ::"A:~:I::i:: :,::: ::: ~y further'h"n,
T::'
n
illP.tl (hstrlbutlon
CM
e'lslly be c'l.lcu19.ted.
I The nnly rroblem with whieh the Commiflsion mil;,' be fnced will
"
cO,ncern ~he rrovision to be m3.rie in 'Ln' eventual Hquid'3.tion of t.ho
Cor;,mission ror the r.ontinu!ltion of the oaym(mt of Sfife custody cl\J~.rges Lo
t.he l3911k of Engl!1.ml for thp. golJ set aside on account,· or the Alb'lrl i.:Ui C"'.S().
I,. The :)osi tion reached in regard to the :Netherlands.
I Upon receint of the Commission ':s letter of JunE) 1J, ]'158,
.
'ldjutiica.tion ,lt1d enclosures, Ur. A. Rinnooy-Kan, Directr)r of tho.: 1~,)tiJer] ·.,nds
Hinistryl of ?imnce, 'Delegate of the Net~erbnds to the Inter-All led
;(r;pllr'ltion Agency, phoned the ::iecretary General on JUlIe 16, 1'158, ,;tating
"t.h'lt 11,) h'Jd ri'ld 13. shock" on r(~cldinO' the Commission's ;,tdjuJic'.ltioll in wlli.cf~
a corn[).'irll'i.tiv:lY'importrm~ portion of the.:'Netherl1.ndS' c~l1im3 was r8.!<:!c~eLi,
3ski. nl:: 0: nur-.~)er of questlons 'll1d requestIng a meetinG \nth the COlnmlsslon.
The sec~I'et:1ry ~e!lerQ.l reported this conversnti~!1. to) the. three comrni~Si.()ne. rs.
In hli; letter of June 16, 1953, conful~inc thIS conITers:ltlon,
lJr. ltinn'Joy-Kan misquoted Wklt the Secretary Generttl h(l.d s.qid and tho l'lt\er,
'J\'! h L~3 6wII ini t.lative. corrected the Delegl1te by letter dated JUII(~ ~O, ]'15~.
ex~hp_nged vio~s~ ~n. con8ult':lt.i~n.
.
1
The. three Commissioners
\·li t.h
ti',:lr r'Js:Ject.Lve GO'/errunents, reg':!.rdlnt,; the "dvlr;lbJ.llty of reCp.IVU1G
Dr. rUnAQ'Jy-KFl.n. II i:; request for .'1 meet.ing with the COlllmission WRS the n rst
.~nd onlY request of this nature addressed to the Comr.Lbsion subsequently to
tl10. despatch of the Commission's letter 9f June 11, 1958 and enclosures.
viow~
I-lhUst these exchanges of
were taking ol:lce, Dr. iUr.:n+i y -Ka ll
aJdn~s~;ed :, further letter, ..h~,ed .Tune 2.1." 1958, ·.md '1 memorandum Ol the
::;",ne d'l.te (Anrtflx 46) \.,0 the Secretnry Gener'll Hho circu1~t8d these docur.lCnt:.;
~o the 1'~hree·Corr.r.Jissi()ners, askin;,; therr/!lt the same UrnC', in vie-l of the
contend :'Jf Dr. Rin"ooy-Kan's letter, w)l~tl1er he w,s t.o pr()cced wi.tli t~;:o'
::;eG!l~d ';]F.ld~UA.Sl l'j;~I'll distribu~io'l '::r ~3~,~)Jend it, l1e~d:i.n'~ fu:the!' .'.• dv\t::e •
. T!i'J ComJ:il.c.s lonflr:; (llr.. :cted th~ .:;ecrc;l'd"J.. "encr:d to L't oGecd W l th t.he
:listriblilt,i')[I, '!.S previousl.'1 ::i[;reed. Jr. iUII'II)').:r-KI1.n's m0morQ.lldlll~' l"li~·;p',.1 ~.
I1Ui:i1'oJl" J,f' !~'J.int,8 ',!1d ruqucf;tcd repl i.es to seven que~;ti()n3.
1
38/ .....
"
!
201529
�,.
,
,
.
I
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'.
,
. '.,J
.
I
.~
.
-'.-
DECLASSIFIED·
o
;
By ~__ ~ARA [late
~~-&;.
'
_,
•
.-,-
-~ ~
0::....:_ _ __
1...t:l£f3'
_~'lII!"~~~':!J'!"!:~~_.~.~.
-
RG sf'
Entry .$0 I,~ ,
'1 Au~:orHy~ q93 \l)Q
.REPRODUCED AT THE NAnONAL ARCHIVES
Box
___
- .38
The Secretary General, h'l.ving been authorized by the three
C"'iliJ::i:J,,;i.op<.H'S to acknowledge receipt of Dr. Rlnnooy-Kan's l:;tter of'
.June 2!., [958, desn'ltched an ackno\.lledg::1ent on JuJy 10,1958.
lon, July 23, 1958, Mr. ,J .N. Devers, Commercifll COllnsellor n.t
t.he Embnssy of the Netherlands in Brussels, passed ~1 mUSSI'1fr.\J frol1l
I
' l -
Dr. Rinnooy-Kan....! by telephone, to the Secrotary Genen,l, to the effect
t.h'lt, if' ,the Commission could not ''),gree to a form,'ll he'1r1.ng, he
(Or. Rinnp0:/-Kan) would like to have an inform:!.l conversation with
i 1,;-; :nembefs. The ::leeretary Genen.l reported. this conversati.on to the
three Commi:.;sioners.
I' •
,
I
~leanwh 11e,
the three Commissione'rs, in corisuJtation
\.I
ith
l.iI,: i.r respective Governments, were pursuing thei.r exchmgen of views
wil.l ree~rd to the ncU0n to be taken by the Commission. At a Meetinc:
ol' l,h0 Ifl!tter on October 1), 1958, it. tru.r-isoired that the Netherl:Ulds
h:jLl refer1red the contents of Dr. RinnooY-Ka~'s memorandum of JUliE: 24,
]S158, off!icl,:.lly, to the three 'Jov':lrnme~ts. Hnving reg'll'd to this
i.li~'orm'''ltibn, the CO:mnif;~i.on decided th3.t, ~sub.iect to the three Govern
:11,;;' Hf':lJroY"I, it would perl13.p[; be more 'approprint.e i'or the latter
L" 'ul:Jl-1(lrl t.ho fIIUfl'Orntldum of June 2/,., J958,nnd for thR COII:rni.:lsion to
'
11'l;;W')!' :Jrl' Rinn<'Joy-K,tn' ~ let tf~ r of the n:l.mE~ <.htu, by S1.y ing th'lt. i t h;;,l
W"~n 'm Lre ;'oint l,f acceding to thlJ lattr:;r's r"')queot ['or 'Ul infJrm1.J
<;o:lv lrsd,h,():l but t.h'1.t, :::;ince his Governr.1cn.l had no\.l r~ferred tlk; n:atLer,
)~'ficillll~, to th:} three Governm~nt!:, the 'Commission could no lO!lger
'mL')r tnl") eonver,;,:<tion with him. A suggested draft of thi,f; latt.er was
:n,urnrcd'i L:J;.:'~ther .with 3. sucge:'Jted Hst of Jm~;wers (in Frerlch c,nd in
l':n:'::i:;h), ""Jr' t.h(~ u:;G flC the three Gov':;rnments, to Lhe 'i110:~;t,ions r"ill(~d
1.:1 !,lle mmnor'!rldum 'lnd the t\.lO docwncnts (A'nne;{es 47 !md 1,7 A) were
:3U(;II;1 Hoed1 by 1',1'1" three CO!flmbsioners, lndividuaJly, to 1,11"11' rtlspecti vo
l10ve rnme ~llt1l •
.
:
t
On Peoru qry 13, 1')59, the Sec rc: ~;.iry Gentl!"ll ,(l~l i. t1stru'ctions
Cr,>'l: til·,! C0"'lI1l~;:Ji,')n, <k,::p'1Lc]wd t,:IU l'lttl)r's nnSW(1r (ArliH'!:( 1..7) to,
U" RinI1ub y -I(.3Jl's L;tters oC JUIJ';;! 16 'lnd ;;U., 1958.
I
Dr. Rinn')':'y-l':an ::tckno;.J10d;,;ed ruccipt hy l:.;LLc)r (i'I.c':! >!,nreh
I,,,
1'15) •
Tli~
three Gov;!rnwGnt:; t.ook action on the li ne~ sum;eHLcd by
I,b: C'J!III:i::;si·)!] M(l the enclosll."0.n to the 1I0tec, ll'idr0s~:ed on ,TnnG 29, [':15')
t.he SeLrdnry of StnLe ,1' th,.:! Uniled St,ates to t.he Charge J' Affdres
!'ht; "l~:tfjf:;rbnds in ~Jashin<;ton, by the French fvtinistry for J:t'orelbn
Arr . d 1':'; 1.') t,h") EmlnGGy of the l':ctberhnds in l\lT2.S 'Ind by Her ~la.i ..~:;LY'tl
I'r'llI..:i:"111 :;of:rcrt'lry or StaLe for For,.:igll Affair,; 1.0 i.Ill,; IktL:'~I'l:1IHI;.
!ulIl)'l,;I:'luor in L'>nLlon, contllined re?liH1l, based 011 Lhc COI!!I'lir,:rlion' ,3
r>:!':::')II;I:iendl~t Lons, to Dr. Rinnooy-KrHl's questions.
",j'
115~,
::;ormTll:-,sion~~r cOIi:JTluni.c:lL"~d
I EnrIy in IJov0rr.lmr
the A:nevic'lIl
1.[., tile Sf)l~r,!tary G',:n·~r'J.l, Inf'.)rm.'1.11y u.nd cpnfidentLlJly, i'Dr the l:ltt,:r's
(:11:.'II'l(;nl,:,;,I'l co':J,¥ of '1 l,hte ~hic~ the ;'Ieth~r~:'lnds Amb:Jsr;!iJllr .in '..J"~lf1'i~i~t.on
l'.'1-J "klIYC:t'cd, on :j~lobr:r 12,1'159, t,o tho .::>tnte D00:ut.m'"nt on behaJf 0C
f,j::; (}:)Ver1mr.cnt which, r,~ferrin;.;- t,othe! Commi3Sio:1's o..Jjllllicntion,
,
cOI~nl'lincb th:\t "the Commissio~ was under ,'1 fundll,'llent!l.J. rnlsapprehclision
'):'()lIt. !.:o,nb 0:' th!~ r:rater.ial factors and cil'Cl1rnstqnce:o •.. It und requc'llJted'
1t
') II N:~hG3,r:ing ()f the m'l.tt~r by '1 compete."lt :tribun3.1 • The 58Cr':lt.''l.ry Ge:ler<!.
co:nrr:'':!nt,0d: u;)on thIs iiot'] in 'HI inform'll 'lnd c0nfi.':)eQ thJ lettt'lr ,Itl i.~h hi"
a.J,lrE1B~edl to the hmericnn C<::>Ilun.insion~r on November 16, 1959, \-lith CO;lir"" L'
til . ~'l,tL')""s tW) c'Jlle'lgu'3S.
!
39/ ....•
3
�.....
~- ,---.~-'-
RG
.:',:
S'I
-----..,.....
,Entry .$31'~'
Box >3 '
- )9 - "
The Commission's files contain' a copy of, tt:is same Note"
\,hich was delivered in French by the Netherlands Ambassador in Paris
t<) the ~~rench Hinistry for Foreign Affai'rs on October 23, 1959.
.
I
Although the Note was not communicated ,0l'flchJly to the
,
the latter feels thl'lt it must be raproducec\ 'in the prenent
r.eport, since "It was the stflrting point 'of proceedir,gs \-lhlcL led to a
r"~'lrinG of the Netherl:3.nds before the Commission, I.hicb reject~3d the
1)11 t.ch con tention !'nd mointalned its adjudication in Hc; ent Lrety •
A C(lny be this NrJte, as received by the United States, wiD be found
at Annc!{ /,8.
:
COI;lIniss;ion~
I
I,
contait;~
The Conlmis:; ion' s files
more than' 200 !J::ges of docUln(Cot:-;
this C1se, ranging from letters, copies of'IJrich \,Jere
('irculated by the Secretary General, from the three Commissioners
C;(Pr<!ssing their vie\,Js and those 'of their Governments o.nd enclosing
(:ol)ies ~f Notes p!lssing bet\,Jeen the latter and the Netherlands Amhasr.:i.u"r';:
in Lhe threo cupit".l1s, minutes of the Commission's Heot.ings, dr!1fts,
r':unlftk :md finn} texts of communications to the ..Jr,tll£rb,nds' Rcrresr-:nt'U.,;;;,
Ilote" olt the case, by the !.:>ecretary General :lnd re{S'lrdin f: procedure, re~~lJ.) t
nr sc[\r6hcs by the latter in national libr:lries ouLside the Ne1.her1c-nus for
copIes ~f off'ici!;,l, documentation of that' country required in connection
\,J i ttl th(h case CI11d even information from the Historical Section of the,
'8;'1 tish \"chi.r::llty r'Eltt.<rding the date~ which also ha.d a beari.ng on the'
(~"lSe oftbe tr'lnsport to EnglMd of the 'Jueen and membern of th',:: GaveI'm:, ::'\t
n[ t.ho tle1,l,er1:1nur. after the invasion 0('; that country by Germ:my.
Tr!e
l;nfi~lId:;sion 11'1,s ['ound .Lt difrtcult to decide whlch clocumr-mt,s shou.1d be
,
r~ilc1()zeu with the oresent report l:!nd s,jmc of t.hese, \,Jhi.ch ;tnreru' l::l!:'::entLal,
:iro unf6rtunately ~omewhat llUlky.
' '
C:(lncern~ng
,
,I
'
~hree
·A stuge IJ'.lS reached 1,lhere the
Goverillnen "fl, 'lrter ClOSE;
(:orlwlt.'ltion, dec Ldeu to request the U:)vernment or the Nej,herlr,uld3 to
1I:)n~s'?nt a clarification of its vie\,JS noted ({bove in a. heari.ne berol") 'the
Trinardte Conunis~:ion". The Corr:mission Ul1c1erstands t.hat I,he three Govcrr:l;,(;nl.:;·
r'(;quent 114'1:3 de 11 vered to the :-.Jether l.:lnds :Embassy in Petri.:o '1,:\(\ ,'l.ddresscd to
th(~ Nether1mJs Amb3.ssadors in 'ilasbington' n.nd London, re:"jJucti.vely, on
i!ov8rabet 10, 1960 and that the documents attached h'3reto !1S Annex.es !.9 f~ 50
are cxadt reproductions of the :Jote in the French F.nd the Eng1iHh b,ni:':U',1;:-:<~f1.
The He,U;erlands 'luedeJ the three Governments' declsinn !~'1d
that there \,Jere 11 number of re:J.sons, mainly jurl'lLcal "fOl' ll11owir.e
~ h'.', clar:ILficntion. o~ the Nethcrl"lIlds' ViE?1 to be pn;scnted cliredJy to ,1.
t.1.'.i.hum; 1 wltl,ch h ~tS not 'oreviou:::ly eiven a dec t Glun on the part of tl;e
!lr.I,rlerl·~;nd3 ' cl!1im
nc\,J in question". There is only olle copy of thp. f~e.tr,er
>',nc1s· tlole on this subject. in the Commission's archives. It J:; ~lddl'/;~;>;ed
t() llnr ~lnjesty's Principal Secretary of Statf! for Fordt:n Affairs ,:l;lU
d'1.lcd Jtlne 15, 1961 (Annex 51).
,lk~t-,d
In reply to this ;Jote, the thr~e GoverHm0nt:J rencwed ·th..:ir r(;;i'lc:::;t
t.!.nt the Netherl'1nd::.; Government should "anpro!l.ch the ~~~cretary Gc"crd .,.,.
in orde!'1 to '.Ixnngc \,Jith him il meet.ing W:i)h the !;et:-,erl'lnds' RQprc:';8nt,ctiv r,'s
',: Lhr: se'd, of' the Commi::;sio!l in Brussels'''. They considered that the
:~"1~:!i1i::;,;j!on "is th'~ authority comretent t~ hear .lnu exrulline the argwilentn of
Ll!c Net!llcrlands G w,.rnment in the present case ll • It seemed to then: "t-hnt
:iucl: a ~roceUure ..... wui allo\,J the ::(ltherlands' J'1.epresentutives to cxpl:ci:J
thn st!JUcme!lt of the HetberJands Gover~~ent thht tile COlfilfli::~~;ion "wao ul1::!cr"
!\md:unellitnl Ir.ir',:l;'prehension F),bout ,10mn ()~ thc/m!lterirrJ f!tctorn a.nd ej,rc'lln
:;t:!.Tlcesof thw 1!~:d,t01'U and, 011 tho::;e e;nunds, to furnibll thl':: GomlJli~slofl \,Jith
U,e dQculn8nt:~ which the Netherhnds Govcrr:ment h'.:~! not previously judged it
n,~ce:.;sar~ t::> nroduce in sUQPort of tl"3.1.r iCorrtcnthlO".
!,o/ ... '. .
201531
�........
_--_...
-~.--~---.--
. ~~J . .DECLASS1FIE'O
\
.
1i
RG .5.;::;...'1.;;....;..~_
.Entry ""31·~
il A'.JW":ority~pCf13\DQ J.'
I
By ~__ t-:ARr\
L~.......
. Box' "3.
D2te'$:51JJ
"'... ~~~~-
!"
There is only one copy of this Note in the Commission's
"l,rchivesj' It is addressed by Her Majesty':s Principal Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs to the Netherlands Ambassador in Londen
:lnd date'ct February 27, 1962 (Annex 52). ,
The Netherlands Government, answering thi.s Note, said that
in view of ,the renewed request .... ," it was llpreparing the necessary
com;'lW1icll.tion to the Commission •.. , , I I . It added: "It r!:'mains the view
of the Nktherlands Government, however, that the appropriate met.hod of
brinC;ing\ the matter to !l conclusien will ,be'through censideration by an
independ?nt trttlW1rrl whIch hus not ~revieus"ly been concerned with the
!,e the r lands' claim I I .
II
Commission's archive:;
I Thfl the NeUerlands' Note,
of
contain two copies, in the English
one addressed to Her Majesty's
:'rincipa~ Secretary of Sta.te for Fereign Affairs, the other to the
lil.mourab~e the Secretary of State in Washingten, both dat.ed Nov(~mber 28,
1962. Dnh ef these copies is attached hereto. as Annex 53.
h.!ll:U:li~e,
l
On December 19, 1962, Dr. A. RirmooY-KM, De!luty Treasurer ef
Lhe :~et.herlands, wrete (A:mex 54) to the Secret,:J.ry G€ n er::tl, enclesing a
tnemor'lJld~J:l (An~lex 55) d"ited November 15, i962 and supnQrting dOGUment,ltion
(toe liU*,y to. be attuched to. this repert); requesting :111 early h~nri.ng
before the Cemf~lssien.
The hearin;; 0f the Netherbnds took plnce en Hay 6,
196).
,.
The Cor;:mif!sion, in clo~le consultation with the three Gov'':l'tlIfients
censtituLLng it, decided to. maintain in its entirety its rejectior. of t.he \
l~{)t.herbAds cJ :dm tn respect ef 35,1..75 .(?6B2 kilOGrams or fine gold. It
i. nt'ormerlIUr. rUnlleoy-Kan accordingly by l~tter (in the English Hnd french
l·l.nf~u!'!ge~) dated ,July J2, 1965 (Annex 56hdelivered through the Nethnrb:\ds
r:::::::~
o't~een
Emba"y
."ceunt ef th, hood!'g had boo" ,o,gceod
the
:;;ecrflte.rYi GenerCll and iJr. Rinl1e0y-~:a.n but,.. in view of i ts ](~ngth a.nd 0.1'
t.he fact tha.t the Cemmissien's lett.er of .Y.ul.v 12,1965 lSives e. fair idea
01' i.ts cont.ents, the "I.CCQunt is nnt at.tached to the prescnt I',wort.
:
I
Suc!l·i.s the histery of this c'{se;, to date.
,
tJilh regard to. the ?I'l.st, there a.re o:lly two peints \~hici; the
. Coml::i.ss.ien (;'Jnsiders stlOuld be mentiQned, I'i.S ({ lIlutt.er (If interest. The f'irst
L:·: Ltl'lt 'Illds is net. the first time th9.t tl;e :.iclt.I1(,rl1.r.ds huve qUfJrlt'ld t.ile
C'.l:.mli~l:.;iQn's ~)roc0dur·e. They wen), for ins't',-ncu, Lh;'l QI11y cOllntr,Y I."
i.1I~;;:d,
U~lon rocc1i.ving a:l expl::l.natory statement. (Annex 27 D) prior to. the :'ii;nnt.lIri~,
by thGlr ~epresentative, ef thO? waiver. Tbe second point wert.h mentj(>nili~ h;
ti,rd'" aJthough tlley failed to entablish that t.he 35,1.75.8682 ktlogr:l!'l:; 0['
".;"] d, sUi,l,ject of their c la1m wh.i.ch was rej'ected by the Cemmi ssien; wml
If-one tliry 18elr1 be lenging to. them, the NetherlAnds cUd rroduce detail.)d mld
verifiabJ'e dat'l, [)revin~ that this geld was, in f'lct, lllQl".)d by, or 'J!:,r::ng
r~l:y rempved to,
rm any • !heir CI,l.8e dUfered, tn this respect, ~rom
:-llm Il'lr cases subnil tt.ed by !'elan-1 'l.nd Greece wher'l, br(',adly spealunl.,
det'tiled r_nd verl.fi!lble !lo.ta were !llmost entirely lacking nnd no proof \,-I'1S
!,r)I'1.hcQming that any 0[' the :-fT(,ld clA,il;,~)d Was monet.llry .;.>
Fold b~lon:.:'ili.:~ to t.h:;
I
"
t.\'le ceuntries or that this ~artlGu]'lr gold· was! looted by, 'lr wrong['ulJy'
r\~;;:()ved
Germ:tny. 0'1 the othor hn.lld, Austr,i.:1 !1r()5ent.:.:d '1 c l!li!r, 0 r .[ fWllil)
'"il:l1. "imiil.,tr Ililt.urC' t,o that ~)r t,h(~ ;~ethcrr'l.11ds, wh<.:re loeting or \-Ironc;I'll1
r"'llIev",l wlls proved, but whict; W'lS re,i-. 'cT,ed by thG G')mmis:;ion I)n thtl [round
U:Clt j\ust.hrr had failed to. (!stabHsh UI:Ct. :pw :~old in !11l8:,th'll W.'l'-i 'floneb.ry
.;oJd be]eM;:;lng t.e 'it. As will bo seen, t.h')grounris for rejecUon, \.Jhlch the
:;olllrnifiSiC\l held" were, in. any event, i.ndis·r)ut.l~ble, were stronger in some
C'(fie::; tiun j.n oth<;)rs.
I.
?e
',;).1
tp,
41/ .....
",
l'
1
i;
. I'
201532
�RG 59
.;;.;.....;---
.Entry .!1:>·I·~
Box" 3 .
;' - 1.1
!
"
Ii
5. The position reached in regard to Czechoslovakia.
,
,
Czechoslovakia, it will be recalled, ;~as omitted from the list
of claimant countries to whom the Commission's letters of Jun~ 1l, 1958
iand !':lccompanying adjudications we're sent. The adjudication on the Czech chims,
Iprepared within the Secretariat, 'remained in suspense, as has already been
,explained in Section 1, Chapter V, Volume I. Th~ contents of the adjudication,
powever, were taken into account~for the purpose of the calculations governing
the second 9nd quasi final distribution.
I
On AU5Ust 15, 1958, the, Czech Minister in Br'..lssels addressed a
letter to the Chairman of the Commission, enclosing a memorandum (Annex 57)
li.n which the Czech Government protested, apeged that i t was being dis- ,
friminated agatnst and requested;1mmediate delivery of Czechoslovakia's ahare
lin the ~ool ~l}. It also express~d astonishment at the fact (of which it hnd
become aware through the British land French Governments) that 'the Czech chima
~nd not been validated 1n their ~ntirety and asked for information in this
respect. Lastly, it expressed the o?ir:.ion ~that the Commission's procedure
should no longer be considered as secret and that the latter should publish
bn account of its actIvities, as ,soon as possible.
'
I
At the request of the Chairman, the Secretary General circulated
letter ~nd ~he memorandum on ;August 18, 1958, together with the draft of
'\ suggested acknowledgment of rec~ipt.
':
~he
,,; ,
,,"'I
,
I
The Commission understl¥lds that a joint Franco-British drl3.ft of a
f3uggested reply to the Czech memorandum was prepared by the French and British
~overnments but that the project ,was abandoned at the request of the American
rve"",ent;he Secretary General w:a., however, ""thor"ed to aend an acknowledg
f""t of re:::::
:dt::a:i:v::t::,::o:::c~~o:::~nt had proteated, through
i ts
R,~presentati ve in Brussels, on several occasions, against the delays 1 n
tho delivery of the rest of Czechoslovakia's share in the pool and asked that '
furthet' deliveries of gold be made to it, on account. It had also asked for
yertain expl~tions concerning the position reached in the Commission's work.
The relevant letters are dated September 9 and 25 and December' 9, 1952,
0ctober 15, 1954 and June 2J, 1955. These letters were i!I.l1swered by the Commissi on
but there would appear to be no necessity, at this stag.~, for reproducing this
. ~omewhl\t Voluminous correspondence in the form of annexes to the-present report.
I
42/ .•...
I
~l}
.I
It must be noted t.hat Czechoslovakh had, in fact"
.
received
195,28).854 Troy ounces ,of ,tine gold in the ,preliminary
distribution on May J, 1948. This was the "allocation provisoire"
referred to in page 1 of the memorandum.
201533
r
I
�'FIG---s,-----'~ ,
Entry ",,~, a .~ ,
: Box' "" 8
"
"
- 42
"
oot£. in Brussels, at the. seat of the Tti parti tA~
the Restitution of Monetary Gold" :9 Rue de Is Science, on thi
,
of March nineteen h~ed !Uld seventy-one.
"
I
,
':,
'
~~x
'Commtslsioner
"\
of the G,overnment
\
of the United States of America.
4T~~
I
/c
/
/./
/
;1
C~_~_:::JU-<-~
commi;sioner?
Commissioner
of the Government
of the Goverrunent
of the U~i~d Ki~dom of rest
of the French Repubiic.
Britain and Northern Ireland.
i
I.
I'
(
i'
"
,
, I
i'
Secretary
�r
I'
'- - .", .' >r--t...........-,;- .----------- ---'--,
..-:.....-"
_REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHives!'"
., , , 'T--'--~-}-::Y/-'"
ReI'"
DECLASSlFIE D '
AUj":oriiy~ q'B\l)O
~-'----
Entry ..,.31 ~
Box '·3.
Jot , 8y~__ I\ARA D2te$.-93J
J...
Sq.
f, .... ~<
CON TEN T S
,
0F
,',
"
VOL UM E
III
-=-=-=~-=-=-=-=
C H A P.T E R I
,
-=-= -:- --=-=-=-=
THE GOLD .(AND DOLLAR AND POUND) AqCOUNTS
1. The accounts at the Federal Reserve" Bank of New york .••••••.• ; •••••
(a) How these \Jere opened ,I." •••••• ~ ••••• ~ ......... *," •••••••
(b) The Comrnission
's
:
...
'
"'
status: unde ~ United States law ••••••••
,
II
.
'
(c) TI':e rulesgoveriling the' holding of gold bars and colns
In the United States and the problems which arose ••••••
I:
,
~. Tho
1
accounts at the Bank of England .••••••••••••••••• ~ •.••••••••.•.
(al The question which aros'e regarding the security from
attachment of any gold ~elonging tO,the pool which
might. be tr!l!lsferred to'. the Bank of England ••••••••.•••
"
(b) The declsion to transfer the ttFrankL'urt gold" to the
Bank or &gland ••.•.•• ~'•• "•••• "'.' •.••••••••••:.••••••• "
•••
,
(c) The opening of the acco,~t .•••• ," ..........,............. .
"
"
,I
(d) The rules governing the holding of gold b'lrs and coins
at the Bank of England :.• "••••••••••••••••••• " ••••••••• " •
··i
J. Tbe prol'lem which arose in connection' with "said to contain" and
ol,her simUarforms of credit And hO'W the Commission de:llt 'With
tl16m •••••••••••••••• " •••••••••••••.••••••••••••••••••••••••• ., •••••••
'
I nc('.ount
I,. The
5. Hoi
!
"
nt the Bank' of 'France .:~ .••••••••••••.•••.••• '• .••...•..•
requests t'or purposes of audit
~ere
dealt 'With ••••.•.•••••••••.
C HAP T E R
II
-=-=-=-=;:-= -=-= -=-=
THE POOL OFi'NONETARY GOLD
,
requir~d for tho purpose of
detern,ining the shares in the gold pool av..,i1able for
ri::lbUtution to each successt'u 1 claimant country ••.•. ;..............
1. Thy two items of inforn.ation
I
2. The
'roles of
.
9
·
Govornments
respective
the three
and of the
Cohlloisston in the assembling of thei gold 0001 ••••••••••••••••••••.•
,I
3. lila composition of the gold pool
.,
/,.. A recapitulatory schedule •.••
,I
.
'
:
' . '
•• '............................. ••• •
,
~
III • • • • • • • • • • •
':
'
I'
•••• ; ••••••••• "
9
9
.
••••••••
"
•
11
5. En\luiries made 'With a view to obtaitiing some return for the gold
h'e
. tn the poo], pending ..iistriUut~on ••.•.•.•.••••••••• "..........
12
�r
I
',': .,._,...-.-~t··:,
REPRODUCEDATTHENAnONALA;CHI~E;L.c;~;1
';'#>
'" ',,1.~ ,.~
"
---
.-~~" ..- .,---- ..
'RG-'--sq
DECLASSIFIED,
.;;;....;-~--
Au;j:ori~~O GfR \DO
By5G__ NARAD2te1~H3'
1 ...... 17f.~ . . ~q
~~~~~_.~
•••
Entry ""~'I ~
Box· 3
.<'
_ _ _, _
,
'i
"
CHAP T E RIll
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- .
"THE PRELD1±NARY DISTEU31JTION
Page
!:',
1. In! tiaJ. ~tatement' ................ ..................................................... ..
I i , ','
2. 'f.he Commission's let tel' of October 16, 1947 ••••••••••• ~ ......... .
I'
, ' .
'
13
J4
3. ye standard forms adopted for th;: preliminary distribution •.•••
14
4. II. summary r...CCOWlt of the nreliminary distribution ••••.•.••••••••
, U) The deli very to Austrh ................. :. ~ ........ .
JJ.
,
r
15
,
(11) The deliveries to Fr!'lrice onbeha1r of Belgium and
wxem'oorg .......... " ....... ~ ...........................
"¥. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .,
I
. . . . . . . . . . ..
15
(ii.i) The second delivery: t~ France, via Belgium alone ••••
16
(i v) The de livery, on Ilccouryt to Czechoslovakia .......... .
" '
...0
('I) Al] ocntion to GrE<eco ~' ..••• '• •••••••. " •.•••• ~ .......... '
(vi) The deliveries on Jlccount mado to Itflly nnd. the
deliveries effected on oohall'ot' Italy ••.•.' ........ .
('Iii) The first delivery to :the Netherl!lIlds ............. .
, "
I
('lUi) The second deli very to the Netherl~mds ••• ~ ••••••••••
16
]6
18
18
(ix) The first deli very to 'Yugoslavia. ••••••••••••••••••.•
18
(x) The second deliv~ry t1 yugoslavia .................. .
19
j"
5 . Recapltul,="l.tory
tr~blc
* ••••
"
a,a • • • a .• 'tl* • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
C HAP T E R
,
I
19
IV
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
THE Srx;ONJJ AND
.~UA.::iI:i"INAL
nrSTRII3U'l'ION
:;
1. P'reliminary statement ••.•••.•••. .-:••••.•••.•• ,...................
20
I
2. Tpe Commission's formal communic'lt,ion of May 24, 1951 to the .
three Governments ..................... ~ ••••••••••• " •••••••'. •• •• • •
21
J. The Commission"s Resolution of October 19, 1953 •..•.•.•.••••••••
21
'.' he Britbh Comn'i.ssionet"s J;tter or Aoril 27, ]951+ to the
T
I
.
.
!3rcretnry Ge ncr':!" 1 ••••••••.•••••.,.:~ ••••. ~ ••••• :..................
2"
t<.
I
.' .
.
I
5. The ArnericM Commi.ssloner '5 Jettf?r' of !-1'lrch 7, 1957 to the
~I
t
"
' ·e • • • •
'
"",ecre!1ry Genera 1 ••••• 6o' •••••••• ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '. . . . . . . . .-.. "•J .c.,,_
I
6. TIle <..:ommiS!llon's communic!l.tion of
..'
~iarch ;0, 1957 addreRsed
to
the three Governmt:Jnts .............~ .............................. "'. .. .. .. ... ..
22
and quasi final
d1stribution given by the three Governments to the Commission
Z3
I .
".
7. TIle instructions to proceed to a second
8. Jlondments to three of ,the
..
enclosu~es
(a, c & r, Annex J'7)
obnt out with t.he instructions of ;the three ¢overnments • ~ • • • • • • •
2/.
9. A1aPhtiOn of the deUvery
r'rerred
in
s~lction ubove, to meet certain rl)qutremellts in the cases
of Be]gium and luxemburg ........ ',~"""'''''' ..................
21.
documen~!ltion,
t~
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Page
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10. The procequre used and'the formalitiescaJ;'iied ()ut in
connection with the second and qugsi final, distribution •••••••
25
11 ~ 'rhe Resolution adopted by: the Commission at its l52nd Meeting,
for submission by each Commissioner to his Government '.........
25
12. The authorizations of the three Goverrunents •••••••••••••••••••
25
13. Tec~nica.1 a.r:t;"angements • • ,~.,.~. *0••••••••••••••••••••• *,.........
26
14. The 'signature of the COmniission's adju~cations •••••••••••••••.
26'
15. Reca~itulatory schedules
I
!~.
'" ..............
. •
,
.
e· • • • • '• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
CHAPTER V'
-=-=-=-=-:;:-=-=-=
PROTESTS AiiD i,JUERIES
I
1. PreamlJle
!.
.....•.................................................
.......................
Albania .................... ..
the Netherhnds ...............
2. The position reached in re'gard to Poland
J. The position re!l.ched in regard to
,
4:
The nosltion reached In regard to
5. The pooition rf.!~ched in
r~~':ird
to
,
Czecho31ov~lkia
29
29
3.3
37
..............
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
.
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....,'.
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.... ,
CO~IMISSION TRIPARTITE •
POUR LA RESTITUTION DE L'OR MONETAIRE
,
,
TRIPARTITE COMMISSION
• FOR THE RESTITUTION OF MONETARY GOLD
Rue d'Arion 85
1040 Bruxelles
Tel (02) 287.62.11
THE FINAL REPORT
I'j
The Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold has the honour to
submit its final Report tothe Governments of the United States of America, the United
K!ingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and France.
2.
In view of the length of time since the establishment of the Tripartite Commission
, a~d the submission of its first confid~ntialReport to the three Governments in 1971, it may
be useful to,provide a very brief summary of the first twenty··five years which were covered
c~mprehensivelY in the 1971 Report~md to report on, the Tripartite. Commission's activities
fr0m 1971 to 1998.
The Genesis of the Tripartite,Commission
3. '
The Tripartite Commission h~d its origins in the Paris Conference on Reparation of
I9f5 ~ttended by.the Re~resentatives of the Governments of Albania, t~e Uni~ed States of
Amenca, AustralIa, BelgIUm, Canada,Denmark, Egypt, France, the Umted Kmgdom of
, Grbat Britain and Northern ireland, Greece, India, Luxembourg, Norway, New Zealand. the
N~therlands, Czechoslovakia, the Union of South Africa and Yugoslavia. The Agreement on
Re1paration was signed on 14 January.l946. Austria (4 November, 1947), Italy (16 December
I9~7) and Poland (6 July.1949) subsequently adhered to ~he alrrangement for the resti~ution
of monetary gold set out In Part III of the Agreement. ThIS Part of the Agreement, entItled
"R~stitution of Monetary Gold" (see Annex A) provided that all the monetary gold found in
Gehnany by the Allied Forces, and any monetary gold recovered from third countries to
wh!ich it was transferre'd from Germariy should be pooled for distribution as restituti6:n to
claimant countries in proportion to their respective losses of gold through. looting or \';Tongful
redlOval to Germany. The Governments of the United States of America, France and the
201538
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Auu-:orily~O 993 IDO
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Box
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nited Kingdom were to receive c1~ims and.distribute the gold. rnorder to implement
III of the Agreement, the three '90vernments established, on 27 September 1946, the
partite Commission for the Resti.tution of Monetary Gold. Its establishment was
nounced in the Department of State Bulletin, Le Journal de la Republique Fran9aise and
London Gazette (Annex B). .,
For the sake of convenience'~ the Tripartite Commission was established in Brussels in
location with the Inter-Allied Reparation Agency (lARA). The first Commissioners were
urrently also the three Govel11Jl1ents' representatives on the lARA. However, the
ipartite Commission was constitutionally separate from and independent ofthe Agency.
status of the tripartite Comin'i~si6rt as an'international organisation attracting privileges
immunities in respect of its official functions was recognised in Belgian law on 1 August
952; this law being retroactive to 27 September 1946. (See Annex C) The Commissioners
the Secretary General of the Tr;ipartite Commission were also specifically accorded the
nnr'"''''...·
privileges and immunities. Lists of the Commissioners, their Deputies and
and of Secretaries General from 197 I to 1998 are attached. (Annex D) ,
The former Soviet Union played no part in the Pari~ Conference or in the subsequent
'vities of the Tripartite Commission, having at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945
renounced all claims to gold recovered by the Allied forces in the Western zones of
Germany. For their part, the Western Allies did not apparently seek to discover whether any
monetary gold was recovered by the Soviet Union in its Zone of occupation in Germany or
elsewhere.
a
6.
In remarkably short perio& of time, a considerable quantity of looted gold was taken
into custody by the Allied authorities or identified as having been deposited in third
countries. By July 1948, a total of9,849,169 ounces of gold in bars, coins or pieces had been
deposited with the Feder~l Reserve' Bank of New York or the Bank of England or was still
held at the ForeignEx'cha~geD~pository in Frankfurt by the U.S. military authorities. The
grand total in the gold pool rose fUrther, to 10,816,223.863 ounces by December 1974, and in
1996 anothertwo bars of gold, weighing net 797.539 ounces of fine gold were added (see
paragraphs 20 and 21 below), making the total for the gold pool of 10,817,021.402 ounces.
However, the share of gold coins r¢ceived by Albania on 29 October 1996 proved to contain
a minute quantity of counterfeit, albeit gold, coins. The final total for the gold pool had
therefore to be adjusted to 10,817,021. 139 ounces, equivalent to 336,446,9667 kilograms
(32. 1507465 ounces = 1 kilogram); The gold pool was declared closed by the three
Governments on 13 July 1998. .
Claims
7.
On 13 March 1947, the Trjpartite Commission issued a questionnaire to,potential
claimant countries seeking inform'ation which would aJlow it to make awards from the gold
pool on a proportional basis. Claims were submitted in due course byAlbania, Austria, .
Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece', Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and
-I
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Yugoslavia. They amounted to 23,648,411.502 ounces. However, the t~tal of claims .
0
eventu~lly validated after detailed examination by the Tripartite Commission amounted to
I
16,52}422.10 I ounces, which was still considerably more than the total amount of gold
recovred by the Western Allies for the gold pool.
.
",'':
The IPreliminary Distribution of Gold
8..
lit became clear by the middle 00947 that there was an urgent need to distribute
some of the gold to meet the requirements of the claimant Governments and it was decided
by thb three Governments that a preliminary distribution of gold should be made even before
the tbtality of claims could be fully considered and adjudicated upon. Accordingly, rough'
calc~lations were made by the Tripartite Commission of the amounts of gold likely to be
attributed in due course to each claimant Government and between October 1947 and
No~~mber 1950 a total ~f 8,558,855.6413 ounces of gold was distributed to ~ustria,
BelgIUm, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and YugoslaVia. The actual
distHbution of the share attributed to Albania was delayed because ofa counte'r-claim by
ltal~ to most of the gold in question. That to Greece was delayed for purely practical reasons,
bec'ause the amount concerned was very small. Poland did not participate in the preliminary
disiribution because its claim was not 'properly fonnulated until 1950. The details appear in .
l
the 1971 Report.
9.1
By,November 1950,therefore:' over 80% of the eventu.1 total gold pool had been
drobuted to the claim.nt Govemm~~ts
Tlhe Tripartite Commission'S Adjudication of Claims
I
'
,:'
0
10.
The Tripartite Commission's'consideration ofthe claims submitted to it was
cbmpleted and the adjudications all ,signed on 9.June 1958, except that for Czechoslovakia
\thich was not signed until 20 February 1982. As stated in paragraph 7 above, the total
~mount of the claims validated by the Tripartite Commission was 16,527,422.10 I ounces
(i514,060.2909kgs). While much less than the total of original claims, this was nevertheless
ionsiderably more than the final total of 10,817,021.139 ounces (336,446.9667 kilograms) of
kOld recovered by the three Governments and placed in the gold pool.
I
0,
0
. . . . ' . .
•
0
0
0
0
I,
,
0 ,
The Second, "Quasi-finar' Distribution of Gold
0
a
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II.
Following the finalisation pf the Tripartite Commission's adjudications, second,
"quasi-final" distribution of gold \vas undertaken. A total of 1,062,579.233 ounces \vas
distributed to Austria, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg and Yugoslavia between June
1958 and June 1959. The details 6fthis distribution appear in the 1971 Report. The
Netherlands, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Albania presented proble!11s, all different, which
led to their distributions being delayed.
12.
The Netherlands, as will be dear from the 1971 Report (pages 37 to 40 of Volume
tIl), contested the Tripartite Con:tmission's rejection of a significant part of its claim.
2015·10
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,
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,
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owing lengthy discussions, it ac~orded the Netherlands a specia~ hearing of its case in
1963. After due consideration, the Tripartite Commission maintained its rejection of the
evant part of the Netherlands' claim and so infonned the Netherlands in July 1965. The
erlands Government did not respond for some time and the Commissioners decided to
the initiative with that Government In July 1972, the Minister of Finance of the
etherlands enquired about the delivery of the Netherlands' allocation. Infonnation was
Immediately provided by the Secretary General. Eventually, in May and August 1973, the
I
' "
,Bank of England and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York delivered to the Netherlands
78, I02.499 ounces and 53,460.758:,ounces of fine gold respectively, a total of 131,563.257
.': .
ounces as the Netherlands' second distribution.'
'
,
13.
Poland's claim, as will be seen from the 1971 Report (pages 29 to 33 ofYolume HI),
was dealt with in two parts by the Tripartite Commission. The first Polish claim was rejected
in toto. The second, in respect of gold originating in the fonner Free City of Danzig, was
validated by the Tripartite Commission, but it decided in its adjudication of June 1958 that
neither the Government of Poland nor any other Government had proved that it was entitled
to claim in ,respect of the Danzig gold and that an appropriate share of the gold pool should
be set aside in the custody of the three Governments pending resolution of the issue. The
Polish Government protested at 'this decision. Eventually, in June 1976, the Tripartite
Commission decided that as no other claimant had come forward and as the Polish People's
Republic had exercised authoritY in Danzig for over thirty years, the gold should be delivered
to the Government of Poland. A :supplement to the original adjudication was signed by the
three Commissioners. In August' 1976, Poland received 50,237.827 ounces from the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York and:f9,~27.197 ounces from the Bank of England (a total of
79,565.024 ounces) in respect of the combined preliminary and quasi-final shares relating to
Danzig.
'
r
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14.
In February 1982, Czechoslovakia received 263,939.461 ounces of goid from the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York and 327,633.729 ounces from the Bank of England, ,
making a total of 591 ,573.190 ounces in respect of its quasi-final share. Finally, on 29
October 1996, Albania received 49,804.149 ounces of gold from the Bank of England in
respect of its combined preliminary and quasi-final shares.
The Gold and Currency Accounts
"
(i) The Gold Accounts
I
15. In 197 I, the Tripartite Commission held gold in two accounts. At the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York it had a total of432,921.144 ounces: 426,273.904 ounces in bars and
6,647.240 ounces in coins. At the Bank of England, the Commission held a total of
602,741.5200unc,es: 153,452.377 ounces in bars and 449,289.520 ounces in coins. Following
distributions to the Netherlands, Poland and Czechoslovakia, the sale of bars to finance the
running costs of the Tripartit'e Commission 'and the a.cquisition of two gold bars from
Gennany, the state of the ho~dings before the distribution to Albania was:
,
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FRBNY
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65,2"83.098 ounces in bars
145,805.721 ounces in bars
18,635.641 ounces in coins.
I'
,
16. In 1956,the Tripartite !2ommission hadexamined the possibility of placing the gold
remaining in the pool in an interest-bearing account, but subseq uently learned that it was not
feasible (see page 12 of Volume III of the 1971 Report). In 1995, however, the Secreta1ry
General learned from the Bank of England that a small rate of interest could be obtainetl on
gold deposited even on short tenn. After full consideration of the implications, and accbpting
that the gold which would in due course be returned to the Tripartite Commission woulld not
be the gold which it had deposited, the Commissioners reached agreement on
30 January 1997 to place all the gold which it held in the Bank of England on interest
bearing deposit with the ex~eption of the two Prussian State Mint bars (see paragraphs 20
and 21 below). From February 1997 to June 1998 the interest earned on this acco~nt I
amounted to £364,915.09. This was placed in the Tripartite Commission's sterling account at
the Bank of England.
.,
,
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1
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0:
(ii) The !:urren~yAc~ou~l~
'. .
. .'.
'1.
•.
17. At the time of the 1971 ' Report, the Tripartite Commission held four currency accounts.
At the Federal Reserve Barik of New York, a small U.S. dollar account had been maintained
for practical purposes. It remained untouched for many years until the winding-up ofthb
Tripartite Commission when theU.S.$ 1,248.57 remaining were transferred to the Bankl of
, England and used to augment the final shares to the claimant Governments.
,
1,
'
I
:
18. At the Bank of Englan<:l, there were two sterl ing accounts which were used as the l1jlain
operating accounts: one was an interest-bearing deposit account into which were placed the
proceeds of the sales of gOlP, bars over the years. This aC,count was used to feed the curt1ent
account which funded expenditures in sterling such as gold storage charges at the Bank of
England and also funded thi! current account held at the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company in
Brussels which was used to meet the administrative expenses of the Tripartite Commis~ion.
When the Morgan Guaranty Trust ceased iis "High Street" banking operations in BrussJls in
1995, the Tripartite Comm~ssion avoided the expense of opening a new account in Bru~sels
by thereafter using the Bank of England current acc:ount for all current expenditures. .AJfter
all the gold had been distributed, with the exception of the final share of the successor Jtates
to the fonner Yugoslavia, when the Commission was wound up, there remained £78.091 in the
deposit account and £350,944.46 in the current account. The total of £350,.122.55 was then
distributed pro rata to the claimant cou!ltries by cheque.
'
I
The Tripartite
Com~issiQn's
"
Addresses
,
,
19.
At the time of the 1~n1 Report, the Tripartite Commission was housed at 9, rue Ide la
Science. In 1972, it moved :to an office'in the British Embassy building at 28, Rue Joseph II.
When the Embassy itself moved to a new bUilding at 85, Rue d'Arlon in 1992, the Tripartite
"
Commission moved with it~ leasing an office fonnally from the Embassy. '
;.
I'
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20.
In the early 1980s, twoin4ependent researchers( I) established that two gold bars
which had formed part of a ship~ent from the Reichsbank in Berlin to a "safe area" in the
south ofGerrilany in the last wee~s of the war had apparently not been included in the gold
of this shipment which had in du~ course ended up in the Bank of England via the Foreign
Exchange Depository in,Frankfu~. It was eventually discovered that the bars were in the
possession of the German financ'ial authorities. Following protracted negotiations with the :
German Government which was:concerned not to find itself subject to claims for these bars. I
from third parties, the bars were':handed ov~r.to the U.S. Embassy in Bonn on
27 September 1996, (the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Tripartite.
I
Commission). They were then s}lipped to the Bank of England for incorporation into the golld
f ' ,
I
I
poo.
.
;!
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"
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21.
The bars improperly bolre the Prussian State Mint insignia and the date-stamp 1938.!
Such bars had not been acceptabie in the past as good delivery bars on the London market.!
However, as they also bore th~:assay matkofthe German specialist assayers, Degussa, for I
the year 1956, they were deen1ed acceptable. They weighed net 797.539 ounces of fine golp.
The Reichsbank records show,ithat these bars were originally Belgian Central Bank gold b~rs
which had been looted by the Nazi regime, re-smelted by the Reichsbank and given false !
i
i
identification markings. .
I.
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Claims on the Residual ,Gold Pool
i
I
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22.
In the summer of 1996, as an end to the Tripartite Commission's work was in sigMt, an
upsurge in public interest in;the question of looted gold and other.assets belonging to vidtims
of the Nazi regime focussedi'attenti'on on the fact that there would remain in the gold pOQl
about five and a half tons o~;gold after Albania had received its preliminary and quasi-tinal
distribution. Some JeWish 6rganisations sought to have this residual gold pool donated iln
large part to these organisat10T\s to help finance activities for the benefit of victims of th~
Nazi regime ortheir descendants. They argued that some of the gold was not monetary but
had been looted from indiv,iduals.
.
.
:
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i
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.
!
I
23.
The British and
Governments undert06k research into their official archivds,
many of which had been available to the public for some years. While this research was
. carried out, the final distribution of the gold pool was delayed. The results of the
:
.Governments' researches tevealed that an unquantifiable but small amount of non-morietary
gold might inadvertently ~ave been placed in the gold pool. The Nazis often restnelted gold
to conceal its origin.
,.
:
f
I
"
.
!
. 24.
At an enlarged meeting of the Tripartite Commission on 27 June 1997, in which
representatives from capj.tals took part, it was agreed that the Tripartite Commission ~hould
launch the final distribut,~on by informing the claimant Governments by diplomatic N.ote of
the amount of gold due t6 them in the final distribution and that the Tripartite Comn1ission
_
! ! .
_ _~_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _~!___
\~
-i
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: Mr, Ian Sayer .and Mr Douglas Botting, authors of the book
"Nazi Gold".:
F
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was ready to proceed. Simultaneously, the three Governments would inform the claimant
Governments by diplomatic l'9'0te of the findings of the British and U.S. researches and I
suggest that they might wish to consider placing all or some of their final share in a fund ,
being established to aid needy victims of Nazi persecutions. This exercise took place in early
August when the Chairman a~d'SecretaryGeneral of the Tripartite Commission called I
together on the di plomatic representatives jn Brussels of the clai mant countries (with th~
exception of those of the succ;essor states to the former Yugoslavja) and handed over copies
of the diplomatic Notes referredto a b o v e . '
!
i:
. I:
The Activities of the Tfipartite Commission 1971-1998
. . !;
perid~
,
, ; '
i
u~abl~
25.
For much of the
post-197I the'Tripartite Commission was
to undeJake
the distribution of gold While' the resolution of problems outside its control was und'ertakkn
i
by the three Governments. The major pieces of business transacted by the Tripartite
Commission were th~ dIstriBution of gold to the Netherlands (1973), Poland (] 976),
I
Czechoslovakia (1982) and Albania (1996) and th~ final. distribution and the winding up of
the Tripartite Commission in' 1998,
..
.
i
,
Com~ission
sessio~
rat~er
26,
.The Tri'partite
met in formal
when business required,
ithan
regularly, It'was not required to do so between May .1988 and June 1995, but Commissioners
maintained contact. With the way open for the distribution to Albania of its preliminary and
quasi-~n~l shares a~d.t.herea,~~r for the distribution ofth~ fin~l shares, t~e .Tripartite
I'.
CommIssIon met With mcreasmg frequency. Thus, the Tnpartlte CommIssion held 38
.
meetings from 1971 to 1988;:(meetings No 183 of3 March 1971 to No 220 of25 May 1988)
and 31 meetings from 1995 to its winding up in 1998 (meetings No 221 of23 June 1995:to
No 251 of28 Augus~ 1998). ;The minutes of all the meetings of the Tripartite Commissidn,
from meeting No 1 on8 December 1946, appear in the archives of the Tripartite
I·
Commission.
I;
,
.,
The Final Distribution of Gold
':
,
27:
OnceAlbania had re~eived its preliminary a:nd"quasi-final" shares and the;decisfons
with respect to the claims to',the remaining gold had been taken (see paragraphs 22 to 2~
above), theTripartite ComrTlission was able to initiate the final distribution of the remai~ing
179,920.311 ounces of gold!: Given the impossibility of dividing the gold bars exactly in
l
accordance with the sha~s ~llotted, the final' amounts comprised a mix of gold bullion ~nd
currency (pounds sterling). The final distributions took place from 22 April 1998 to 13 July
1998, as and when requeste~ by the claimant countries: the Netherlands (22 April 1998);
Belgium (30 April 1998); Austria (24 June 1998); Poland, the Czech Republic arid Italyl(25
Jurie 1998); Greece, the Slo"ak Republic and Luxembourg (26 June 1998) and Albania (13
July 1998). The remaining share originally destined' for the fonner Yugoslavia, amountirtg to
. 1,209.781 ounces of fine gold and pounds sterling 33,612.04, was retained in associatedI gold
. ! .
and sterling non interest-bel::l,Ting accounts held by the three Governments at the Bank of
England to await an arrang~!ment between the successor states. As the closure ofthe I
Tripartite Commission app~oached, it advised the successor states by diplomatic Note o,fthe
situation and ofthe proced;;re to be followed in order to receive the remaining QuantitylOfthe
" m_._..,
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monetary gold of the fonner;Vugoslavia.·.
The Archives of the Tripartite Commissi1ill
,.
28.
The three Governmehts had agreed that the archives of the Tripartite Commissioh
should be transferred immediately upon its closure to the Archives Nationales Franyaisek and
be available immediately to ithe public. The archives include all the documents relating to
each claimant country's claim, the Tripartite Commission's adjudication thereon and thel
distributions of gold made to each country; the minutes of all the meetings of the TripaJite
Commission from 1946 to 1998; the 1971 Report to the three Governments, which inclJdes
I
all the adjudications and the,history of the Tripartite Commission's proceedings up to 1971;
the Final Report to the thre~ Governments of 1998~ files relating to the CommissioI;l's I
dealings with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Bank of England and the Banque
de France; and "The. Gold ~ook" - the ledger in which are recorded all the movements df
gold into'and out of the Tripartite Commission's accounts. (See Annex.E.) Copies of alii
si b
l11ificant documents will be made available at the Public Records Office in London a~d the
U.S, National Archives as soon as possible after the closure of the Tripartite Commissi6n.
"
Tripartite Commission Staff
29.
At the time of the 19.71 Report to the three Governments, the Tripartite Commission's
staff had been reduced con~iderably and consisted of no more than a Seyretary General! his
personal assistant and a staff member responsible for the archives and a~counts. By the/end
of 1971, the personal assistant had retired, without replacement, and thei staff member was
retained on a "short part-time basis". By 1974, the staff member was employed on the ~asis
of ad hoc consultation, leaving the Secretary G~neral, Colonel JohnWa~son, as the sol~
remaining official of the Tripartite Commission. When Colonel Watson! fell ill in 1976: a
successor was found in Mr, Colin Harris, who took office with effect frqm January 1917,
Mr. Harris unfortunately died in office in the spring of 1992. The three ~ommissionersi
decided to leave .the position vacant until there seemed to be a like1ihoo~ of action bei?g
needed by the Tripartite Commission in relation to the Albanian claim ~nd the winding-up of
the Tripartite Commission. This situation~se in 1995, and a new Secretary General,
Mr. Emrys Davies, was appointed in June 1995. .
:
.
I'
i
,.
Cost of the Tripartite Commission
,
.
30.
The three Governrrtents, and the three Commissioners; showed throughout the life of
the Commission a keen a~areness of the need to minimise the cost of the operation ofj the
Commission. which, in accordance with its tenns of reference, was being met from the gold
pool. During the 52 years of the Tripartite Commission's ex,istence, 43,880.424 ounce~ of
fine gold, ie some 0.406%:ofthe total gold pool, were sold to finance the Tripartite' I
Commission's activities. From 1997, some of the interest earned from the deposit of grid
with the Bank of EngJand'(see paragraph 16) were similarly used for this purpose. It spould
also be borne in mind that all but 2,823.097 ounces of the 43,880.424 ounces \vere sold at a
time when the price of goj,d was maintained by international agreement at U.S.$35 or
1
L
'~~~~~~~~~~~~====~~2;~.~~~~~~~~~:~~~~~~~~~====~~Q:l[5~~:-'~--'~--~=~=
!
�r
,
'"
,
"
\
!;
V
I
thereabouts, compared with! about U.S.$380 in 1996.
31.
It would be rigpt als¢ to record that the three Governments made major,but
unquantified and indeed unquantifiable, contributions to the work of the Tripartite'
Commission in assembling the gold pool and providing free of charge the services of
Commissioners, gold experts and Government serVice officers in Brussels and in their
capitals over the years.
.
The \Vinding-up of th'e Tripartite Commission.
32. The closure of the Tripartite Commission was set for 9 September 1998. Following the
final distributions (with the1exception ofth;lt to the successor states of the former Yugoslavia
- see paragraph 27 above), ~: series of administrative measures was undertaken, sucr as the
closure of the accounts of the Tripartite Commission a~ the Federal Res~rVe Bank of~e~v
York and the Bank of Engl~nd and transfer ofthe' archives to the depository (the Archives
Nationales Franyaises). It was expected that the closure of the Tripartite Commission Jould
I
be the subject of a declarati(:m by the three Governments and announced in the thtee official
gazettes.
Acknowledgment
33.
The Tripartite ComIJ1ission would like to take this opportunity of recording its
gratitude to the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium for its hospitality over the years. It
also wishes to record its gratitude to the staff of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York! the
Bank of England and the Banque de France for their cooperation and efficiency in carry"ng
out the numerous tasks reqtibsted of them.
'
Brussels.
i
Mr. Mervyn Jones
Commissioner of the
United Kingdom
3 September 1998
M. Philippe Malo
, Commissioner of the
Republic of France
Ms. Anne E. Derse
Commissioner of the
United States
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets
Description
An account of the resource
<p>The Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States, formed in 1998, was charged with investigating what happened to the assets of victims of the Holocaust that ended up in the possession of the United States Federal government. The final report of the Commission, <a href="http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/pcha/PlunderRestitution.html/html/Home_Contents.html"> “Plunder and Restitution: Findings and Recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States and Staff Report"</a> was submitted to President Clinton in December 2000.</p>
<p>Chairman - Edgar Bronfman<br /> Executive Director - Kenneth Klothen</p>
<p>The collection consists of 19 series. The first fifteen series of the collection are composed mostly of photocopied federal records. These records were reproduced at the National Archives and Records Administration by commission members for their research. The records relate to Holocaust assets created between the mid 1930’s and early 1950’s by a variety of U. S. Government agencies and foreign sources.</p>
<p>Subseries:<br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Art+and+Cultural+Property+">Art and Cultural Property</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Gold+">Gold</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Gold+Team+Review+Form+Binders+">Gold Team Review Form Binders</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Art+and+Cultural+Property+and+%E2%80%9COthers%E2%80%9D+Review+Form+Binders">Art and Cultural Property and “Others” Review Form Binders</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Non-Gold+Financial+Assets+Review+Form+Binders">Non-Gold Financial Assets Review Form Binders</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=History+Associates+Binder+">History Associates Binder</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Non-Gold+Financial+Assets+Review+Form+Binders+%282%29">Non-Gold Financial Assets Review Form Binders (2)</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Financial+Assets+Documents">Financial Assets Documents</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=RG+84%2C+Foreign+Service+Posts+of+the+State+Department%E2%80%94Turkey">RG 84, Foreign Service Posts of the State Department—Turkey</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Financial+Assets+Documents">Financial Assets Documents</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%5BJewish+Restitution+Successor+Organization+%28JRSO%29%2C+Oral+Histories%5D&range=&collection=20&type=&user=&tags=&public=&featured=&exhibit=&submit_search=Search+for+items">[Jewish Restitution Successor Organization (JRSO), Oral Histories]</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=PCHA+Secondary+Sources">PCHA Secondary Sources</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Researcher+Notes">Researcher Notes</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Unnumbered+Documents+from+Archives+II+and+Various+Notes">Unnumbered Documents from Archives II and Various Notes</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=RG+260%2C+Finance+Inventory+Forms">RG 260, Finance Inventory Forms</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Reparations">Reparations</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Chase+National+Bank">Chase National Bank</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Administrative+Files">Administrative Files</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Art+%26+Cultural+Property+Theft">Art & Cultural Property Theft</a></p>
<p>Topics covered by these records include the recovery of confiscated art and cultural property; the reparation of gold and other financial assets; and the investigation of events surrounding capture of the Hungarian Gold Train at the close of World War II. These files contain memoranda, correspondence, inventories, reports, and secondary source material related to the final disposition of art and cultural property, gold, and other financial assets confiscated during the Holocaust.</p>
<p>For more information concerning this collection consult the<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/35992"> finding aid</a>.</p>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
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Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Is Part Of
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<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/35992" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1040718" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Extent
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2954 folders
Text
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Original Format
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Paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Master Set, Folder 5 201443-201546 [1]
Creator
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Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States
Gold
Is Part Of
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Box 25
<a href="http://clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/Systematic/Holocaust-Assets.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/description/902534" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Format
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Adobe Acrobat Document
Publisher
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Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Medium
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Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
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5/29/2012
Source
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902534-master-set-folder-5-201443-201546-1
902534