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attempt to deal with,loot
from the Second World War,
and the implications for the
Tripartite Gold Commission
.
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. The HolOClast Education.afTrust
. March 1997
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Gold
Contents
Summary or r e p o r t S
Looting of proJ'l;!rty as clements of Na... j ideology and economics
9
Looted goid an..:! property during the
1! J
W'-'If
The end of th~ war
15
Dividing up the gold: the theory
lil
,
,
nividing lip rhe golei: critical error!;
18
.Detinitions
20
Cunclusion
Bibljogmphy·anu guidelu :-,uucccs
2S
�_ ..... , 1,.
_"',"'1'0:...
-..I'
"
_'-_.1· ... '14\-
,JL'.....
1_."
~
Nazi Gold
s
...
Summary of report
. I) Looting of Prop!!1ty
as elementS ofNati ideology and economics
-~'\ The ampalgn to plunder the pro~ert:' ~f t~t: victims ofN~!wil.«; intrinsi(fally
.\ Cot~ e 0
( 1 l .apOI
b!il
nc or the Jew and t~ ec~:§ic
~of [he SS)and the tmnan war e' . fn or er to ensure that Ithe
·Iuaximum amqum of individual property· was accumulated me Nil.i:i!i
. unplemented i:l systematic t;ampaigninvolving le8i~lation, deception 6nd
violence. In the course of the war, they also forcibly le.Ulovt:d much· of \the
monetury gold belonging to the treasuries of the countries which they occupied.
At _the end or the war(}ipproximately $260 million of looted monetar!)n~
. c€:n.monetary gold wasdi~ovel'fd in GennaD);- ~Iuch· had aJ.rcady left
the country.
.
Germanv.
t.
..
3) 'The <!ofl 9[ the war
Fullowing a ~mhing raidon Bs:rlin in ead):.lj45. the Reichsbank building w~
destroyed, and the (hank's gold reserves and other looted possessions were
to the Merkel'S sait mine near EisenacbJn Thutiniia . {Two months laEe~.
-1lhc. lnassive hoard was (~Hsc()vered by American troops. ai1d valued at ov~r
~23H million-=- It was ~;ubsequentl)( laken. to Frank.fuTttfor satek:eeping. Oth~r
( elVed
~I
I
V
.
hoards of valuable prop.:rt} und botb monetary and non.. monetary goUt
djsone~d In G~rmanywerc similarly taken toFnmkfurt. ~ n~moneta
old still in its on inaI . fOnD W
I
old in Berlin !VI ke
rt. Alle.ast 81 much ugaib
had been processed.
�, - '_ _ •
,
.
~.'.
i \..
_'1...'-',
Nazi Gold
.6
..
1
•
'- ... ,.
.t.) Dividing up the gold: the thee!!
,
.
i
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'
At the end or the war, the Allies were keen to C:U!!lure tha~ gold was ret:JrncC 10
its owners as ~Y as possible. A, conference held in Paris in late 119~5 •
cond~ded lh~ha
n lsco .. ere shou
returol.:u
.~ to n&illTlS occupied by t:he ~ in pro
,PioUS ... IIUlll ~ cn fO
rtion to their 10' . s; au nol1.-monF
t
•
utral coun~,
be
gn'cn to the Inter-Gave..
'[lee on Refugees' (later the
International Refugee Organisation, and used ta resett.Jl3-refugees. The
. L~i[e COmmLiiision for the Restitution of Monetary Gold was estabJ~~~~
under the control of the British, A.r:nerican and French gO\lernments, to edsure
that n.a.tionaJ claims were receiveq, and verified.
.
'\ 0
. .
5) Dhiding u., the gold: critical errors .
\, /J , However,·~ th
of rcturnin tbe gold, gold ban were only ~ver
.-'tTJ assayed for value, so their roven.nee w Devrr ~tabu.u.ed. J'of\Yhal
appe~d
'1
•
to be monetary gold was pooled. and the en claimant nati9ns
uJtimately ~ived approximately 64 eet cent of the claiJD,;,as the total ~unt
claimed we cODsiderably more than the total amount discovered..
" \
")
1 b 1/
~
. .
(/;" ~7)
- 54 )1 J' The total ;mIOUD! of ..,n-monetary gold looted by the SS was estimated tol ~.
.
~ A ~c.t..~ '. worth $14.5 millio but
3 million ofthi~ wasever
. Ccs.
t
vidence ~sts which. indiaItes that some @on-monetary iOJit:i *as .
.
u
in the monetary aoId pool.
. '
1
..
6) pe.t1nitions
..
'
,
Qne of the ~ain reasons for these errors was that«rureent definition!. of
~etary . and nnn-mo~tary' gold were gpplQycd in the di.frerent wnes of
GennaDy.
inc simplistic definitions agreed under the (ermS of t.bc Paris Treaty
did not .a1low for the complexities SUlT'Otmding the various· types of gdld
discovered. ~flnitioDS shifted. even lathe elttent that the British in~
<a ~rd catet!q of gold (Identifiable nOJ1.mo~ gold) witho~.!
. ' . melll oft.be Americans or the French..
Eventually this W~tii
ab. audOD • an t. e shot Wat that
re Df)II..moDetary go went into
""I' _the monetary gold 2!!O1.
' . . .'.
.• . .
.. \
vJj .
It was(m;r~.J., econd confercDC?waS conve~d ~~that ~otis
tinally bc~ standardised,· but even these implie~ non-mooetmly
. gold wouJd have~n iRGhuied IlffltlAisl' the
.
.
4£cordin~
"1" to the
ret
(~~~r tti e .
g II \
ment at B
'vate1y-oWDed
A( ::-" .'1 ""1. . _-.'---------,.----~.,_=,.--.-:.....~
1
l1.Hd to
n (whicll
refuged\)
�Nazi Gold
7) Conclu~ion
�_'_4.1'.,+",1'-
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_
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Na.:£i Gold
NuiGold:
. The Rlitish lind Allied attempt,
to deal with loot rn,m tbe Second World Wur,
and the implications for the Tripartite Gold Commi!i5ion.
1. Looting of property a"i element.'i uf Nazi ideology andeeononiics
confiscate Jewish property should be viewed
e belief that the Jews had accumulated t ~ir
ealeh a.i.; a resLJlt 0 . unes of uevl0US. co
actlvlty. The irna~f:
of the ew 30\ .the usurer and financial para'\ite, has its rools in rnedi.e.)ai
CorLstliin Jew~hatred. and was refilled t.'lrunele.enth centlJfy leftist an[i~mitisrh
The Nazis; scrupulous effort!i
in the conlext f Nv.i idellic
tn
•
This emotive mOlif wa... adopted by the Nazis as an ideolugical back·drop io
. their activities.
.
.
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.
.
that "the Jew has establi~hed·a juridkia.1
And thus it it; that during the 18.&1 two ccmuricl'i.
Tytlically. Hitier is recorded
:lS sayin~
basis for his ro~ueries.
anU
with rare excep(ions; aur commerce has been dr.J.g8cddownto such a level .thAt
.
.
I
if bas become ahsolu[cly necessary to apply a remedy. One first condition is
necessary: to do away with r.heJews,nl
The requi"ition of property began with a legi~latiw campaign during rhe :930s.
For' examPle. the 26 April 1938 Decree Concerning t.tJe Reporting of 1t:wisb
Propeny required that all Jews declare their propeny together with estirilalcd
values by (he end of June 1938. Fwther decrees prevented Jews from lrdding
with suet'. propeny,. and actively encourag&i OwnetR to turn their jewel;; and
~il ...crware to the MUn1cip"j Pawn ShoPs for I,;onversion into currency.
.
.
..
were more blaL~nt.
pogrom or 9 and ' I 0
OLt,er aucmpts
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On 12 November 1938. following the
~ovei:nber.· Hennann GOring issued the
Reparations tram Jews of German nationality. which
ordered. Gemlafl 1ewry to pay RMI bUllon to the Gentian Reich under the
pretexl of reparation for the murder of vorn Ram.:! ..\ t the !WDC lime. the state
KrisraJlno.chl
D~rt!t concemmg
I
Adult Hitler, Hidn'! Table TuJ.1c. HillttT's t:"',.,.,.TJatinn.;· Tt!corded by Martin 8nmi4l'ln.
(1988). p,J74. . .
. .
.
l
\Tom Ra.ch, the third s~n:1ary of the: German Embaay in Paris was U51U11lUILCd by a
scveruccn-ye;ar-oldPolishJcw, ,He.r'!'!cnc:l (iryns'Pan. inprotuc at the German treaaneot of .
Em".
�10
also confiscated insurance payments, a.nd made Jewish shop owners liabl9 for
repair work.
'
.
.
TIle money gainct.l was u,:;ed
10
top up the Rt.:ich''1 Jepiela;
fll1ilJ1CeS.
L&sislation waoq later extended to countries occupied~1.. the Germans. A.~ the
--....... -
,~
,I
ttcs () astern E!.l1'ope were sealed. the pr~~ny Jc~~_~~d left behind atrer"
<~!ng forcibly resettled was aL"iO often stol~.n... _ Most of the-'few'·iteiriS- thC5'
managed to take with them wen: also removed.
An order covering the KoVll(l (Kal4nlls) ghettt> in Lithuania on J September
1941 illustrates the thorougimess of the confIscation. It states: '"AU G~tto
imnaLeS must deliver' immediately by opm' on September 4. 1941', at, the la~est.
,the following articles (0 the Council for their' transf~ to the respec6ve
aulhorities:
1. Any money in Russian or Gennnn cun-ency c:tceeding 100 (one hundfed)
,
"
I
roubles per famjjy.
2..~l valuables, including gold, silver, precious stooe..., and other precious
' .
metals, or item& made from such metals.
.
3. Securities, receipts of deposits (if there are any).
4. Valuab.le paintings. valuable fur products. and fUt'S (except for sbeeps.kinS or
'yery worn furs), good carpels, 3Jid pianos.
'
.
5. Typewriters.
6. All eJectrical appliances, including those which can be' used for medical
or
profe6!1ioual purposes.
7. Good materiaJs for suits and coats.
8. Cows and paullr)'.
9. Horses with harness; carts.
10. Stamp collections.
...If this duty is not foUowed scrupulously and completely, it is not only the
offender> w~o run chf risk of the. deam ~n.'ry. but all om.r Gbetto
inmateS.r
Any remammg valuable posses.'1lons were stolen ,after ,amvaJ IQ concentratloD
and death c3.l11fIS. Th.e carUcst known
witness account of looting takfug
,place in a death camp (wrinen by Yacov Grojanowski. a youag' Itw fr(jm
lzbica Kujawska in Poland) notes~ "At about eleven o~c1ock., the first v~,
eye
loaded with victiirls arrived. Jewish victims' were treated in this way: the
Jewish men. women and children were in the.ir underwear. After they had ~n
tossed Out of the Viill two Germans in plain clothes stepped. up to them to make
a thorougb chec~ if anything had been ~n. If they saw a necklace.roundl a
throat they tora It off. They wrenched rmg:' frcm fingers. a.odpuJL:d go1d t~th
the JcW'J. The c;are"ully-ordlcsa~ pogfUlll of Kri.fraLlnat:ist W&!I officially explained.lS a
SpoIltaDl!OUa public nUlbunt.
''
j, A\ra.ham Tory. SUI'\I;"'in~!M HoilXtJWl. TIw KOIlIUI GIv!rw Diarv.(199I). pp.34-35. '
�... _.",_ ...
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-_._-,
~azi
Gout
11
out of mouths. They even examined anuseR (and, in the case of women.
genitals). TItis entire examinati(Jn was done most brutally.:"'
Deceit was also used to'extracl property more subtly. ~ ootice, written at tl1e'
enrr~e· to l~ notorious deut.h camp ~t~linka reiJfl: "'You arC'
cnlenng a transit camp. from which you will be transported to a labour camp. '
To prevent e'idcmics herh dot.hingand luggage 'must be handed i.ll (dr
di~infectinM ,old. cash. foreign exchange, and jewellery ~ to be gi\'CI1 up
~ cash desk in return tor a reCCl.
'.
. oh
prcstmtiJ,tion of the receipt."" Of course. they ",.,ere never returned. a.~ t~ .
cstima«:d 84(},C()O Jews. murdered there were never able to reclaim them," '. \
nor
Jt
. In Short. each' prisoner was expected to malce' a profit for. the SSGadh
,. . .
a V".llue art!' derived'
. . . . ilit to work. buk,
,
.
I
articular! in the' case of Jewis.hvictims, from their propen
This didnll
simply iru:ludc valuable possessions sue as relglOu.~ ute acts and jewellery. It
equally included, gold [eeth, aJ1jfidal limbs, and hair.
2.' Looled gold and property durin~ the war
Pon:ibly removing the vaJuablcs fTom victims tbra
ut occupied Europe was
stage I)f an op.eration w' . . t.trnateJ roduced a number of tan ibl~
(!]wIm in the German interior old bars In add to the . 9 ~rves. ffieial
Creditbalanccs for the SS (0 ex.pand its empire. and
uno iai creO.it
and gold hoards tor. ruor mem rs (J e S. By the lime these items werd
discovered by. the Allies at the end of the war, lhey were often in a form and
place which offered rl() clues lLO; to their origins. However, enough recot:d~
survive. and. eouugh people were captured and inlCrrogatedfor. the overall
looting process to be reconstiul:ll:d in some delail .
.. ~~l
J,
Part of the answer can be foui1<..Iin SS-Obec"pcofLihrer Odilo GloOOcznilC s
'5th January] 94:; repQn on ActioD Reinhardt, which he sent to the head of the
SSt Heinrich Himm.lcr. Glnboclnik had been given respoasibility by Himmler '
for Action Reinhardt, the: 'pian to eXlerminate Poliih Jewry, and· to dus effect,
Bad established three of the six most notonous dcalh camps of Poland - Bclzcc, .
Sobihor~ ant! Trcblinka. In addition to the plan for mass extermination. Action
Reinhardt iri~olved o [her tasks: tu e:tploir manpower, to realise the immovahle
properly of liquidated Jews. and, mosf sig~y. to Sl!ize bidden valuables
and movable propetty.
.
His report speciii.c!'i both the quantity of loot invoi'Yed. and how it was delivered
from the cnmps to the Gennan interior. He nor.es:'4Assets ~iivered from
..• Manin Gilben. Tht .l-iuWf:aJI.ft. The JeWISh Tragedy. (1989). p.266. '
~ Frum: :'>IW1l;.cs and Pnt.inftm. ;Vau.tIf!I /919-1945. 3: Foreign Pnlicy. W41'and Haria/.
Ex.11I,.".~tlOII. University of Exeter, p; ll.S4.
, ~ Sec: Gilben. 1M .HO/llcU/J.1t. 11.50'2.
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�·I'azi Gold
12
!\(;tiun ~emhardt.'The toUowing assets from the Action Reinhardt were
•
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delivered· to the 5S Economic ami AdminiStrative Mail} Office, Berlinl for
further tran~mi!'.sjon to the Reichsbank or to the Reich Ministry of EcOOCll!n.iCS:
a), Reichsmark sur!".! totalling 5.3,013,133.51 1'Il3J'k:S; b} currency in hank rlotes
. from aU the principul countries in the world ... to a vaJuc of 1.452.9d4.65 .
Reichsmark: c) foreign currency in gold coin."i toa total value of 843,80:2.75
Rcichsmu-k.; J) preciolls metals ... t.o 3. total value of 5.353.943 Rcichsmark: e}
other. valuables such as· jewellery. walches. ~-pect~les. et cetara... ~a1ue
26..089,800 Reichsmark: f) about 1.000 wagons of textiles to a total value of
13,294,400 Reichsm<U'k. Grilnd tow 100,047.983.91 Reichsmark.'"
Subsequent report~. ~rillen. after the three camps .had t:ecn wound up. spow
that the . ai arno t lOOICd under Action Reinhardt wa.~ dose to 200 million
I
,-Rcich~matk. Tn this shouid be a e
C ot
m
c
s wntctntidn't
i u~der thelUSplces ofActio" Reinhardt. which notably included Ausch+t"
cBirkcnau. ~aidanek. and Chelmno. An estimated 1.7 million Jews died in these
three camps ;]One. :md their posse~!)ions were utilised in much the )ame ~ay:
€ R udolf Hoss. the cUl1ll"Cl.ilndant of Ausehw~te'UIlJl~_iP.tobiogr~~hy,
~able~ worth IDilD)' mjUiUIIs of poundswerc seizoY... Th.i.rty. newly-~uilt
harrllCks. were crammed with L.'lese good~ while mountAins of unsorted effects
piled up around the harrack,. ,.11
.
.. ,9l
Loot cnllectedin the camps was sent to the WirrscMjrsverwaltungshaupramt
td be
. I
. sorted. Everything had a value: repaired spectacle fi'a.rnes could be Used by
wounded individuals. articles of no monetary value were principally hadded
.over to l'\nned Forces Juthorities to cover iInm:diatc and urgent needs, textiles
and clothing helped to ~Iothe torcign workers. and much wa.~ remanufar.:tuted .
.IIJ-thc case of t~st valued l(Jut - gol~ bank notes. coins., jewellery )00
'tiler ub' ,t, or financial'
.
organisation wed to·
h~ndling vast quantities of such materials: c Rcichsbank.
or WV HA (rhe Central Office of Economic AcbiUnistfation) in Berlin
.
.
.
Albert Tnoms.tbe manager of the Reichsbank's·~ous Metals Department,
1
. was interrogllled by the Americans after he was caplured trying to eK~.c til/0m
Mcrkcrssalc /TUlle. He infurmed them that the ''rmcedure, uJKln recelvm8 the
¥oods. was to SOrt them
distTibu.te the goods to the appropriat~
dcpanmenL'i in theReichsbank forhundling anddisposition.',9
and
The nature of these goods wal\ descnbed~ during his r.rial at··
~ure!Jl.be.rg (l!l 5 Al.!gust 1946, PohJ headed tbe WVHA, and was ~ charg~ (~f
lh ~
nomic side of the Nazi extermination
gramme. One of his mbsi
cenual tasks wa~ to ensure that aU valuables seized trom ew·
VlCtim.~ wbre
. ~~t ~n(jermany. ~g his rrw.hestated: "1 discussed with the Reichs~ .
-
.
• Sec: Documeru 4024·P$, repurt frum Gl(1boc:1J1~k to Hhmmcr. 5 J.ut1!Al'Y 1941• .,.12
.
. .
I ComiuSlmc:ntl1l.iull;tj u' AUSl'hwiu: \<:d,i. Kl. AuscirWU:. Craa>w. p.69.
I English v~ion'.
" '>95 l-PS. 8 May! 946.
.
.
�~azi
Gold
13
'plr;tor. Emil,Puhl. the manner of delivery. In this conversatjo(ll;Juubl
, rematried that the o6jei:C!; to be ~ th(jC'wcUery and vaJuabl~$ of
~enrration camp inmal,cs. ~special1v of Je~s, who hadbcen kiUel:i ,in
~):tcrmmatlon camr~'i. ' '{ heOllject!\ in qllesLlOn were rings, watches. eyegla.~l\e~,
~gots of gold. weddlllg rings. brooches. pms, fr;tme~ of glas~s. fo*ign ,
..currency. and other I.'aiuanie!'l. Funner discussions concerning the deliveio/ of
tnese objects touk place between my subordinates aoo Puhl' and other offibals
of t~c Rcichsbank' It was an enormous quantity of valuables. s.incc there
wla.It a
steady flow of EieH veries for months and years:'HI
,
',Ihe
Albert Thoms explained bow SU,Ch loot '!,as received by [he Reichsbank;
ueliverie,'
d he made by truck and would ~ charge of an SS man by Lhe
name Melmel'..7:\ I wai) lUid merely to give MeJ.mer a prellriUriiiry cOnditional
receipt tor c cases that constituted Lhc del i verics."J I.
~~ continued: ~> orally adviSed by Melmer that th(ijToceeds should!'c
ditcd to the account of ·~ax Heilig~.>l cunfinned this ~e
with R~_hn~ngSd~ekt(}~ atze~ of tlle-'Ministry of FJ..C3nce.·"~g~r
wa,
code name tor thes celtic 55 bank
ac..£Qll~~ned to receIVe the cnrdll
gained
m t e looted golc.l and valuable posses-SlaM extracted fTOmthC
victim" of Nazism.
In short, as the Financiul Division of the . d Expeditionary Force noted in a
1:...,.PJ~1lWI=u...iIL!:.!JC: war ended '1"he Reichs£5
appears to have actedi as
<
In ,ordct!'§)ewe Uery and various I!e~onal items to have becor.oe (''Tedit witJ:Iin
(bank a..:count. they needed to be converted into other form!;, eit.her by waylor
~lting or pawning.: The~ rocesses were cmefly €riducted by thT.ee
~nisa(io~: t.hc
SIan Slate Mint the ~ious IlEtals firm DeUlsc~e
Goid-Und,Silber Scheideanslall (DegussdJ',''' and tbiKRcic:h PawnshopJm
El'ii.'iSer Su-assc in Berlin. A Supreme eadquaners Allied EXpeditio~
Force (SHAJ::r) report. summarising Thoms' third statement. explains; ''Of the
precious meUlJs tor re-smelting. some. IJsuaJJy sl1'l3.lJ ilCms like gold rings, we:nt
tc.' the mint anti were smelted. Larger items for re-smelting went mostly to the
.
I
Reich pawmlhop; the biggest share of these iLem'i was probably ~"11lCJted by
Degusi.>Qwhich paid a higher pricc for preCIOUS a1Ctals for re-smelting lilan lhe::
\1int. and was the bigges[ fum in the precious metals business. Some of the
Pohl. 4045-PS. 5-8-46. p.:.! 16.
;' 3951·PS,1! May J946
<1 3951-PS, Ii M.ly 1946.
3 Supreme H.r!oldqulll1eni AWed ExpediLillnary, Fon:e (SHAEF) G-~ Division Spccw
Finance Dc:tII.chmeot. 8 MIl~ 1945. 1",1 ,
I.)
�-- ...
; ~
... '-
:,
......... '.. ...
\
Nazi Gold
G..
,
I
~jeweUery was seld abroad instead of being mel[ed:'I~The gold t~t was
~ited
'I.
;K..j
(
was turned int9 gold bars, and subsequentlydisgwscd. "often wIth (.\
pre-war stamp,\JS
"
.'
(~v-.JvJ·~
j~ " /') sOme of the io1d
U .~
.
.
.'..
the conre:orratjQU c.unp.') had already been proclessed
~g before it reached the Rcicr.sbank. III AU!lchwitz, a 'laboratory for riiFIITng ,
, (Qld (Goidgles5crci) was built in Crematorium. Ill, ,where gold teeth I~~re
from
I
U.,mcd inlo Will"""
. n to the loot taken from victims, :no~r of the goJd which the pa1.i/\
c.Slole came from the .reserves or [he countrie~ which they had OCCUpl.e .1
question of whether .. llnCtl
could be made between ~ from I nOI)
n§tary !iources and le go d ~Ionging [0 national treas~ries remains
'~because by iL~ very nature, "gold has the property of . ~a.sily
chan ed in appearancc.,,17 Equally, it i~--WpeLher on-monetary: gol,
bars were ~tored entirelv se aI"'c:ltely [rom'1none:tary-gald bars in the Relchshank.
.
.
'
."-----'-~
Emil Puhi (who WiJ,-; Thoms' ·djrec[or, ind Reich~ba.n.k President Dr. WLlher
. Funk's deputy) was responsible tor the day.. to..day running of the bank. arid the
acqu.isition of loot from conquered nations and persecut~d indi,.-iduais. D/IUrin g
his trial at Nuremberg. be. noted dml the MIlX Heiliger account was both
completely offICial and top secret: "It is ohvious that the desire for secrecy
.
,
. '
I
came from the SS:... And as we heard. they went so far as to invent. an aecount
- 'Max Heiliger' .. which Wa.1l obviously, as is also clear from the sta~t. .an
account for the Reich Ministry of Finance,"u
.
Thenm added:...... Pub) said..it was very ~onant not t~ discuss [~ flWlthJ,
anybody. that It was to be hlghly secret, that I[ was a' special tran.slCtJOn, and if
anybody asked about it chat 1say I was forbidden to speak about itlf'~
c(hc secrecy snrmunLiin& !oored g.old a.rid the Max Heiliger accounl pre1yemll
..
,.,I
@mplctc knowiedgc of exactly' what happened to it once it had been turned
(futo goki bars or ca.~ between 1942 and 1945. .!:!owever. what was discoycrcd
•
. le SS vauilN itppe~u:ed from SS account books [0 represent: only'
h}llf of the total which h ;u:rivcd.
mplli,;. Y;.. as InllCaglWl
ente~d the
C&J"IIW D or wQrld economy, whether as monetary gold OJ' gold jewellCTf and
anefDct5. In spite of the fact that it wou ld have heen possible to ~dentiiy the
:xact origin of the gold by scientifically res[ing it. 'this was never done.
:. Ibid.. p.3.
:, tJK FOteign :m~ Commonwealth Office His(ory Note.p;),
:6 Jan Schn, Oswuc;"'.Bnezin.ka. ( 1% 1). p.I44. ,
17 II.A. SiepRUIII. Ba.oC of England. 14 May IQ47, quoled in: UK l-'orcign and
Commonweal1h Office H~tory Nocc. 1'.1,
. 'II
19
ELlill ~hl. 3953.PS. IS Ml&yl9%.
AJbcn Thurn:!, 39~ I-PS. 8 May 1946.
See: Supreme Hc;u.!qUancfS Allied Expeditionary I:orce C·S Divil.ion.sect'Ct report un' 55
loot. wnucn by A.M. K4mlU'Ck.. AlChier. Fin!lllCiaJ I~iilen'-'C Brandt to A/Ditcctor.
:0
c;......" ..
,""i"i,.."
I iC;
(;_,1\
r(' 1~ Mav 1946. FO 1
046.'33.
.
�"\.. ~.. I,..'_~:.,
,
_'...... '1.....1_.
... '. l L
.
._...... _
.....
" •. ,J. _',,-,,' __ ,
I':'
'
NlZi Gold
,
----
Fi ess w
" e r that value could be established, but the
origins of the gold were ncv~r explored,
-
;
[":'r
,
to
Nevcrthele!is. despite (he Nazis' scrmgem effons
con~eal this oper-.J..[ion,
rlocumenrary evidence and Lesri.monies shed significant light on the treaunen't uj
5S I~on-mmretary gold. According'to ~ G.raupner. who was responsiblel tor
. .,0 mmsactions (whK.'h would have !nc1uded both monetary and SS looted
no •
"
) 'in, the foreig'n exchange department of the Reichsbank in
Bf!rlin, one reas'On why onJy half remained wa.1J
as( uanrities of gold ~ere
so ci abroad b the Reich. This was done "in order to rocure ano I:Stab'hs
~"""',
,ju' ,-",,'t<..J
,
'-'1
,
"
I
, several ke~
:'f u,",f1'" ~
~~~~~~~~~~~m Ztiric~ e ~nk
[or International Seul~ments in Basle. the B
',0
ortugal in Lis n, Ithe
Swedis
etc s ,n' m
\;.
, Ihe TariM) Central Bank in Ankara, Ithe
Bank of Tokyo in Japan. ~rUJ the Office of the ·&:Cnomic Deputy in Greece,
based in Athens.
."
j
J. The end of the "'3r ,
I
On Sllturday 3 February 1945. wlth a Gennan defeat irnm!nenl. the Reichsbank
building in Berlin was bombed dunng a massive raid by Al'IlIIri;an forces. In
desperation, under Funk's orders. the Reidl~bank personnel began to hastily
) "
"
old reSl,;rV~s. ca.'lh. art and scu1ptureto the Wt ~at
Me - s i
e
were Ithe
state's rcscrYcs, that tM entire proc:~ a week. tocomple[e. 1jwo
I
I
, nlonth.c; taler. on the momin! ~e Amc"ican forces who had
,
,~<:-~ercd the arco.. € v ered the CDOllDOU8 hoard. (CoJoueJ Benfard
i :Bcm5tein.. lhe chief of SHAEF'~ G·5 (fmance) branch., WIUi placed jn,chargJ of
e ~old reserves. :md foUo",;ng artal sis of.iI w; value ....
I "'.
r
eat
'S 1.::, ~ £,f ,
,,',
'
R,2Jtl.,. }'his, el(plJ.i~~ Bernsle~. pn:serucd. 91 per ceO[ of ali the
;.;-J). , L.tu..,...;.l 'l@U reCovered lD Germany.- The remaunng rune per cen was s
em)'
\discovered by AIlted t'OlCeS in a number ot' hoards lhroughoul Germany.
I
Ortj4 and J S April 194~~ under American orders and rigid security ",ouditioN.
the ~ntcnts \If the Merkcrs mine. were taken lo the Reichsbank buildin~ in
Frankfurt (rc-named tbc:(frankful't Exchange Depository.,;r FED). wtUch had
fallen to the .A..r!ll:t'ic:ms on 26 Marcb. The decision to remove the gold .1a'io
. laken beCause of. difficullies .::ncountered in guarding' the' 'hoard, . and /the
Frankfun Reil,;hsbank. \\Ia.It deemec.i tar mare secure. The process 0; bringing
~t Nottiunlll Archives WolShmgwll D.C .. lcscimuny of Reicb.sbanLrac Karl
FF1IIIJr.Iutt 011 MaJQ. ~.s and 16 AU'u~' 1 . 9 4 6 . '
Gnupn«.
. .
,
.: :'113tinnaj Archjve~ Wl!.StUnpon D,C.. RecQrd Group HiS, recurds ot War De;;wlmcnt.
Gcncral~ $pcc1a!"Staifs CAli 386.3. Bcrn"tein fO General Lucius CfIlY. 19 Aup5t 1945.
�. 'j
..• .
Nazi Goid
16
the contents to ground
L which was overseen by CoJonel Bernstein. Itook
an eDure merican regiment twenty hoursot noo·stop worle. .
;r
.
. .
~ngsl tile 1001 discov.reil in Merke'!}lld takeD 10 the fED were o~
t;. hUildred battered valises with an S~ marie on e~h!__~nt~n~Ly!:IJuat;,l~J! ~(')tn
, .,...,\:..; r c;-h.....,:r."";"'~oncenttat.ion camp victims. The~ had been carefully ~ from .
othei· gold reserves bOth in the. Reichsbank ~ the salt mine. Colonel
I
)-;..)...)
-,~.-,?
---
. Bernstein was particularly mcticu~ou.4i in enswmg that these items continudd to
be separated from gold bars. as they wc~learly and UDll1iSlak3EIyl the
,C@ssessions of individuals. They w~ housed in a vaUlt with strong wirework
.so thai anyone oUlSlde if was able to
what was going on inside. Accortling
to Bemllitein: "No one was allow~d un Lhe insicl.e other than myself. and J cJ.uld
. go into the vauJtonly w.!lCn other officers and American civilian visitors Jere
present and were watching me.~·l:1 He added that when Americ~ officials and
see
/
visitors came to the depository. "1 would go into this caged area alone and,
open uP some of the vaJjse~ to show the'eyeglass frames. wedding rings and the
melted down pieces of gold from the gold fillings and S9 OIL Nothing was ~ver .
taken from the treasures wbilc it was under my control.,,24 FoUo~ing
examination of tha.::&:Orci.S relat.in g to the 765S deliveries from the camps to
die Reichsbank. which were also discovered in Mcrkcrs. Bcrnslei.Jl estimiued
~t the· total amount of 55 loot was worth $14,500.000. 23
.
D Richard D. McKinZie. ONII HiSltHY Interview wish 81!1'Mrri Bems1cill. I-Jarry :Ii, Truman .
Libra.ry, Independmce-. Missouri. Dcccmhcr 1976. p.128.
Z4
Ibid.. pp.128-9.
-!~ Triai of tluf Majur War CrtminaU ~fo,.t! the /l'I"mDI;oftai MillJ4ry Ihbiuwl..
p.602. "
.
" Sec: US Finance IllteilillCnce Report. 1 July 194~~ Table j. Gold in 8ari and
Milia:Uaneou5 Coins prepared for shlpmalllO Mtrlu:rH Mine.
vol. 13. ,
�-I
,'"I
•
Nazi Gold
2/'1
f,/ (
_
:'"
.,~"_,,-
The ()ri~in::; uf the additional hoards which were di!iiCovered in Germany ov~r
the toJlo""in~ months and yClr~ and added to the Merkcrs hoard in ttth
rrankfwt depository were trealed in the same way. These included severJI
oards li~ted in (1 Ju~ 1945 UK Foreign OtTtce telegrar:n, (neluded within u.1.i~
, were the ~' fr '-six nag~ of gold hars w c
come from rhe R.eicnsbank. ;ind
(.w~~ found atZwickau an egcDs urg in Gennany." ,
'./-':J
,
__~.
'
,,'
.
.
,
t, ) further n0:u-d of non-monetary gold~ ~j.Jyer was ~sc,~v~red in a cave jus1t
'I '·1.n. ~sidc BucnenwuJdlabour c~00nta:l!!,"L ~st. 2L~ons _~!.~~~ur!!!~~Yj.
i,,-i'~
LI·II~.
v~)l.!."')
'1
/
\j "welIery.gold~gs
[andl. silverware".1i This was sifni:iariy taken to·
rankfurt. and amved on the atteJ1l(.Mln of 6 Ma 1945.
" I
-'<.:{
4.. Dividing up the gold: the tlieory ,
As the war , "the fundamental dio;cu8sion for the Allies concerned Lbe
ended. " .
,
,
I
return ,of the gold toit!\ rightful ow~rs. Gold re~rves had been taken from
many of the treasuries of narions which the Nazj~ had conquered. In (Euro~
which wa~rarge1y bankrupt following the ruin of a world war, it was seen as
ti!sentiallhal gold reserves were returned to those nations with the mjnimu~
~un[ of delay p08sible. Given the vast quantities' of gold in qucsr.ion: art
imernaliolUil c.:orifercnce was convened inl!aris in late 194; to discus~ how td
deal with it.
'
6hc Paris Confe~nce~ altcndedby eighteen powers wtwl had either fought against:
or been invaded by "'Germany~ was ~gncd to' divide up the spoiI.s in detail iii
, (accordance with a2!CCrnent made in priocip1e beLween Britain. the USA and thri
:Sovit:.t CUlon on I~t ...August 1945 :i1 Potsdam, The Paris Treaty was ca.Ucd ari
::agreement on rcparauo en -laBJcing Cermany pay fi:naB:ialJy for the cost of the w:uj
to other CO LlrttrieS. 'The irneD[ion was simpk and str:aigbtforward - to take
.cvcljthing which was Germany's at OOJl'le and
and divide !D,mc of it -' (tJ
trealY did not fi;ay how much) among the eighteen countries. Gold wa.41 one of mel
• ' colTU'l"kKlities dcalI out. omd because of us high value. its portability, aDd its unique:
importance to econuJnie..\, it was dealt with by a separate part of the l!e8ty, and
an
ab'oad.
a
treated in different way. "
,
' '. /'
While Britain and me USA could play the role of honest brokers 'in the gold
distribUtion. because they had lost none so were receiving noDe, they were notl
, di'iintct'CstOO parties. (Unda the tcnns
the Paris Treaty, Britain took froml .
, .(germany no less than 28 per cent of the tOla] reparations other than go.ld. and the
of
.
~ f! .
;. .USA whichhad actually done ""ell '
cxonomi::a11y oU! oflhc war neVJa1heless helped
,
"
.
' . '
.
,.1; ,', .-,'
(!!:'it:lf 10 28 pel' cc:m of German UltemaJ assets and, nearly 12 fXjr cent of German
'~. ~:-:' ~ (~sets ahmad. Fr~took 16 per cent of the v~ inside GerIrDJ:Iy. and 23 per
'~,L: ~
~~. 'The treatydd. not decide the amount, of repar:iOoM which GermanY I
'1
1 11
,-j
"
:r /-.r
!.,.' _
'T:-t-
; r- .
'oJ,'
.1
FOT dctaiJ:.. of Ihis ex.runplc aIId the one'.- referring' (0 RegeubUrg mdErlailgcn. sec FO
1046/33. Secrer Cypher r clcgnuJl. 2 t J UN: I<J45,
". Cami~uc Holl.311d lind Thomas RodINIt. 'The Merten aDd BuChenwald TreaJUl'e Tmve~',
convnned in: After tM Banhtl·NCI.~3, BattJe of Britain i?rim:s. Loodon. 1996.
�'':''.
~-'
.'"",' ..;'''';
..... \.. ,'" '· •• ·li\.".
1'4£1
~
,.JL ....
~
.....,'.
I
IVIU
would pay; it decided the proportion:; of whatever amount was decided wb.ich
. .' would go to each coumry.
.
.
. ~ Tiea,,>, was wUh)ur question badly draitecy in a way which wall bl1t.1ixl w.
.,1
lead to difficuh:ies when it was appl~ LO tb: realities of the gold whK:h had ibeen
., . ~ i j. r~ found. It 5ta1Ct1 in ArtiCle 8 entitled "Allocatiun pf a reparation share to IlQ!l:.
i-~N~1 ~ble victiffi5 of ~1 actiOll", Lhal ail non-monctarygold "found ,~ t~
J
'J;'
. ' ~ FOI'CCt\ ~. ~' should' 'oro to heJp. re&,'ilJc refugees. JP'liS ;'
measure was m ''recogmtlon 0 the mel . '" e nu
0 person"i
ve sUffered
hea"11yat the l:1aDls of the Nazis and now stand in dire need of aid to proemte lhcir
rcbabilitartOn but win be unable to cJaim the a.~lIistance of any Government receib g
reparation from Germany... :3,9
.
.4J-
(:'1
1
•
~
~ sum '11oL exc~ 525 million"
mon of German as m neutral counlI1efl
shOuld b: ~ available
~
hlc:h an:: available tOr R:pardtJm" ' .
This sum was m recogn1tlOn 0 't e t t t ge num rs 0 persons *ve
suffereu heavily a1 the hands of the Nazis and now stand in dire need of aid to
,
~rootctbeir rehabilitation
but will be unable to claim the assistance of
~ny
I~ ~g:=~!e~':~~1!\
~ ~;;;1mmo.
n such countries
ha~'J: )
o@:l§0fNazi act1Oii)¥ho
Il58dS
aDd left ao hen.
.
,
.
.
..
.
I~
I.
UOOcr the section of tbe treaty dealing wiLh mOnetary gold, iI: wa.'i~
ci~"i fuuIXk!ii1lermanY~ C'lennaJl posse.'tsion should be pool~!.'!
~ distributed regardless of preVIOUS oWD:rship,J It should be divided pro-ratallo
co~ whO had last gold to theG&miris since 1938.
~onc1 Bernstein was undoublCCJy extremely scrupulous in hl~ efforts
sure that mone[ary aDd non-monetary goJd were kept
\
!
Me
29
ia:er at the FED.
owever,
In SPIte 0
t
se
tiD
~paratety, ~th ~l
attempts, gold baliS
'Agrt;Cmeat on Reparation from GermilIlY. 00 rhe Establis~nl of an Iuret-Allied
RcparaliOll Agency Ilia on the rc~tiamoo of .MoncWy Gold'. Pari!l, 14 January 1946, Trea1y
Series No. S6 (1947). Cn,.,t; 7173. '
�""~"'_''''''I_''u", __
.
, ,
~azi
Gold
19
"
Q~ currency among the half of the S5 io.?[_~em~g in ~er1:ers J)laY
(nonetheless nave been allocated to the Guld Pool.
".------:..---~--;------
OUTing (he meticulous ancmpts to inventory and examine the: gold. a
considerable degree of confusion and doubt about the, proveDance of cenaiJ
,
I
gold bars \Va." voiced. One indkation of this. can be found in a confidential
letter of 19 Jul~ 1946 from Li~ings(O~ T. Merchant (US Mirjster-counselln1
for Economic Affmrs) to the US Secretary of State in Wa.~inilOD OC. wh.ic~
notes ChaL ·•... in Srupment 1 a question mark has been placed agains[ r.f1Ie item o€
, 4173 bags said to contain 8301 gold bars inasmuch as these goid bars may.
after proper a.-;say and expert consideration, be determined to rcpre8cnt melted
( down goh.l teem fillings and therefore classifiable as ~on-monetary gold. .,10
After studying (he SS books db;cavered a.t Merker!i, Bernstein vaJued tJ:t.e S.s
J1
is n~ trelLSurc fouad there at S14.Sm. , However, when the allocation was finally
A!}' made to the Intemulio"!a.I Refugee OrgllJ1i~ation. only $3 million csppelilI'S to
1 .
f.}r).J A-
(L-t,.)
l ~ "')" f-4
I
have been hlll<k:d ovcr;"
.
:
..
.
.. ..
.
1).-1 " ~
r0.iJ
In addition. ~el{-SS gold which had been L1undered. may have been, among
~/'1"';') ttre:hOaN5 found by the MIles elsewhere in Oe~, l:>y thi$ time "'belonging"
.to brallChes of the Rcichsbank or other owners uncoDilected to the SS. It" it
, had been bought by the Reichsbank. it is probable that it wou.ld wb~uent1y
have been found amongst the Reichsbank's gener.u molle[aty gold reserve
discovered at Merkers.
'
'{f''l'J
~"W-:1
However thorough and scrupulous the TGC'., attempts were in ensuring that
guld was gi ven to rhe correct piace. (here is evidence that at ·teut some was
misplaced, Por example. 'C1(jumbcr of bailS labelled 'Mixed Coins' but
=r
c!Jntaining medo.ls. plaque:'! and, (okens ~d at the Bank..J:!f Enaliild in July
(194&'
In a Jetter to Culoncl Wingate,' Desroond Monon. the UK
Commissiuner, ~tates that 'the Blnk of England "has never seen the like before.
and in the bank'~ privar.e opinion they'antiiOt monetary goki in the sense chaL'
t cy ever could have been currency."
Howevc:T, he points out th:ll ··if they
were cam on the hooks of lhe Reichsbank as monetary goJd. they perhaps
might so be considered." \l::I!= !iubscqucr.lly proPOses that the medals wbich ire
Rot ot' historic or numismatic value he "melted down aDd turned into good
Ch\'ery &it",' iU II thi!, occUl'l'Ca this 1.0; eVidClici! of individuaJ possessions
~mg u tun·
y return to natlonal treaSW1cs.
Confidential Erub;u~y of me Uniua.l StaU:!I of i\merica ~nc.e (ref. no• .5692).
en(jt!ed 'Nun-Monetary Gol!.ll1l1d arMr VaiullbJc~', Pari.:. 19 JuJy 1946. The refcl"!nce to
'Shipmenl I' reters tn
SS loot ,hat was discovered aI Mcrkcrl.
'
!I See footnote 24.
11 Sec: SeynD.lt J Rubin and Abba.P SchWllttz., 'Rdu~ecs and Rcparatic.ns', ill: WGI' C1ainu • Uzw
anJ Cc;,r""fX'""Y Prr:1hltlwv. VC'Ii. 16, No.3, p.386.
1"Tre:uury c~e from MQC"IOf1 fO WiDgatc. rtf~ no, DMIl.I7f86. 7 rnly 1948.
• JU
me
\
�-~!
I
~azi
20
I
Golq
I
I
i
, The d:iffic\Jties which inevitably foUowed from the Paris Treilty'
did not come to a head for ~vcral ~s because they were not
,
'
' . .
I
three Anied Goverm:nr:nts in charge of the 7.
result was thar
~-~
to the gold discovered wilbin these_~1:Jcs,
i
The treaty was marrcdbya huge practiralhole: it did not,define IOOlletal"yor non
rm.netary gokt. It nmde no ~ntion of gold which fOrmerly lJ!longcd ~ilhcIj to a
>
"yalTrl l - ~~
,
,
c01lDfl'y nor to irkiividuaJs.. but to pnvaie bllnk..~. jewellery-makers or dentiSt" for
I
1
.
,
I
1
,
... .,~.u;;; • .
If idenriftabi: guuus other than gold were found, under the 1A.'"rI11S ohhe treiUy they
were to berestpred to their owners. while gold weru either to the refugee pot or the
J1X)IlCWj' gold pot. This m:a.nt platinum aiKi ~ilver wiIh the SanE histo~ of
ownership up to 1945 were intended to be allocated to different po~t-war owntrs.
,
'
",
',
:
I, '
All these practical ~Ities cam: to the fore over the sub.'iequem: five years ~ the
three Allies. who had been charged w1th col1ecling and allocating}he gold from
their respective wries of Gennany,(1{nnt corxfitions on the grounddld<fiQt
the,
~rilp!ate drawn up ,by the diplomau for the politicians to . ,
tit
i,
i
.
" I
, Ofticial.~ re&:ted in many Cc!.1ieS ,hy pllttiJ1g decisions oft:' and by drawing :.lp Itheir
own rules. Without neCessarily worrying bow closely they co.rrespo:lded to the P'dris
,Treaty.
On 31st JanuarY 1947, the American C'.ontrol Brunch of the US M.ili.tary
GoveTTUDnit of the occupied zone lold the BritiSh Forei,gn Office property coirtrol
br.mc:b that the Ameri&::a.as bad'csta.b1isbfd a cenm.I receivir.g agency at
where "a ruunber of teams of expens have been engaged for some' montJis in,
clas&ifying the property received. "J~
FraJtun
,
"
For this task ~ h3d ~netary g~: "AU coms excepting tOO~of
(fiis1oric and muniSIDatic value, and aJ1 GoJd bars, O:aring a description of ~
:UsuaI on bullion or which from \.heir appearance SboUld ha.ve bOrne such a
, _rion" ~n~monetaty gokY they told the Btitis.h.,was~·all articlC:'i of ~jc
~ue which are oeyoti1
doubt loot seized from victims of ~azi
reasona.bJe
_ ..
=OO~"~~ ,~, "~ ~ _~..
, ~.
fr",
,I,
peep ~ m
~oncenmuion~. On 13th JUlIe J947 E.B. Boothby wrote from the For6Jgn
()t')i;e to tbe F, TC Salter at Lhs US Embassy in Lorxion that the .British Jere
(;
nLlSO
u~
iI SAWWIl
~llW,uon
vut
CO.l.l.f...llllo;
tl 10 loot SCa.a;u
om
'~Pms Tn:::at)'; 14th Jan 1946Cllll1 7!73;
n 'Swement of acnon taken by Americmli CO give effort to AIricle & uf I.bc fmaJ ilCl.Jf the:
P&ru Con.\"crencc on Rep.vations' ,PRO 1:cJ94.4J2j2.,',
I
. .16 'Statemenl of ilClinn rl!lcen hy, A.meriC:lI1S to give effon [0 .~Ie 8 of tbc: tina.! sa of the
Pari. Coafm:N:r: on Reparalioruf. f~RO 1l'()944/2.."i2. '
"
I
'
'
�..
-,,,-,'
. ~.
.:-'
~
--
~.
--
_."
.....
proposing that in. their zone of Gennany:, "Non-monetary goLd means aU .
unidentifiable aroclcs of intrinsic value looted from periOn~ confiDed by the Nazis Iri
cOIicentration CwnpS".:17 There is evidence chat this was~t.erpreted on the ground
i
·liv British forces even more narrowly, to include only posM:ssions ~f camp~t~
/J~ (<lund in the camps. According to an internal tciegram sent by A. W.K Wilkinson of
j ie... .:~:~ the rcfugeedcpartmenl on 16th April 1947, "Property Conrrol (bnUlch in Germany)
"
have started preparing inventories of non-monetary gold. They are wortcing on d
narrower dctinitton than that used by Americans. under which non·monetary gold. J
' .
- . .
I
conllncd to urtidtntUiahlearticlcs of intriiuk:value looted from. the bodies of
persons killed in concentration camps and found thae when the
wen!
cazr.,s
enlered by British and ~riCilJ1 forces:,J8 .
In another v..nation of tht: working·defuritionl{the Amcrica:ns tciJd the International
.Rl;.fugee Organisation in 1947 they were u.~ing a definition of non-m:metary gold
i.rx:lude "all valuable personalproperry which represelXSJOot seized or obtained
~ dl.lrCss from politicaJ, racial reti~us victimq of Nazi GOWlngl::,.t or it~
~ellite gOVerT'.J11Cnts or nationals thereof.'
tq
or
The Briti.Jl non·monetary gold eventually inventoried and handed over tu U.:
International Refugee Organi.Oiation in !ale 1948 was, according tu l:l Jetter from oJ
Foreign Office in Berlin to London on ~th N<lvember 1948 '~stly consisting of '
the personal effects beJongin& to inmates of Bel'§Cn and NeUDeg~ coB:entratio~
call1ps(botb in the British ;.:.one of Germmy)", It is oot clear what proponion o~·
these etTecl.!l were goki
.
WJlkjn.'ion bad written a note on 19th December 1947 thm: "final e\'llIualion of nunc..
monetary gold ~iD take SOrt'll: time becau.-.e of the pbysicaJ difficulties of checldn~
. over items from fulse teeth (0 old alarm cJoclcs", but it isfikeJ)' tbcrc would have
~n somenon~monetary gold among tbern. 4U
?
.
.
.
.,
. 1-).11 ~ .I~ (C-t"Y'-,:,.h/ ~CcordDJs tDtbc !RO. no British io~Jm~et ~ lAC
f
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7
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Britain and the USA spent ~Jl'£ tiJTK, oompuring and discussing cacb otb;r's
. d!tinitions. France's modus operarx!i was more elusive: ''The United StaleS ard
United Kingdom authotWe!ot iu Germany did agra; upon a,' defirUtion of oonl
ImneUlJ'y goid. but although awun: of it!> existence. the Frerich authorities can o~ .
be t"eganicd as committed to it insofar as acquic:sceocc in irs U,1Iie applies I.:onsent ttl
it!i tcnns:"12
)1 FfJ1'eip Off"tCC No, WR 20391115/48. lJ June 1947. PROft)l}44l.2j2
WilkJOSOD co E, W. Playfair. TffWlUTy. PRO F0371166716.
V~ Rubin and Scltwa.n:z. 'Refugees aad Rcparui<.Jns'.
4(J PRO F037116671)i.
jl
. 'I RubiIl./Sdtwa.rtZ,
War Ct.a.im.t.
Draft Brit.·f for fhe liK RtP'CS4,'!marivc to an Inter·Guvtimmenta1 Meeting on LIu: Restitution
. of Munccary. Gold Looted fromOc&.:upicdTCmlory by rbc Gctmaa•. section 6,1'.2. D.N .
Royce. Fureign Office: Getman Economia deparuni:nt. 12 December 1949. PRO.1"Z36f1..543.
41
I
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Nazi Gold
"
~J£'t
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.
zone
The
USA included non~monctary gold fuund in ito; o~picd
of A~tria.
\ Britain and France would not,.and in any case tbundnone, or at least said. the"
"'~ found none. If they had done so. it is not dear where it would have gone.
.
r
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.
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'-
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big praLual hole in tbc PariIJ'Tre.uty,
the absence· ,of a clem- definitiOn of
'
I
ltl/' ~ and ~rrmpnetiJ!)' 801d led to probably. the iargl'St wrong aDocltlOnLin
'1 I at
~ "".~ ~ had
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apparentIy been increasingly @Woos to minimise. the amoW1t gi_ 10
partitwarly lewishrefwgees, aIXi to rtlLlimise d:1e aJOOunt given ~ther
~the goki poot for invaded courur:ies. or to Germany. WiJk.inson wrote in an
internal Foreign OffiCe mt!lT1Orandum an 31st March 1947 :('JIe do no~~e ~!c
~ in its ~ Conn as it disaiminates opcniy in favour of Jewish refugees! who
ann 20 per cem: of the population at mo~t but who et 95
cent of the
~
' _ , British. he wrote, were ''not averse to the reopening of di.5CU.'ji.~ion.c;
, an ibiS poil:!t wiIh a vi:w to the arrendlnmt of the nx>Ie objectionable fea~ ot
ArtEIe 8,'....3
attitpdc thnt. Britain had .zmlateraO.y and a.rtJittari1y
';;..+/ ... ,el;ed a ','
of ok! 110( envisaged by l.bc Paris Treaty. This iwas:
1 '1denrifiab1e nou-mone«ary ,goAd" .. Military Goverru:renl W ~3 ordering aU
(
pn;,are.ty..beJd gold to ~ handai in to rhc oa:upying pOwer had producea a
"sub,1aJ1tial sum" by 1950 from the BritUih zone. There were 39 bars which Btilaia .
. walUCd to ·rcstitutc to Yugoslavia. and ather gaM which Britain wished to be rhade,
Jvai1able (0 Genmn industry. '
dl
I '
the nawnal exchequers at the expe~ oj refugees."
was in lw:ping with
thja
TheUS. tmaDwbile, put All its cquivaienlgoJd in bar funn into ~ gold pool
having ~~ there WM no such ~g as '~tifiab~ ~n-~newy gOii".""!The
French round 1iItJc. and t:raD5ferred It acc~ to British LD1ClJigence tu the Bar;KJue
de France in P-cIri.s. Wa:bout saying as much. they appeared to agree withl the ,
A..trlmi::ans that the CatA:gory d:kl nol Wt. 4'
.,
~ gold was pilat up
in the &nk of EnglaM, but it could not be handed out iJnti1
<kiclcd what' son of BoJel it was. ~5sure was growinS .from the coun4ics
;~ to receiVe money from the goJd pool. FT'lU'ItCe. which wa." one 0; the counfries
, eaa
waiting for· go1d, persuaded Britain and the Uniu:d States (which were noti), to
attend a conference in Brussels in January 1950 to iron out tbc, ioconsistencX:s and
decide what to do with the disputed catcgoric:is.
.
Tw~) days before Christrl'laS 1949 at a pre-ronfe.reJ'lre meeting between diplomats
.o(tQc tf1r= powers it was~ out to the British they had been WNllI u; irJem
L~ !lOn-monetary gotcf:. The British Elnbassy in WashingtOn EmbJissy.
, sen1 a tel.egrdffi to ttl: foreign oma: in London. "We larcl DOW... inclined to
tu.e
.) H.andwritten responliC (ro telegram from UK delegation. Moscow, No.357. PRO
Rl371/66716. •
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Dratt Drief. op.cil., section 9, p.), PRO T'..3t.v2.543•
•, [bid.. section 11. PA. PRO nJ6/'1543
�) I •
Nati Gold
1
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'
l.iu:raUy the' wording of Ire Paris Act and '(0 dispose of 'ail gold either to the
International Refugee Organisation or to the gold pooL',46 .'.
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ThefinaJ decision oftil(!3IU'isels contcrer.~ secret until docum:nts were
publilihed thirty years later at the Public Record Office. "It was agreed that'
Conference shou!d first discuss the definilion of rnonet.nry goJd, tben questiorJ
,
, I
relating [0 (he recovery of gold, luui. last, questions relating to the redistribution- Of
ttJ
gold, The Conference then agreed thai. a short press cofJll11WliIuc should be issueu
on Monday 9th JanuaJ)', on whi:h day t.be Conference was expected to end.ni
communique should give no detail of the marters under di.~D am shouJd mak~I
I
it appear thal the Conference's main concern was with the extraction oflooted gold
from neutr.l1 countries rdl..hcr
with any qUestion.., wbich' were wiJ:hin th~
prnviD:c of the Goki' Commliision. TIlt': agreed co~ue is ~luded
Cvndusion 14 of t!1e Conference in t.OO offic.iaJ record,,·t1 The fina.l decision on 1
d~rLnition wao; lhaJ. (moner.my ~old should be beAd to L'1Ciude gokl which unde~
~ law and regu)atioT15 was roonetary ~ I.a acc:oniaDce ,,\ith ~
agreement, gold whiCh is in the tonn offiJle goAd bars, go.ldaIloy ban. or gold comS
than
including gold in those forms which wa.c;
J
Sl.1ITendered
or should have
heed
surrendered under Military Go\'ern~nt Law 53 in the US, British and FrencH .
7.ones of occupation. should be made available to the Gold pool."Aa
~mpljC,atjQD, sove oog·monetary gold .he·",ld he consQ:m1 tmnrtMy. ~
law under Hider. forbade lhe holding of private gold except under ticetre from ~
.
~
TIleY anticipated chaLlenges to this ruling. and said the fact t.bat local laws on goJd
holdings wen: being taken inlO accouru in Coun~ ~Mng'thc gold wouJd ~
justify this allocation non-monetary gold to the go.ld pooL
.
or
Yet de5pitc the attempt i.I1 consistencYt t.1':!ere was all undeniable inconsisteoey. The
meeting agreed "that tor reasons of adminisIi-cdi\'e convenience'~ authorities
Gennany should be im;tructed tn ext' lu~ fi'om the Gold Pool gold other than barsl
and com.~. even though under Gennan law this too cou..Id only be bcld unde~
Hi
~~.~O
'
.. Gcrrnan RcparatiOlls Dilitribution from I:ureign Uff'.u::e (O\.-nnao Scc:tion) to Wasbillgr01l.
~o. 11704. 23 December 1949, p.2• .PRO TZ3612.543.
.
.1 Tripliltitc: Confenmce iJlarussehl on LnrltCu MonetarY GofdMlII.tCrs. Section One 'The
Dctini'ICf'lli of "",lIIl::t.ary Gold lIAd its Applic;;Uion to L.tw No. 53 GoJd'. sections S AIId 6. 31
IAtiuary1910. PRO T2.36f254l.
.
<Ii TriPa.rtllC Conh:rM'lCo in Brussels on Looted M(J!le.t.3l)' Gold Ml11l.cts. ~""tlO!l One 'The::
IXfmitioa:o of Monct:a.ry G\)ks lind i!.ll Applicatioo to l.oI.w No, 53 Gold'; 31 J8DWIt)' 19~O.
PRO T!:w.t~4:\.
_
.
49 RCCIlrd of l.bc oonfercm:c: be(W"" rcyn;,'iCnwlvcs of lhe United S~, Frcncll andlJnired
Kingdom in aN!!selll un rhe mailer relating (0 the I'1:1iritution of mooewy gold lcxned. hy me
Gcnnanli. First session. ~ Ja..nu~ 19."10. ?RO T2.:J6r2.S43.·
.
iO Tripart.1l.c Conferenw. Scc:rian Two' ' RCiated InmaCt.c:ma to iiig" Commissionus ill
Gormany'.31 January 1950, PRO T2J6I2543.
�~
SE..'1 BY ::t~1C.-\;\ DiB..4.:>j'i
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24
Even British. diplomats appa.remly rccogni"ied War there were ·iDconsinencies
hdween lhe dcfinjtions· they had adopted and the Paris Agreement.. A telegraJn
from the British Err.bassy In Washington to t.~ Foreign Office in London on 6~
April 1950 slated that although the British fen it would be fairer for any gold
heklnging to compa.nic~ and held urx.ier iiceoc.e to go back to those corr.panic~,
Ll~r the IfJJSl ubviuus reading of the Panq Treaty, it would go to refugees.
the face nfit the Pans Agro:m:nt requires" it should be "given lu the lRO,,,5 \
' ' In
7. Condusion
g 1/ -J.;
.
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In the final analysis. definition." were altered. and the incon~istencies resulrc.d in the
fact tha@thing was done to en.sure Lhat que..;;rionabJe gold bars (e.g. the indus4
old which legally should have beengjven to refu ees under L..h.e
0
.
,
m:nt were
awav from the Gold Pool. Consequently, there Tt'!mains sb
much doubt surrounding the gold bars discovered iiI Germany at the end of tf'lb
war. thai it bcCo~s impossible to concillde that the gold wall correctl~
distributed. ""'hat is, howevcr,ahundantly clear, is tbat <@nclllsive derails
(concerning the origin of indiyidtmi gold bars are impossible to asccnain. Whilst
the governments did not n~essari1y intend to deprive refugees, amid the chao.
and competing priorilic~ of pn~t-w;u' reconstruction. concerns were voiced and
errurs were made by offICials when confronted wilh the realities of the gold iltat
was. discovered.
e <,;an be no doubt [bat SOD! nOD-mallet
old found irA
~y inlO the Gold Pool • t qUt!Sti~D IS W much'],
..,
If
More detail of the non-molletary gold which was incorrectly allocated will lie inI
.
documents which at:C cumntly classified, and oo[ available in tbe preparation of
. this rcpon. Howe..er. given the nature of gold and the fitct that it was notl
. assayed in t.he 19405. the exact distribution can now never be established. The
~siduc which cUlTl!nLly remains with the Tripartite Guld Commission is' 1.S per
{cent of aU tbe pooJed gold, andworth $63 million at 1991 prices. (Even if ~I
<!.tiis were to be reallocated ·[0 indiVIdual vict.tm.s. i[ is likely lhat it would remain
~s Llw.n they should have received hid Inc-tams of iliC Paris Treaty been
~[orrecd.Y Implementid.
'~ .
" Gt:mlllR Rc'P<'l'Auons Distribution from Wa.,hington to FOreigD office (Oetmaa SecllOn)•.
No. 1106.6 .~uriI1950. 0.2. PRO'l.<.3W!'I41
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BAN K FOR' I NT ERN AT ION A L SET T L E M EN T S
n
0,· 0 C, v·J (';
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CH-4002 BASLE
~1
THE GENERAL MANAGER
10th September 1997
Mr. Stuart Eizenstat
Under Secretary
Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
14th & Constitution Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20230
USA
~N(.~\·~W,
. .
.
Following the BIS report on gold operations with the German ReiChsbank
which I sent you on 12th June, we have now fmalised a "Note on gold shipin6nts and
gold exchanges organised by the .BaTIk for International Settleweilts, 1st June 1938
'.
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31st May 1945"..
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aU
It .gives a comprehensive ~ve~iew of' gold location exchanges - both
.
. , •
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.. phy'sical gold shipments and location swaps· be.tween depositories - organised by the
'~ISshortlybefore'andduring the'Second Worid War.
I enclose this note, together' with the 'certiflcationby'Coopers & Uybrand,
London. We- have also made this. note available to the' public 'on 0ur «.reb site
(http://www:bis.org).·Th~: material on which the report is based is acceskible to
researchers in our archives.
A. D. Crockett
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TELEPHONE: 0611280 80 80
TELEX: 962 487
TELEFAX: 0611280 9100
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9th Septem1:ier 1997
".
PRESS COMMUNIQuE
. ~eBank: for IilteinatioDal Settlements is today releasing a "Note on g91d shipments and
.
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gold exchanges organised by the Bank: for International$ettlementS, 1st June 1938 .:
•
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3~st
May
1945". This note, based on the BIS archives, gives a comprehensive overview of all gold location
exchanges - both physical gold shipments and location swaPs between depositories ~ orgaJised by
.
.
I'
the BIS shortly before and during the Second World War. The note has been certified by Coopers
& Lybrand, London. The note, together with
~h~ examination certificate, is available as froktoday
on the BIS's own Web site (http://WWw.bis.org)..
,
"
�Note on gold shipments and gold exchllDges organised by the Bank for International
'. <.:Se~tlements, 1st June 1938 ~ 31St May 1945.
.
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Abstract
This note deals with the gold location. exchanges -both physical gold shipments and location
swaps between depositories - organised by the Bank for International Settlements between 1st June
1938 and 31st May 1945, whether for its own account or for the account ofits customers (central
'banks and international institutions). It gives a comprehensive overview of all such transactions
and describes in somewhat greater detail the transactions undertaken from the end of the IGeiman
. military campaign 'in western E~rope:in June 1940 until the end of the war iI). May 1945. All'
factual data contained in this note have been certified by Coopers & Lybrand, Londoh. Their
examination' cert!ficate can be found aUhe end of the note.
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BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETILEMENTS
Note on ,gold shipments and gold exchang~s organised by the
Bank for International Settlements,
Ist,June,1938 - 31st May 1945
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Basle
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'9th S~ptember 1997
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Table of contents
Page
Introduction"
3
Chronology
3
Period 1: from 1st June 1938 to 31st August 1939
Gold' shipments organised, by the ~ IS
, Gold exchanges organised by the :Ens
,
,
5
Period 2: from 1st September 1939 to '30th June 1940
, , Gold shipments ofganisedby the BIS
'Gold ~JCchanges Organis~d by'the BIS
8
,'.
I
Period 3: from 1st July 1940 to 31st May 1945
.,
Gold s~ipments OI;ganised,by. the BIS
Gold exchanges organised:by the BIS
11
:
,
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, Appendix 1 '
,Chro~ologicaHistingof gold shipments, '1st June 1938 - 31st AUguSt 1939
16
, Gold shipments by customer, 1st June 1938 - 31st AuguSt 1939
22
Appendix 2
.-;;
: ' Chrono1ogicaqisting of gold exchanges, 1st June 1938 - 31~t AUguSt 1939
'Gold e~changeS by customer, '1st June 1938 ~ 31st Au~t 1939 '
Appendix 3
, Chi'o~ologicallisting ofgold shipments, '1st Sept. '1939 .;. 30th June 1940
, Gold shipnients'by customer, 1st September 1939 - 30tl;!.,June 1940
Appendix 4
, Chronological listing 'ofgold exchanges, 1st Sept. 1939 -JOth June 1940
" '. Gold exchanges by customer, 1st Septe~ber 1939 - 30th June 1940
,AppendJXS,:
'
,
Chronological listing of gold shipments, 1st July 1940 .. 31st May 1945 '
Gold shipmentli by customer, 1st July 1940 - 31st May 1945
Appendix 6
":Chr9i101ogicallisting of gold excfumges,.t;UulY 1940<31st May 1945 "
: 'Gold' exchanges by customer; 1st July 1940- 31st May 1945'
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30
36
39
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BIS - No,te on gold shipments... 2
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Note on go~d shipIJ1~nts and gold exchanges
organised by the Bank for, International Settlements,
,',
lstJune1938-31stMay1945",
,
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Introduction
Ever since the "Bank for InternationalSettlemerits was foUnded in -1930, gold transactions,
, have formed part ofits nonilal biJsiness operations. These transactions, undertaken for th~ Bank's
own account or for the account of its customers (central banks and international institutioJs), have
always inciuded:
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1.' the p~rchilse and sale of gold on the international gold market for the BIS's own account or for
the accOunt of cust~mer central banks;
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2. the operation of a,de facto gold clearing, through the transfer of gold between the gold sight
,,' ~unts held by t~e different.central baDks 'with the BIS;
, '; ',",'
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3. the organisation of physical gold shipments and the organisation of gold exchanges between
, different depositories ("location 'swaps")' for the BIS's own' account or for ,the aJount of
customer central banks: '
I. '
This paper concerns the third category of these transactions. It deals with all gold location
exchanges ,- both physical shipme~ts and location swaps between depositories -organisedby the
Bank for InternatioIlal Settlemen~ from isLJUne 1938 to 31st May .1945, wheth~r fori its own
account or for the accoUnt of its customers. The focus of this paper is on faCtual data: the' exact
,
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I
dates on which individual transactions were' carried out, the exact amounts of gold involved, the
,locations
which gold', was held ~d 'from which ~r to which it was shipped, land the'
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counterparties ,involved. In order to show that these gold trmsactions formed part of the BIS's
normal business activities, the period under consideration, here was extended ,so as to' idclude at
l
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,
in
*
least one ~ pre-,:arfiIDmcial year. The transactions undertaken fro~ 1st June 1938 to st. June
1910 aresunply listed. Those ,that took place,after June 1940, that IS after most of Europe Ivtd
, -'come under German domination, are described iD. somewhat greater detail. '
:All figures and, data given here were taken from BIS'records that are ava.illlble for
'consultation byr~earchers attheBank'~ offiCes in Basle.' A full listing of the iddividruil
'transactions can be found in Appe~dices 1 to 6. All factual data (including the lists in aPpendix)
have been certified·byCoopers & Lybrand, London. Their examination certificate can be !found at ,
the end ofthlS Note. '
Chronology, ,
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From 1st June 1938 to 31st May 1945, the BIS
. ~-."
or~ed:'
., 184 gold shipments for a total amount of ~97 tonnes offme gold, and
'. '112 gold lo~tion'exchanges/or~' total amount of127 tonn~ offme gold.
,l,
all.
Thus, in
over a period of seven years, the BIS was instrumental in exchanging, through
shipments and location swaps, the location of 424 tonnes of fine gold.'However,thesenumerous'
gold shipments'and gold exchanges were not spread evenly 'oyer this period of time. ,
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BIS - Note on go,Id 'shipments... ' 3
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Three periods are distinguished in this pape~:
• Period 1: before the otitbre3k of the Second World' Wa; (from '1st June 1938
t~ 31st August
'1939);
• Period 2: from the outbreak of the war until the end of the German military campaign in
I
Western Europe (from 1st September 1939 to 30th June 1940); ,
. ' eriod 3: from the end of the German military campaign in Western Europe until the ,end of
P
"
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,the Second World War in Europe (from 1st July 1940 to 31st May 1945).
Overview of the amount ofgold shipped andexchanged by the BIS from 1st June 1938
to 31st May 1945:
Total amount ofgold
sltipped by the BIS
(in kg. fine gold)
Total amount ofgold
exchanged by the
BIS (in kg. fine gold)
Overall total
(in kg,fine gold)
1.6.1938 - 31.8.1939
30(871
45,339
30,585
75,924
1.7.1940 - 31.5.1945
21,306
21,872
43,178
Overall total June
1938 - May 1945:
,';:-:.'
74,082
1.9.1939 - 30.6.1940
:;-
230,791
297,436
126,539
42'3,975
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BIS - Note on gold shipments... 4
�Period 1: fr()m 1st June 1938 to 31st August 1939
During the first p,eriod under consideration here, physical gold shipments organi~ed by the
BIS accounted for 231 tonnes of gold, whileariother 74 tonnes of gold were exchanged through
location swaps between the BIS' and its customer central banks. This ,meaDs that, in all, 3bs tonnes
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of the overall total of 424 tonnes of gold mentioned above; or over 70%, were shipped or
exchangedby the EllS before 1st September 1939, that is b~fore the outbr~ of the Seco1nd World
War.
Gold shipments organisedbytlte DIS from ISt June 1938 to 31st August 1939 = 230,791
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,kg. fine gold'
Table I, below shows that fro:m 1st June .1938 to 31st August 1939:
the BIS shipped I 16,4S0 kg. fine gold for its own account, of which more than 90% had New
York as its final,destination;
.' the BIS shipped 114,341 kg. fine gold for the account of 11 different central banks tlo various
destinations (the single most important customer was the German Reichsbank, followed, at
some distance, by the central b~ks of Hungary, Italy, Czechoslovakia and Norway).,
•
,
" ' " . '
I
'
The BIS was very active in organising gold shipments in September and October 1938 (f.e. '~t the
time of the "Munich crisis" over the Czech Sudetenland). 'During the 'winter of 1938-39 this
activity tailed off considerably, but' from March until August 1939' it once again, kxpanded
st~ongly; A detailed list (chronological and by customer) of all gold shipments'organis~d by the,
BIS during this period can be found in Appendix 1.
I
"", .
.
. '
,
,
.
-.
' .
Gold ~hange~~rganised by the BISfrom 1st June 1938 to 31st August 1939 = 74,082
~~~
,
,
'
Table 2 below shows that during this period the BIS gave 74,082 kg. fme gold from its
_ various depositories to 11 different central banks or international institutions in excfumge for
74,108 kg. fine gold it received at different depositories. Half of these gold exchanges, akounting
.
. .
I
to 37,981 kg. fi~e gold; were carried out with the German Reichsbank. Otherpnportant
counierparties included the Nederlandsche Bank (13;167 kg. fine gold) and the National Bank of.
Belgium (9;891 kg. fine gold). A detailed list(chronologi~landby customer) of all gold
exChanges organised by tl1e BIS during this period
be found inAppelldix 2 .
can
.'
";.'
"', .
.,",
.
.'
,
.
,.
. BIS - Note on gold shipments... '5,'
�':
.
'
.... ..
,~
;;
;:
;w
i
''if:.
l,
Table 1: :Gold shipments organised by-the 81S, 1st June 1938 !"31 st August 1939
r-
A. Monthly turnover.
Number
of bars
June 1938
July 1938
August 1938
September 1938
October 1938
November 1938
December 1938
January 1939
February 1939
. March 1939 '
April 1939
May 1939
June 1939
July 1939
August 1939
TOTAL:
766
359
767
3,289
848
144
468
105
715
1,689
3,753
1,068
1,390 .
1,095
2,291
18,141
Weight
(kg.f. gold)
9,345.95770
4,418.18619
9,435.03742
40,475.03592
10,366.68265
1,804.67974
5,801.84808
1,238.59077
8,777.20334
20,219.18589
46,235.26059
13,297.32614
17,245.53853
. 13,696.96842
28,433.54067
IC. Destinations:
Customers:
Number
of bars
BIS for own account
Relchsbank
NB of Hungary
Banca d'ltalla
NB Ceskoslovenska
Norges Bank
Eestl Pank
. NB of Yugoslavia
- Lletuvos Bankas
Bank von Danzig
NB of Bulgaria
NB of Belgium
230.19,.0420.!.!TOTA.,
Weight
(kg.f. gold)
9,451
6,219
1,082
848
421
355
125
100
95
45
3
3
116,450.24244
76,498.68485
13,560.05288
10,535.84475
5,222.00039
4,455.13474
1,561 .53345
1,227.86154
645.92584
554.94625
41.09447
37.72045
18,141
Number of Total weight
shipments
(kg.f. gold)
New York
London
Berlin
Berne
Amsterdam.
Brussels
Stockholm
Sofia
230.19'.0....0.!. ~TAL'
In %
61
30
13
3
3
5
111,408
54,026
39,662
14,870
4,704
4,518
1,562
41
48.27
23.41
17.18
6.44
2.04
1.96
0.68
0.02
111
230,191
100
B/S - Note on gold shipments...
6
-~
�Table 2: Gold exchanges organised..by·the BIS,1srJune1938 - 31 stAugust 1939
"
.
"
B~
A.· Monthly- turnover:
,SIS receIVes
(kg.f. gOlfl)
74,107.59583
. ,
SIS gives
(kg~f. gold)
74~082.014451.· ITOTAL:'~
~
c. 'Location:
Counterparties:
Relchsbank
June 1938
906.16098
906.41001
July 1938
5;050.83113 ' " '5,049.44568
:Netherlands Bank
Aug. 1938
4,187.44996
,4,169.57041
NBo' Belgium
, NB of Hungary
Sept.1938
". 6,865.12762
. 6,874.31135
'Swlss NB
, Oct: 1938 .
4,474.12331
4;470.74081
Bank Polski
Nov. 1938
1,795.76061
~ 1,792.82023'
NBof Yugoslavl.a
Dec. 1938
497.90710
501.32330
Caisse Commune
Jan. 1939
0.00000
0:60000
NB Ceskoslov.
Feb. 1939
3,610.19870
.' 3,610.19870
Fonds Agralre
Ma.:ch 1939
33,887:08303 -, 33,880.53246
Banea d'italla .
Aprfl1939
0.00000
0.00000
. May 1939
4;570.87639 - '- -4,573.08962
June 1939
3,499.47077
. 3,499.47077
July 1939
2,513.61977
2,512,41094
Aug. 1939
2,248.98646
2,241.69017
TOTAL: .
'.~
SIS receives
(kg.f. gold)
37,968.72444
,13;183.41621
, 9,907.12670
3,131.67436.
2,542.47056
1,995.93325
1,746.66136
1,746.54591
1,493.24951 .
207.26969
1B4~46384 '
74,107.59583
SIS gives
(kg.f. gold)
37,980.55589
13,166.6~757 .
9,891.83470
3,133.22134
2,537.43573
2;000.02152
1,746.54591
. ~ ,746.66136
1,487.37690
'207.26969
. 184.46384
SIS gIves Number
gold In, of e){ch.
London
. Brussel,s
Amsterdam
Berne
New York
Paris
74,082.014451 ' ITOTAL:
23
4
3
7
4
42-
.Welghtof
gold given
(kg.f. gold)
35,463
11,898
11,174
8,841
4,959 '
1,747
In %
, 47.87
16.06
.15.08
11.94
6.69
2.36
74,082
100
BIS - Note on gold shipments...
7
�'
..
Period 2: from 1st September 1939 to 30th June 1940
.
During the first ten months of the Second World War, the BIS transported 45 tonnes of
gold in 49 shipments and organised location swaps for another 31 tonnes of gold.. It is ihils clear
that the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 brought about a sharp decl\ne in the
gold shipments and exchanges organised by the BIS.
Gold shipments organised by the BIS from 1st September 1939 to 30th June 1940
45,339 kg. fine gold
=
Table 3 below shows that from 1st September 1939 to 30th June 1940:
• the BIS shipped 3,590 kg. fine gold for the account of three central banks (Reichsbank, Eesti
Pank and the National Bank ofEI Salvador) to Berlin and New York;
I
• the BIS shipped 41,749 kg. fine gold for its own account, most of which was delivered to New
York (either directly or via Genoa).
After the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, the BIS suspended its gold
shipments for two months. Transatlantic shipments to New York were resumed in Novetnber, but
. I
under increasingly difficult circumstances. Henceforth, an official Navigation Certificate (Navicert)
was required for each shipment, while insurance costs (inCluding a special war risk ihsurance)
increased greatly. Also, in order to reduce the risk of loss, the BIS decided to have at Imost 1.5
tonnes of gold at sea at anyone time. Notwithstanding these difficulties, the BIS continued its
transatlantic gold shipments until the end of the Gennan military ~paign in Western EJrope, the
I
last ship leaving Genoa for New York on 2nd June 1940 (transaction entered in the BIS Ibooks on
28th May 1940). A detailed Jist (chronological and by customer) of all gold shipments organised
by the BIS during this period can be found in Appendix 3.
I
, .
.
.'.
I
Gold exchanges organised by the BIS from 1st September 1939 to 30th June 1940
30,585 kg. fine gold
-
=
. Table 4 below shows that, during the first ten months of the war, the BIS gave 30,585 kg.
fine gold, most of it from its depository in New York, to 15 different central banks or int~rnational
I
institutions. in exchange for 30,551 kg. [me gold it received at different depositories. Ifhe three
most important counterparties in the gold exchanges with the BIS during this periOdlwere the
central banks of the Netherlands (12,428 kg. [me gold), Turkey (5,544 kg. fine gold) and
Yugoslavia (4,744 kg. fine gold). Thanks to its transatlantic gold shipments, the BIS wk able to
offer its customers substantial amounts of gold held in New York, in exc~g~ fori which it
accepted gold held on the European continent. A detailed list (chronological and by customer) of
all gold exchanges organised' by the BIS during this period can be found in Appendix 4.
BIS - Note. on gold shipments.:.
8
�i~:
<,
.:
',Iff)
. I;
.;l r
- ..
~:
"
.
Table 3: Gold s'hipm~ntsorgar:-ised' by the" 81S, '·1 sf Seplemb~r1939' - 30th JUrie 1940
.:; ..
B. Customers:'
A. Monthly turnover:
Number
of bars
September 1939
, October 1939
.N0Vli!lmber .1939
December 1939
. January·1940
, February 1940
, MarcJ'i1940
~pfll1940
'May 1940
·.June 1940
TOTA4,:'
'0
0
' 366
·343
593
596
600
707
450.
0
3,655
"Number
of bars
Weight
(kg;f•. gold)
0.00000
0.00000
4,523.86553
4,202.92156
7,414.14769
7,423.66562
7,520.75764
8,857.02357
. 5,396.85!!30.
0.00000
.45,339.23991
C. Destlnatiol'1s:
BIS for own account
Relchsbank
, ' Eestl Pank
NB of EI Salvador
TOTAL:
Number of Total Weight
shipments
(kg,f, gold) .
Weight
(kg.f. gold)
3,366
163
84
42
41;749.61123
·2;006.95686
1,056.74695
525.92,.87
3,655
45,339.23991
New York
Genoa
Berlin
Berne
Paris,'
Brussels
TOTAL:
31
11
4:
1
49
29,159
12;454
2,007
1,480'
164·
75
In %
64.31
27.47 ..
4.43
,
3.26 1
0.36
-·0.17
:
45,339
100
,
",,'.
~
BIS - Note on gold shipments...
9
�""
..... ,
•
___
~
•• _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
W
Table 4: Gold exchanges organised-by the-BIS, 1st September 1939 - 30th June 1940-
lB. Counterparties:
A. Monthlytumover: .
SIS receives
(kg.f. gold)
Sept. 1939
Oot.1939
Nov. 1939
Deo.1939
Jan. 1940
Feb. 1940
March 1940 .
April 1940
May 1940
June 1940
TOTAL:
·16.23492
73.35901
3,958.24326.
3,244.79945
4,818.53170
6,990.06701
3,157.11194
3,508.67678 .
4,783.89011
0.00000
30,660.91418
SIS receives
(kg.f. gold)
SIS gives
(kg.f. gold)
16.23492 .
73.35901
3;958.08380
3,252.82075
4,818.21031
'6,994.42719
3,171.48170
3,507.77966
4,792.86012
0.00000
Netherlands Bank
CB of Turkey
NB of Yugoslavia
Latvljas Banka
Eestl Pank
Relchsbank
SVerlges RB
NB of Belgium
Bank of England
Comm.du Danube
BC Argentina
Comm.C.du Rhln
Flnlands Bank
Swiss NB .
Norges Bank
30,686.267461 . ITOTAL:
12,420.05924
5,541 .18982
4,734.31442
2,256.78022
1,503.47890
1,464.89865
1,052.42190
933.83590
.400.29440
123.44361
34.36460
32.18624
25.00000
20.02178
8.62450
30,660.91418
C. Location:
SIS gives
(kg.f. gold)
12,427.99690
5,543.28628
4,743.90494
2,272.25218
1 ,502.81 036
1,462.12870
1,054.83387
935.09761
400.13266
123.23735
34.36460
31.56573
25.00000
20.02178
8.62450
30,686.267461
SIS gives Number
gold In of exch.
New York
London
Stockholm
LondiParis
Berne
Paris
Brussels
1
TOTAL:
32
7
2
8
2
63
Weight of
gold given
(kg.f. gold)
In %
24,540
3,659
1,414
411
312
215
34
80.24
11.96
4.62
1.35
1.02
0.70
0.11
30,686
.100
SIS - Note on gold shipments...
10
~.""
.. ~
"rl-h
�, .:.1
.~.
j'
i,
,
Period 3: from 1st July 1940 to 31St May '1945,
i
, !
;
"
,
" .
"
After,June 1940 the number and volume Of gold shipments and gold exch~nges organised,
byithe BIS declined d~aticall~. Fr~ni 1st July 1940 t031st May 1945, that is over a Jeriod of
nearly, five years, the BIS transported 21 tonnes of goldi~ 18 shipm~nts and organised jlocation
swaps for another 22 tonnes of gold. Thus, the overall total of gold shipped and exchanged by the
.,. .
.
..
.
;
BIS during these five war years was only half of what h;l.d been shipped and exchanged dyring the
first ten months of the war and seven times less than the total amount recorded, during the 15
months before the outbreak of the war. '
' I
..
r ,
G~/d sltipme~ts orgallised j,y'tlte BISfrol1l 1st July 1940 to 31st May 1945 =
fmegold,
I
21)306 kg.'
'
Table 5 below shows th~t during this perIod:
• the BIS shipped 5,270 kg. fine gold for the account of two central banks (Banco de lPort;ugal
and National Bank of Bulgaria tBanquede Credit Bulgare) to Lisbon, Sofia and Genera;'
• , the BIS ,shipped 16,036 kg. fine gold for its own account, most of Which was delivered to
,
,,'
'
I
.' Berne,'
:.
'"
"
, The
~old
shipments
o~gan~ed
by the BiSafter the end of tile
niili~Campaign
in weste:l Europe'
i'
(J)IDe 1940) are described In more detail below: .
I. From November 1940 to February 1943, the BIS transported, in eightseparate shipmen~s, a total,
amount of 5,075 kg. fme gOld/rom Berne to Lisbon. This gold was transported byl a Swiss
transport company by lony from Switzerland; 'via unoccupied France and Spain, to Portug~l.
, "
. '"
"
"
, , '
i
• .1
A first shipment of 799 kg. fine gold left Berne on 27th November 1940, It reachea Lisbon
,
' " .
"
'
,
"
I
on 16th December. 'From there, the gold was shipped to New york 'for th~~~Sls ow~ account
(500 kg. fine gold on ,27th December,1940 on th~,"ss .Exeter"; the remammg 299 kg. fine
1
gold on 31st January ·1941 on the steamer "ss Excahbur"). The 799 kg. fine gold were
,
,
,,'
,
"
I'
,
subsequently sold to the Banco de Portugal, loco NewYork (10th Februazyl9,41)" I
• 'Between 20th September'and 17th November 1941~ the Banco de Portugal boug~i a total'
,amount qf 1,634 kg. 'fi,negoI9 fromt~eBIS fOf P(jrtugueseescudos. The BIS had/acquired
this gold shortly before from the Banque de France, which needed the escudos to finance
.
'
"
I
French imports, from Portugal., At the request of the Banco de Portugal, the BIS tr3nspOrt~
thisgold from-Beine to Lisbon, in three separate shipments leaving Berne on llt60ctober
"
.. '
,
"
'
I
(364 kg. fine gold), 7th November.(545 kg, fine gold) and 21st November 1941 (7215 kg, ·fine
gold),
"
" '
, ,
,"
I' ' ,
'. iIinmediately afterwards, the B~Co de Portug~l<l$ked theBISto transport to lfisbon an
·1, additional 1,802 kg. fme gold which the, "flortuguese. held at t~e Swiss National,Bank in
, ",:",
" "",
"
,"
,',.
' ,.1
"
, Berne '(903 kg, fme gold shipped on 3idDecember ,1941, plUs 899 kg. fine gold shipped 'on
,
, " ,
I
'12thDecemberI941).""
,',
. , ',',.' . . "
"'"
."j ' c ' ,
•
Almost II months later, on 29th October 1942, the BIS shipped another 599 kg,jfine, gold
which it had bought fromtheBanque de France·from Berne to Lisbon, wher~ thejgoldwas'
partly sold to the Banco de Portugal,and partly deposited in the BIS's own gold account with
, , the Portuguese central b~
.,
Finally, on 25th February 1943, the BIS organised a last gold transport from
Berne to
Lisbon, shipping 242 kg. fine gold for its'ownacebunt.
. '
"
BIS- Note on gold shipments.. , II
" ,. ' I
I
"
�I
I
,
I
,
.' ;
2. During the first half of 1942, the BIS organised four gold shipments from Berne to So,i1a:
. ; In January 1942 the National Bank of Bulgaria expressed the wish to convert ph! of its
currency holdings in Switzerland into gold. The BIS consequently sold 1,045 kg. fin1e gold to
the Bulgarians on 13th January 1942 (for this purpose the' BIS had bought, on the sFe day,
1;050 kg. fine gold from the Reichsbank, loco Berne). This gold was transported by the BIS
.
I
by rail from Berne to Sofia, for the account of the National Bank of Bulgari~ in two
.
shipments leaving Berne on 12th and 25th March 1942 (527 . and 518 kg. fine gold
'.
respectively).
• On23rd February and 11th March 1942 the BIS sold to the National Bank of Bulgaria an
. additional amount of 693 kg. fine gold. This gold was transported by rail fro~ Bem~ to Sofia
on 13th-17th April 1942, for delivery to the Banque de Credit Bulgare.
• In June 1942, the National Bank of Bulgaria asked for its annual BIS dividend to be paid in
gold. The BIS agreed to convert the dividend, which was normally paid in the centbl bank's
national currency, into gold and to send the 48 kg. fine gold resUlting fr~m this 6peration
,
!
from Berne to Sofia for the account of the National Bank of Bulgaria (transport left Berne on
23rd June 1942).
• Finally, on 4th March 1943, the BIS sold to the National Bank of Bulgaria (acting in this
I
case as the intermediary for the French company "Louda-Yana" in Sofia) 49 kg. fine gold
.
.
I
loco Berne. At the request of the National Bank of Bulgaria, the BIS sent this gold on 10th
March 1943, not to Sofia this time, but simply from Berne to Geneva for delive~ to the
Banque Mirabeau (for the account of the Banque de Credit Bulgare).
I·
I
3. The last shipment t~t the BIS organised during the Second World War took place on 20th April
.
I
1944. On that day the Bank received, at the Swiss-Italian border crossing in Chiasso, 12,605 kg.
I
fine gold from the Banca d'!talia. The BIS took charge of this gold and transported it from
Chiasso to Berne, where it was deposited in the BIS's own gold account with the Swiss INational
Bank This gold had .been pledged by the Banca d'Italia long before the war as a guarantJe for the
I
substantial investments which the BIS had made in Italy in the early ·1930s. Since September 1943 .
the BIS had demanded reimbursement of these investments, which amounted to the equi~alent of
15,795 kg. fine gold. The Banca d'Italia honoured its pre-war pledge by making this alnount of
-gold available to the BIS in Italy. Subsequently, 12,605 kg. fine gold was sent to ChiasJo, where
the BIS took delivery on 20th April 1944, while the balance of 3, 190 kg. fine gold was p~id by the
.
I
I' .
I
Banca d'italia by meW of an exchange operation I(aIy-BemO(see below).
..
.
.
.
.
I
.,
I
Gold exchanges organised by the BIS from 1st July 1940 to 31st May 1945 = 21',872 kg.
fine gold
.
.
.
I
,
!
i
,
Table 6 below shows that during this period the BIS gave 2 ,872 kg. fine gold at various
locations to ten different central banks, in exchange for which it received 22,012 kg. fide gold at'
.
I
.
different depositorieS. These gold exchanges were mostly carried out with . central Ibanks of
.
countries that had remained neutral in the war: Switzerland, Turkey (until it declar~ war on
G~rmany in February 1945), Argentina, Yugoslavia (until the German invasion in April 1941) and
S~ain.
.
' .
,
. .
The gold exchanges with the National Bank of Hungary in November 1940, and again in
,
June arid October 1941, had the effect of reallocating part of the Hungarian gold reserves, first
from New York to Buenos Aires
e~change operation between the National Bank o~ Hungary
and the Banco Central de Ia Republica Argentina, with the BIS acting as intermediary) and
I
(an
,
,
.
I
BIS· Note on gold shipments...
I
I
I
I
12
�r~fi'~;~~l.
,,' ,
I
i
I
,
, ',l
I
I
,I
,
I
subsequently from Suen9s Aires to Serne (exchange opel:ations between the Nationa~ Sank of
, Hungary on the one 'hand and the Swiss National Sank and the central bank of Argentina on the
other, again with the SIS actil1g as intennediary).,
"
"
'"
i ,: '" Finally, the gold exchange with the Banca d'Italia on 25th April 1944 (SIS receiJingJ, 190
ke. fine gold ,in Berne In exchange for\vhich itgave,3,190 kg. in Italy), should b1e:-seen in'
;tonnection with the ab~ve-mentionedreimbursement ' by" the Sanca d;Italia' of pre~war SIS '
,
'
I
i1vestments in Italy.
:
'
I,
i
Pc/9.9,1997
,
,
"
','
,
"
"
;,
','.
..
"
1
,
I'
1
I" '
c'
"
' , '
,II'"
"BIS - Not~on aold shjpmen~...
,, " ,
.
~.
I
P'
I
13
�:,.
ill"
j,
: I ~i'
,
"'~i1n
Table 5: Gold shipments organised by the 81S, 1st July 1940 - 31 st May 1945
Number
of bars
November 1940
December 1940
January 1941
October 1941
NoVember 1941
December 1941
March 1942
April 1942
June 1942
October 1942
February 1943
March 1943
. April 1944
TOTAL:
64
40
82
29
123
144
87
57
4
48
20
4
,1,068
1,770
I IC. Destinations:
I IB. Customers:
A. Monthly turnover:
799.27177
499.93775
1,003.19212
363.53356
1,557.89923
1,801 .32511
1,045.30343
692.73582
48.19316
599.24742
241.85302
.48.98491
12,604.70634
21,306.18364
I
Number
of bars
WeIght
(kg.f. gold)
BIS for oWn account
Banco de Portugal
NB of Bulgaria
Banque Cr~dit Sofia
ITOTAL:
Weight
(kg.f. gold)
1,345
273
91
61
16,036.33092
3,434.63540
1,093.49659
741.72073
1,770
21,306.183641
Number of Total weight
shipments
(kg.f. gold)
Bem~
lisbon
Sofia
New York
Geneva
ITOTAL:
3
8
4
2
13,597
5,075
1,786
799
49
18
21,306
--------- ---- - - - - -
In%1
63.82
23.82
8.38'
3.75
0.23
100
- - - - ---
SIS - Note on gold shipments...
14
-~--
~1
�~l'
J
. ;"(JT
~U:
~£
',.
-~-.----
--~----
B/S - Note on gold shipments...
15
�,:
\
..
,
,
"
'.
~
,
' . . .:
'
. ~'
,'."
..
,
,
~
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-"""
~
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.
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.
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."
":' .,::~ . -: ..
.' .
.
"
.
'
,
I
'APPENDIX 1
,
"
I
I
;GOLD SHIPMENTS ORGANISED BY THE BIS
'
,
.
,
,
..
.
Period 1: .
.
I
,.
1st June 1938 - 31st August 1939
!
I
,
,
~
"
.
}
,
.
"
I
;
,
,
I '
I
I
,
I' .
I
"
i
,
.
. t
,
I
,
.
.
t'
,.
,
,
.
I
. I,
.
I
I
I
�, I
I
I
.'
I
l
'I,
Chronological listing of golef shipments organised by the BIS
Period 1: from 1st June 1938 to 31st August 1939
Date
· .Means of
,transe,ort
(transp~"t
leftl;
, From
To
For. the
account
of
,
. Fine
:weight
. I (kg·l
I
I
Number
of bars
.
I
I
I
1
193a
I
I
'.
, !
I
1.06.38 Brussels
., '
2.06.38 Brussels
20.06.38' . Berne
21.06.38 ' Berne
21.06.38 Paris
28.06.38 Paris
Berlin
,Berlin
Bt;rlin
New.,York
Brussels
London
S5 Norrnandie
by air
Reichsbank
19,3
180
Reichsbank
Reichsbank'
40 coins
NB Yugoslavia .
16
BIS
46
BIS
331
2,348.34540
2,243.83200
1
j
200.41930
,
529.99290
,
'4,023.36810
,
;
1.07.~
Berne
19.07.38 Paris
29.07.38 , Amsterdam
9/12.08.38 Brussels
18.08.38 Paris
18.08.~ Paris
19.08.38 . Brussels
23.08.38 Paris
' Sofia
New York
Brussels
ss lie de France
Berlin
'New York
New York
New York
New York,
ssde Grasse
ss (fe Grasse ,
ss Jean Jadot
~ Norrnandie
3
67
289
Heichsbank
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
341
89
162
79
96
4,250.65112
BIS
Reichsbank
BIS
Reichsbank
.Reichsbank
Reichsbank
BIS
, ,Reichsbank
' Reichsbank
Reichsbank
Reichsbank
NBHungary
NBH,ungary ,
Reichsbank'
Reichsbank
BIS
Reichsbank
BIS
Banca d'italia
BIS
, .BankDanzig
Bank Danzig
2aa
,3,61,3.40978
625.07395
I
61.4.15520
9111.01850
901.12530
901.87630
I
' , 1,805.10575
I
,
. 1,791.24040
1,795.87720
\..'
::':":~':~~~~~:::':~:
".
2.09.38
3;09.~
3.09.38
5.09.38
7.09.~
,8.09.38
9.09.38
10.09.38
16.,99.38
16.09.38
19.09.38
20.09.38
21.09.38
22;09.38
23.09.38
24;09:38
26.09.38
,<'
..
;'!':."
"
-,~
27.09.~
28.09.38
28.09.38
28.09.~
29.09;38
"
Amsterdam
Berne
Brussels
Brussels
Brussels'
Brussels
Amsteroam
Brussels
Brussels
Amsterdam,
Brussels
' Paris
London
Amsterdam,
Brussels
'Brussels
Brussels
Amsterdam
Zurich
Berne,
'
'Berne
Berne
· ss Vee~dam
by air ,
by air
by air
by air
· by air
.
'N~wYork '. 'i?;$ Statendam'
· by air'
London
London,
byaii
,London
by air
by air
London
by air c
' Berne
by air..
,"Berne' ,
by ,air
,london,
by air .
London
by air
London
by air
London
by air ,
.London
,"byair,
.London
,Brussels
by air
,Amsterdam ' ,by air
Brussels
by ,air
',New York'
London
London
London
London,
London
,London
2.10.38 Brussels '
.
London,
4.10.38 Amsterdam
. New York :
14.10.38 London
London
17.10.38 'Amst~
I
22.10.38 .' Amsterdam . .' New York "
,
,"
by air ,
by air
ss Britannia
by air '
ss Slatendam
~1.09447
NB Bulgaria
BIS
' , Reichsbank
.' Reichsbank
Reichsbank
BIS
:BIS
BIS'
50
49
75
72
72
148
,144,
150
161
150
89
887
71.7.94070
I
3,5,9.15102
9~.05430
2,005.51460
9~9.49390
1,205.32350
, I,
'
'
1,8~.64686
1 ,796.42240
I
' 1,11,3.68360
11,127.24559
1~
1.7~1.09i)76'
150
108 '
. 149
' '96
248
8
,25
20
1,797.71020
1,316:71690
,
1 ,8q6.57790
1,2q1.76390
3,087.21340
.
I
100.12678·
1
' 304;24164
. 250.70461
,
221
,144
78.
85
2,7qo.71340
~ ,7~7 .99198
939.23640
. 1,053.95970
,
84: " 1,053.48232
' I
SIS· Note on gold shipmentS... 17.'
I'
"
i
• 1
,
','!
,
.1
.','
�~,
I
..
,
1
I'
i
I
!
I
1
"
Date
(transport
/eftl
From·
To
'Means';f
transport
For the
account
of
I
Fine
're;g"t
,
Number
of bars
(kg·l
I
I
26.10.38 Berne
28.10.38 ' Amsterdam
New'York
New York
86
150
ss Pres. Roosevelt
BIS
ss Nieuw Amsterdam BIS
1,009.42103
1,811.87781
!
12.11.38
Amsterdam
New York
ssVeendam
5.12.38
8.12.38
10.12.38
Brussels
Amsterdam
Brussels
Brussels
London
New York
New York
New York
Reichsbank
ss Nieuw Amsterdam BIS
ss Henri Jaspar
BIS
BIS
5S Jean Jadot
17.01.39 Paris
New York
55
16.02.39
18.02.39
18.02.39
23.02.39
25.02.39
25.02.39
28.02.39
Paris
Brussels
Amsterdam
Paris
Amsterdam
Brussels
Brussels
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
ss Pres. Roosevelt
ss Emile Francqui
ssNoordam
ss Manhattan
ssVeendam
ss Pennland
ss Henri Jaspar
Brussels
Berne
Brussels
Brussels
Berne
Brussels
Brussels
Berne
Berne
Brussels
London
Brussels
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
ss IIsenstein
ss lie de France
ss Jean Jadot
ss Pres. Roosevelt
ss P.RoosJQ.Mary
ss Queen Mary
ss Manhattan
ss Manhattan
ss Manhattan
ss Normandie
ss Aquitania
ss Paris
Amsterdam
Brussels
Berne
Brussels
London
Brussels
BemelZurich
Brussels
Brussels
Zurich
Berne
London
Zurich
London
Berne
Berlin
Berlin
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
London
London
New York
London
New York.
London
BIS
144
1,801.67974
105
162
81
120
1,303.62700
2,002.29182
991.91660
1,504.01266
105
1,238.59077
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS,
BIS
100
150
56
56
62
147
144
1,201.28459
1,794.39340
708.22824
694.61469
I
769.06142
1,801.40920
1,808.21180
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
,lietuvos Bank
BIS
BIS
BIS
144
187
145
147
241
146
139
125
95
158
79
83
1,801.94240
2,20?51651
1,809.93900
. 1,80?67770
2,991.14778
' 1,807.50140
l,73jt.02180
1,468.35684
'645.92584
1,93().52930
989.58730
I
1,Ostt·04OO2
Reichsbank
Reichsbank '
BIS
BIS
Norges Bank
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
Banca d'italia
BIS
BIS
Banca d'italia
BIS
' Reichsbank
711
432
199
82
355
286
208
177
295
200
124
159
200
124
201
8,60~ .28013
I
20.12.~
1939
I
I
Champlain
BIS
I
I
,'.'"
4.03.39
8.03.39
10.03.39
16.03.39
·16118.03:39
18.03.3.9
23.03.39
,23.03.39
23.03.39
25.63.39
25.03.39
30.03.39
1.04.39 '
113.04.39
6.04.39
6.04.39
6.04.39
8.04.39
8.04.39
12.04.39
15.04.39
17.04.39
21.04.39
21.04.39
25.04.39
27.04.39
28.04.39
ss Washington
ss Washington
ss Aquitania
ss Aquitania
ss Aquitania
ss lie de France
ss Queen Mary
ss California
ss Laconia
I
5,3n.37430
2,49~.62093
999.08790
4;455.13474
3,50:1.67590
2,53,6.86122
2,20:7.39440
3,621.37550
2,49,9.55447
l,4~0.50798
1,9~6.29284
2,47,7.40158
1,491.14110
I
.2,490.55760
SIS - Note on gold shipmentS••• f8
.
I
'
�':
:','
:Date:
(transport,
left) !
From
4.05.39
11.05.39
17.05.39
19.05.39
23.05.39
24.05.39
,
.
Brusse.ls
Zurich
London
London
Zurich
London
1.
3.06.39 'London
5.06:39, Berne
6.06.39 Amsterdam
7.06.39 Amsterdam
10.06.39 Amsterdam
13.06.39 Berne
15.06.39 Amsterdam
28;06.39" Berne
,
1.07;39 E3eme
3;07.39 ' Paris,
, ,
' .6.07.39 B,eme
20/21.07.39 Brussels
26.07.39 ,London
31.07.39 'London
31.07.39 Berne
8.08.3~
9.08.39
I
11.08.39
1,1.08;39
18.08.39,
18.08.39
18.08.39
,23.08.39
23.08.39
24.08.39'
24.08.39
29 •.08.39
31.Q8.39
,London
London
Amsterdam'
London, "
London
Berne
'Brussels, .
London
London
London
London'
London'
Berne
Meansof"
,transport ' ~,
To'
London "
London'
,'New York
New,York
New York .
"
New York
ss Manhattan
'ss California
ssAquitania
ss Laconia
For the
account
'of
, :'Number'
of bat'S
.
Reichsbank
Banca d'italia
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
.
I
'144
200 .
162
159
164
239
1,80,4.04440 '
2,47,1.67530
1 ,994.37798 '
1,99] .56251
2,029.47086
3,oob.19509
\
.
141'
200
215
217
214
200
3
200
1,760.29160
2,5d2.30078
2,66;6.00517
2,6513.30047
2,61,2.34784
2,512.98086
37.72045
2,49,5.59136
,New York
New York'
New York,
New York,
. New York ,
New York
Brussels
New York,
ss Champlain
, ss Aquitania
'ss Scythia
ss Britannia
ss Noordam
ss QUeen Mary
Berlin
London
'NewYor~
'Berlin
New York
Berlin
Berlin,
BIS
' NB'yugosla~ia
'ss Pres. Roosevelt " BIS
Reichsbank
ss Aquitania
BIS
Reichsbank
' Reichsbank
200
' 144
160
306
200
Reichsbank
Reichsbank
Reichsbank ",
Reichsbank
,BIS,
Reichsbank
Reichsbank
BIS
BIS
NB Ceskoslov.
NB Ceskoslov.
Eesti Pank
NBHungary",
151
267
169
,,266
153
144
288
41
160
211
210
125
106,
ss Washington
BIS
BIS
':
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
NB Belgium
BIS
,
I Fine
' , ,iweight
I (kg.)
I
I
.Amsterdam
Berlin
Berlin
Berlin
:ss Frcinconia '
New York
. London
by air
London
' New'York
ss Washington
, ss Washington
New York
", Berne
' 'Amsterdam
" ,Sto~kho[rri
ss Suecia
,London,
,
'Total turnover: June 1938 - August 1939
=
..
s4
13.01510
,
1,02,7.44224
2,50j4.111307
1,8015.53710
1,999.46878
3,834.97619
2,51 ~.41 094
,
1,80'I6.98878,
3,332.24739
2,01~;08437
3,334.31556 ' '
,
I"
1,9115.95572
1,79?71970
3,608.16770
'
I
511'1.1509,9
' 2,007:25293
2,628.68066
2,59,3.31973 ,
1 ,561.53345 '
9.12369
1,31 1
i
18,747 '230,791,04205
:". ,;<"
I
,1"
','
(
.
!
i
I
,BIS - Note on gold shipmentS." 19
I
'I
i
I'
I
�I
I
.."I' .'
~;~~t(\"~'"'l
.
1,,- .
I
BIS gold shipments by customer
I
!
,
Period 1: from 1st June 1938 to 31 st August 1939
!
Shipped
for the
account of
1 Bank for International
Settlements
(for:its own account)
Number of
shipments
17
11
11
12
7
1
2
2
1
67
,
Total
widght of gold
(kg; fine)
I
Transported Transp;orted
from
to
31,138
24,751
21,505
20,606
8,107
4,023
2,256
1,931
1,491
530
100.
13
116,451
Brussels
BernelZurich
Amsterdam
London
Paris
Paris
Amsterdam
Brussels
Berne
Paris
Berne
Berne
New York
,
New York
Ne* York
Ne* York
,
New York
I
London
London
London
,
L~ndon
B~ssels
Brussels
:Berlin
i
i
I
I
12
5
2
3
3
3
1
2
1
32
. 21,118
16,020
10,615
10,502
5,411
4,913
3,599
2,512
.1,807
76,497
Brussels
Brussels
Amsterdam
London
Amsterdam
Berne
Amsterdam
Berne
London
1
1
3
2 Reichsbank
11,127
1,319
1,114
13,560
London
Berne
Paris
3 .National Bank Hungary
4
Banca d1/talia
4
10,536
London
;Berlin
,
,Berlin
:Berlin
,
. London.
London
,
Brussels
IBerlin
Amsterdam
i
!Berne·
Lbndon
!Berne
I
Zurich'
!
London
,
5 Narodni Banka
Ceskoslovenska
2,629
2,593
5,222
. London
:
,Berne
London
Amsterdam
4,455
London
NeW York
1
1,562
London
Stockholm
,
Paris
Berne
~ondon
1
2
1,028
200
1,228
1
2
6 Norges Bank
7 EestiPank
8 National Bank Yugoslavia
I
I
Ne~ York
BIS - Note on gold ShiPmentS...; 20
!
I
I
I
�,I
Shipped
for the
account of
Number of
shipments
Total
weight of gold
(kg. fine)
I
Transported Transported
!
from
I to
I
9- Lietuvos Bankas
1
646
Berne
New York
1
304
Amsterdam,
1
251
555
Berne
Berne
!
I
10- Bank von Danzig
,;
2
Biussels
i·,
11- National ,Bank of Bulgaria
41
Berne
12~ National Bank of Belgium,
38
Amsterdam
' !
Sofia
Brussels
I,
I
OVERALL TOTAL:
1.11
230,191
I
1st June ,1938 - 31 st August 1939
"
, '!
~
,
I
1
1
i
!
I'
,
I
, ,1
I
I
"
I ,
!
I
, 1
I
BIS -,Note on gold shlpnients.~ 21
,
!
,.1
�:.;
,
',I-
",
:
,
. i
;
i
.! '.
.
.
"
"1
'I
I,
I
. APPENDIX 2'
GOLD EXCHANGES WITH"THEBIS
I'
,.
. ,
Period 1:
1st June 1938 - 31st August 1939·
.
"
" !
I.
1
,1
,
. i
'. i.
"
I '
.
"I'
;I
1
!
1
I
.,., ,
,
~'".
.
":
'.
I
,
,
I
'.
! :
.:,
I
'.
I,
,',
,
'.'''',
.
1\
"
I
"
�'"
-
~.
.
.
.
.Chronological listing of gold exchanges with the 81$
-Perlod.·1:from:1stJune 1938 fo31st August 1939-BIS
."ate .
recehies from
Bars
Weight
kg. fine gold
~ '--
Place
In exchange for
which BISgJves to
Bars
Weight
kg. fine gold.
Place
504.95214.
401.20884
, Berne
Berne
Swiss NB
Reichsbank
40
32
503.88522
402.52479
London
London
. Berne
Berne
Brussels
Brussels
Berne'
Swiss NB
. NB Ceskoslovenska
, Reichsbank
Relchsbank
Fonds Agraire
80
120
120
77
959.31585·
1,487.37690 .
1,493.24951
. 95\).50342
150.00000
New York·
. Brussels
Berne
Berne
London'
26
40
. 43
80
32
96
20
324.06350
501.31915..
501.77578
996.60350
400;16787
1,196.78860
248.85201
London
London
Berne
London'
. London
London
London
92
257
207
1,147.58895
3,133.22134
2,593.50fQ6
London
Berne
London
68
1,805.34160
1,811 ;87781
853.52140
London
London
London
_1,792.82023_ .._____
London~
.1938
17.06.38
28.06.38
. ~wiss NB
Reiclisbank
41
32. '
22:.07.38
25;07.38
25.07:38
25.07.38
26.07.38
Swi~NB
77
120
120
79
.. 959.50342
1,493.24951
1,487.37690 '
960.70130
. 150.00000
'28
43
40
325.53461
501.77578 .
501.44470
996.60350 '
406.06326
1,205.32350
250.70461
,-i
2.08.38
8i.08.38
8.08.38 .
. 15/16.08.38
16.08.38
18.08.38
25.08.38
NB Ceskoslovenska. .
Reichsbank
Relch'sbank
Fonds Agralre
SWissNB
swissNB
Relchst:iank
Reichsbank
RelC:hsbank
Relchsbank
, SwlssNB
2.09.38
21.09:38·
21.09.38
Reichsbank
NB of Hungary
Reichsbank
7.10.38
26.10.38
31.10.38
Reichsbank
" Relchsbank
Reichsbank
. _. -... 25.1,1.38 --- _______ .Relchsbank_
33
96
20
92
250 "
213
148
150
68
____144__
1,147.47994
3,131.67~36
2,585.97332 ..
. 1,805.34160
1,811.87781
856.90390
Berne
Berne
. Brussels
Paris
Berne
Paris
Berne
Berne
London
Berne
Brussels.
Amsterdam
Brussels
.1,795.16061_ _ .Amster.dam_ .
Swiss NB
Swiss NB
Reichsbank
Reichsbank
Relchsbank
Re,ichsbank
SwissNB·
Reichsbank
NB of Hungary
Reic~sbank
Reichsbank
Reichsbank
Reichsbank
:.._.....:. _ReichsbanL _ _._143._
BIS • Not'! on gold shIpments... 23
.
�i~:
.:;.
,:t.
. ::..
~.'
ii'
~:
"';',
~,
BIS
,.ecslves from
Bars
Reiehsbank
40
22.02.39
22.02.39
NB of Belgium
Reiehsbank
23.03.39
23.03.39
23.03.39
23.03.39
24.03.39
24.03.39
24.03.39
24.03.39
5.05.39
13.05.39
26.05.39
Date
3.12.38
Weight
- kg. flne- gold--
~~_i_"4'~ __ '_~ _ _:_""""';'~~~,!::J..
W~/g!J_t
Place
In eXEh?!,ge for
which BIS gives to
Bars
kg. fine gold.
_
Place
497.90710
Brussels
Reiehsbank
40
501.32330
London
143
144
1,801 .72960
1,808.46910
London
Brussels
NB of Belgium
Reiehsbank
144
143
1,808.46910
1,801.72960
Brus·sels
London
Reiehsbank
Reiehsbank
. NB of Belgium
Nederlandsehe Bank
- Reiehsbank
Reiehsbank
NB of Belgium
Nederlandsehe Bank
287
286
249
308
400
399
400
403
3;593.38890
3,592.93190
3,094.67650
. 3,599.99039
5,000.21390
4,993.87110
5,010.72060
5,001.28975 _
London
London
Brussels
Amsterdam
London
London
Brussels
Amsterdam
Reiehsbank
Reiehsbank
NB of Belgium
Nederlandsehe Bank
Reiehsbank
Reiehsbank
NB of Belgium
Nederlandsehe Bank
308
289
246
287
403
400
399
400
3,599.99039
3,591.56330
3,089.49450
3,593.38890
5,001.28975
5,010.72060
4,993.87110
5,000.21393
Amsterdam
Brussels
London
London
Amsterdam
Brussels
London
London
Nederlandsehe Bank
Bank Polski
Bank Polski
205
79
80
2,574.94314
991.24330
1,004.68995
Nederlandsehe Bank
Bank Polski
Bank Polski
212
79
sight ale.
2,573.06810
995.33157
1,004.68995
Amsterdam
New York
New York
1939
28.06.39·
28.06.39
30.06.39
. Caisse Commune
NB Yugoslavia
Reiehsbank
141
141
sight ale·
London
London
London·
. 1,746.54591
1,746.66136
6.26350
London
Paris
Paris
Caisse ·Commune
NB Yugoslavia
Reiehsbank
141
141
sight ale
1,746.66136
1,746.54591
6.26350
Paris
London
London
24.07.39
Reiehsbank
201
2,513.61977
London
Reiehsbank
. 200
2,512.41094
Beme
3.08.39
21.08.39
28.08.39
Fonds Agraire
Nederlandsehe Bank
Banea d'italia
sight ale
160
sight ale
57.26969
2,007.25293
184.46384
London
London
Paris
Fonds Agraire
Nederlandsehe Bank
Banea d'italia
sight ale
160
sight ale
57.26969
1,999.95664
184.46384
Beme
New York
Berne
TotaIJiine-193B-~-Aiigiist-1939
= - - - - . ----
-74;107~595B3
~2.01445
BIS - Note on gold shIpments... 24
-- - - - - -
�'/
".
'I.
Gold exchanges with the BIS
by custo'mer
Period 1: from 1 st :June 1938 to 31 st August 1939
i
Number of
exchanges
1
Countetparty
1 Reichsbank
Total weight of
gold given by
SIS (kg. fine)
SIS receives
gold in
; SIS gives
1
' gold in
4
2
3
1.
3
21
2 Nederlandsche Bank
4
3 National Bank of Belgium
London
London
Brussels
-Berne
Amsterdam
Brussels
London
Paris
Brussels
Amsterdam
I London.
· ,.
London
London
Berne
· I
Berne
London
Amsterdam
London
London
London
frosterdam
' New York
2,573
2,000
13,167
I
4 ,National Bank of Hungary
I
I
I
. 8,084
1,808
9,892
Brussels
London
3,133
2
1
3
' .
.8,603
.8,601
4,961
4,543 '.'
3,605
2,955
2,512
2,200'
37,980
. 8,594
2
2
4
London
,
·
,~
London
Brussels
. I
. !
Berne
.
5 Swiss National Bank
4
5
-1,579
959
2,538
Berne'
Berne
London
: New York
,
1
~
2
2,000
1
1,747
Pads
8
1
1,747 .
1.
.
I'New Y~rk
London
7 National Bank.Yugoslavia'
I
.
.
,
,
.
London
Paris
1 ;487
Berne
! Brussels
150
57
207
Berne
London
184
Paris
42
.
.9 .Narodni B. Ceskoslovenska
~ondon
1
Caisse Commune
- I
!
74,082
10- Fon,ds Agraire
1
"1
London
. Berne
1
I
11- Banca '
d'/talia
.I .
.
.OVERALL TOTAL:
. 1st June 1938 7 31 st August 1939
,f
Berne
····1
i
1
I.
.,
BIS - Note on gold shipments... 25
;, .
·
,
,
.,.
!
,
.1
�:
'
,i
'.
,'.
,
i
;'
•
'
"~ '~'\
"
.
.'
~.
.....
~
":
'
...
' "
.
"
.,
,
,
,,;
,
" f,
,I
:!'"
..... '
,
"",;1 '
, ,
,,'
i
\.'
.
,I
,
,
. I
,
..
I
I
,
"
APPENDIX 3
i
I
I
.
,
I
'
,
j'
.
,
.
I
. "
GOLD SHIPMENTS ORGANISED BY THE BIS
.
,
t.
I
I
.
"
'
,
Period 2:
1st September 19.39 - 30th June 1940,
,
I
i
I
. I
.
...
,I
I
,
,
.'
,
'I
.
,
.'.
,
I
,
'
.
,',
~
,
,
I
"
"
I
I
"',
I'
,
I
,
!
.
'
,
:'.
�I
I
)
. :J
.
.
"
r, ,
•
,
, .'
J
I
.
..'
' .
. .
. .
.
I
!
. Chronological listing of gold shipments organised by the BIS
.
.
Perio.d.~:
from 1s,t.September 1939 (outbreak ~fSe,cond World War)
.' to 30th June 1940' (end of mfiitary campaign in the west) , I'
'Date:
(transport
leftl : . Froin .
..
Means'of
transport
To
For the
account
of.-
I
Fine
weight
;(kg·l
Number
of ban.
;
1939:'
...
6.11.39 . Berne,
13.11.39 Berne'
24.11.39 · Berne
24.11.39 · Berne'
'Berlin
New York
New York.
New York
ss Conte de Savoia
ss'Vulcania
ss Vulcania
.
~
'
Reichsbank
BIS
BIS
,BIS
1.63
81
81 ,
,41 -
,
2,00".95686
1,00~.35933
1,01 ~ .92401
500.62533
I
,
1.12.39, Berne:
1.12.39 Berne
13.12.39 Bern.e
13.12.39 ' 'Berne
16.12.39 Anisterdam
23.12.39' · Amsterdam .
,
,23.12.39 '. Amsterdam
)
~O
BIS
New York , :. ssRex
ssRex
BIS
New York
New York' .
ss Conte de Savoia BIS
ss Conte'de Savoia ,SIS,
New York
BIS
Genoa
·-8IS
Genoa
BIS
Paris
85
83
.42
40'
,40
13
. "
498.66621
,
1,028.38076
1,007.85106
501.95380
501.07901
500.69495
J
164.29577
I,
1940
I
. .
.,
.
,'
2.01.40 Gen'oa
New York
2.01.4p Amsterdam
Genoa "
·12.01.40 . ,Paris
Berne
New York .
12.01··W Berne'
New York
15.01.40 Genoa
I
20.01.40 . Amsterdarn
New York
, 27.01.40 Amsterdam
Berne
27.01.40 Amsterdam .' Genoa
New York
30..91,.~0 London
,
'
ss Rex
ss,ManhaHan
ss. f>.1anhaHan
ss Conte di:Savoia
ss Georgia
!
j
.
1,001.77396
1,00'0.04547
40'0.29457
50:0.48502
1',00'0.04547
,
1,50.7.26802
500.83348
1,002.59199 .
500.80971 '
41
80
80
43
6
74
38
40
74
. 120
507.12134
1,002.59199
1,002.70119
507.90104
7,5.23078
926:34486
472.50454
' '.
5QO.51015
926.33434
1,502.42539
"
. 3.02.4,0 Amsterdam
BIS
New York ". ss'Rex
BIS
6.02.40 Genoa
New York
ss Rex;,
ss ManhaHan
BIS
New York ..
7.02.40 Amsterdam
ss ManhaHan
BIS
New York
9.02.40 Berne
Brussels ..
BIS
14.02.40 .,. Amsterdam
14.02.40 Amsterdam . Genoa
BIS
.Berne
'BIS
17.02.40 Amsterdam
' s;; Conte'di Savoia
Bis
New York
. 20.02.~d,· Berne
New York'
ss Conted; Savoia' BIS
20.02.40 Genoa
Genoa
BIS
23.02.40 'Amsterdam
. I
~.03.40
80
80
33
40
80
120
40
. 80
40
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
·BIS,
Eesti Pank'
Genoa
' , New.York
. 5.03.40 Amsterdam . Genoa '.
'18.03.40 Amsterdam
Genoa
New York .
20.03:40 " Genoa
23.03.40 Genoa
,NewY~rk .
29.03;40 Amsterdam.
Genoa
I
,.",
ssRex
ss Conte di Savoia
ss W~hington
BIS
.BIS
.. BIS
,BIS
BIS
BIS
":::i:
120
160
120
120
40
40
1,502.42539
2,006.81118 '
,
1,5~3.5211 0
1,594.05746
502.75373
501.18878
BIS - Note on gold shipmentS••• 27
�.
I
I
'-)
,,' ,
'{
!
,
I
l
I
,
;
Date
I
(transport
lefi~ ,
From
To
:
1.04140
3.04.40
5.04.40
8.04.40
10.04.40
16.04.40
19.0(40
30.04.40
Genoa
Amsterdam
Genoa
Genoa
Amsterdam
Genoa
Berne
Ottawa
New York
Genoa
New York
New York
Genoa
New York
New York
New York
8.05.40
15.05:40
17.05.40
28.05:40
28.05.40
Paris
Berne
Berne
London
Berne
Berne
New York
New York
New York
New York
Total
tumov~r
Means of
transe,ort
ssRex
ss Manhattan
ss Saturnia
ss Conte di Savoia
ss Washington
ss Exeter
ss Washington
55 Excambion
September 1939 June 1940
=
For the
account
of
Fine
weight
(kg·l
Number
of bars
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
BIS
NBSalvador
120
120
40
120
120 '
120
25 '
42
1,503.52110
1,904.63196
501.18878
1,504.63196
1,504.89716
1,504.89716
307.33057
525.92487
BIS
BIS
BIS
Eesti Pank
BIS
13
129
119
44
145
1'06.59300
1,547.97110
1,4p5.76063
555.93724
1, 7~0.59633
3,655
45,339.23991
I
.,
BIS -Note on gold shipments••; 28
�\'
I
I
.'
BIS'goid shipments by customer
I
1 '
;Period 2: fro.m 1st September ,1939 to 30th June 1940
,I'
Shipped
for the
account of
I
Number of
' shipments
t- Bank for International
11
11
14
3
2
2
,1
Settlements '
(for 'its own account)
".
,
I
,
45
2-
12,454
12,454
12,105 '
3,017
973
,507
164
75
41,749
Transported
from
Transported
to'
~enoa
Amsterdam
Genoa
Berne
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Paris
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
New York
Ne.,y York
New York
i
Beme
I'
IBeme'
,I Paris
I
Brussels
,
I
,
!
' 2,007
Ees:ti Pank
,2,
4- Nat. ,Bank of EI Salvador
OVERALL TOTAL:
1st Sept. 1939 - 30th June 1940
49
Berne
,Serlin
1,057
" ,London
New York
i
,526
Reichsbank
3-
Total
weight of gold
(kg. fine)
Ottawa
New York
i
, 45,339
,
I'
!
.... ,
I'
.','
I
I,
, I
,
,
,I
, •BIS • Note on gold shIpments..•: 29,'
,
.' I
!
�I,
.'
,~.
. :>:: . -.. ;,.,.' ';:,:
',.'
"',"1" ,
,
'
,,'
I,
'
'
I
,I ,
I
,
" APPENDIX 4
'"
.;
!, ,
,
GOLD EXCHANGES WITH THE BIS
,I
I
Period 2: '
1st September 1939 ~ 30th June 1940
I,
,
, I
,
,"
I
r
'I
i
j
I
I
, !
I
r
"j
"
"
I
" I'
.'
I
"
I
I
,
,I
"
,
'"
1
I,
I'
I' '
r
'
I
I
,
r
i '
I,
,
,I
I,
,
..
!
1
, i
. '~.
'I'
f'
"
I'
I
'
,I
�-ChronologlcalUsting of' gold exchanges with the BiS
_
.
. .Period 2: from 1st September 1939 to'30th i1une1940 (outbreak ofSecondcWorid-War ·-end-ofmilitary campaign In the' west ..
.
.
.
DIJte
receht8~
. BIS
from
Bars
Weight
kg. nne gold
In exchange for
which BIS glv8s to
Bars
Weight
. kg. nne gold
. PlaCe
Brussels Com!Centr.Nav.du Rhin
sight ale
16.2.?492
.Paris
Relehsbank
Firilands Bank
signt ale
sight ale
48.35901
25.00000
'. Beme
Berne' _
Place
1939
. 26.09.39
14.10.39
24.10.39
9.11.39
9.11:39
10.11.39
13.11.39
18.11.39
27.11.39
28.11.39
-sight ale '.
Com.Centr.Nav.du Rhlh
Relehsbank·
. Finlands Bank.
1~.23~92
sight ale
sight ale
'. 48.35901
25.00000.
London.
London
Central Bank cif Turkey
35
412.95383
Berne
Central Bank of Turkey'
Central Bank of TlJrkey·
Central Bank of Turkey
Central Bank of Turkey
Central Bank o!.Turkey
81
41
81
40
45
. .1,004.35933 .
511.76768
1,000,78166
497.19481
531.18595
Beme
Berne
Beme
Berne
Berne
3
83
31
40
34.36460
1,007.85106
375.55387
501.07901
8.62450'
52.66140
664.99072
199;54163
400.13266
..
15
18
82 .
42
80
40
Central B.ank of Turkey
Central Bank of Turkey
Central Bank of Turkey
. Central Bank of Turkey
Central Bank of Turkey
Central Bank of Turkey
.Central Bank of Turkey
~7
184.80710
225.76970
1,000.17519
508.41112
1,000.19566 .
500.10767'
538.61736
. Paris'
London
NeW York
New York .
New York
New York
New York .
'
. 4.12.39 Baneo Central Arg6ntlna
Central Bank o(Turkey
8.12.39
Central Bank of Turkey.
12.12.39
Nederlandsehe Bank
12.12.39
Norges Bank
18.12.39
Sveriges Riksbank
18.12.39
Nederlandsche Bank.
23.12.39
Central Bank of Turkey
28.12.39
NB of Belgium
30.12.39
sight ale
.sight ale
53
16
32
Paris Banco Central Argentina
Berne Central.Bank of Turkey
Berne Central Bank ofTurkey
Amsterdam
Nederlandsehe Bank
Norges Bank
london
London
Sveriges Riksbank
Nederlandsche Bank
Amsterdam
Berne Central Bank of Turkey
London
.NB of Belgium
sight ale .
82
33
40
sight ale
sight ale
54
16
33
34.36460
. 1,012.56850
373.97398
500.53640
8.62450
52.66140
670.16748
198.66000
401.26389
Berne
New York
NewYork
New York
Berne
Berne'
New York
Paris
New York
1940
---2:01.40
BanlCof Englana .....- -- 33-
.- -'-400:29440-~
- -- -:. Paris- - --'Bank-ofEngland -- -
-- 32
400:13266-' - - -tondon-
BIS • Note on gold shipments... 31
"
�·~t~
.~}
.:!;
,,~'I:
.If·
;1:
~!h
./,.
:.fl}
-- -
,-
Date
. -. - BIS
receives from.
N' ,~.~"" ....... ""-....... "....,~~." ..-.<b.I~t.u'~~~,.
Weight
. kg. fine gold
Place
In exchange for
which BIS ghies to
Bars
Stockholm
Amsterdam
Stockholm
London
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
London
Eesti Pank
Reichsbank
Sveriges Riksbank
NB of Belgium
Nederlandsehe Bank
Nederlandsche Bank
Eesti Pank
82
73
42
42
40
40
40
1,002.33234
40
40
. 1,000.24181
913.88819
499.87900
500.07887
500.07887
500.83348
503.23709
501.94791
500.20935
500.07887
499.14297
500.47802
New York
Stockholm
New York
New York
London
New York
New York
Nederl~mdsche Bank
40
40
49
40
40
80
38
41
39
80
80
503.23709
499.88150
500.22456
499.80793
.497.65666
1,003.45941
478.52714
507.11544
499.24912
1,002.57790
1,002.69043
London
' Stockholm
New York
New York
New Y,ork
New York
New York
New York
London
New York
New York
43
40
41
507.89633
505.27110
512.65037
20.02178
1,502.40477
81.13132
42.10603
New York
London
New York
Berne
New York
Berne
Berne
Bars
80
5.01.40
6.01.40
8.01.40
20.01.40
20.01.40
23.01.40
31.01.40
Eest! Pank
Relchsbank
Sveriges Riksbank
NB of Belgium
Nederlandsche Bank
Nederlandsche Bank
Eesti Pank
1.02.40
3.02.40
3.02.40
3.02.40
5.02.40
10.02.40
14.02.40
20.02.40
20.02.40
20.02.40
27.02.40
Nederlimdsche Bank
Reichsbank
Sveriges Riksbank
41
42
40
507.12134
502.65145
499.88150
Amsterdam
Bern
Stockholm
Nederlandsche Bank
Nederlandsche Bank
Nederlandsehe Bank
Latvijas Banka
Nederlandsche Bank
Nederlandsche Bank
Nederlandsche Bank
80
80
38
39
1,002.70119
1,001.57564
472.50454
499.24912
499.24912
1,003.17627
1,001.95684
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
London
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Reiehsbank
Sveriges Riksbank
Nederlandsche Bank
Nederlandsche Bank
Nederlandsche Bank
Nederlandsche Bank
Latvijas Banka
Nederlandsche Bank
Nederlandsche Bank
Nederlandsche Bank
2.03.40
4.03.40
4.03.40
8.03.40
18.03.40
20.03.40
26.03.40
Nederlandsche Bank
Nederlandsche Bank
Latvijas Ban ka
Swiss NB.
Nederlandsche Bank
Com.Europ.du Danube
Com.Europ.du Danube
499.58325
505.27110
505.27110
20.02178
1,503.5211 0
81.25320
42.19041
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
London
London
Amsterdam
Paris
Amsterdam
Nederlandsche Bank
Nederlandsche Bank
Latviias Banka
Swiss NB
Nederlandsche Bank
Com.Europ.du Danube
Com.Europ.du Danube
500.47519
500.47519 .
1,004.15678
London
Latvijas Banka
Amsterdam
Nederlandsche Bank
sight alc
Amsterdam ,.. NederlandschifBarik' . -- , - 80
Latvljas Banka
1.04.40
Nederlandsehe Bank
1.04.40
-1.'04:40' .. , -'Nedei'laridsche'Bank .
sight alc
40
40
sight ale
sighfalc
80
43
sight alc
40
sight alc
120
7
sightalc
40
sight ale
, '-80' ..
sight alc
120
sight alc.
sight alc
Weight
kg. fine gold
913~88819
Place
500.63786
New York
500.47519
London
1,003:03329'" "'---New York
BIS - Note on gold shIpments... 32
:"
.'
�..
.
~
.~;'
Date
,SIS
mc/eves from
Weight
kg. fine gold
Nederlandsehe .Bank
LaMJas Banka
7.05.40
16.05.40
18.05.40
20.05.40
29.05.40
' NB of Belgium
NB of Yugoslavia
NB of Yugoslavia
Com.Centr.Nav.du Rhin
-NBofYugoslavia -
. Total September 1939· June 1940 =
sight ale
60
sight ale
751.78481
751.78481
sight aI~
33.62437
1,547.97110
1,465.74699
15.95132
145
1,720~59633
129
1·19
30,550.9i::ri8
<-
~
-
-
,.Place
Amsterdam.
London
-
In._exchange for
which SIS gives
to
Sars
Nederlandsche Bank
sight ale
751.78481
'London
LaMjas Banka
15.04.40
15.04.40
16.04.40
Sars
60
751.84851
New York
sight ale
33.62437
1,548.51080
1,467.32684
15.33081
1,728.06730
Brussels
New York .
. New York
New York
New York
Beme
-NB of Belgium
Berne
NB of Yugoslavia
Beme
' NB of Yugoslavia '
Paris. Com.Centr.Nav.du Rhin
Beme
NB of Yugoslavia
124
117
sight ale
140 -
_ .w~/g!tt
kg. fine gold.
Place
;10,585.25746
-','
BIS • Note on gold shIpments... 33
�1',/'.
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i
Gold exchanges with the BIS by customer
Period 2: from 1st September 1939 to 30th June 1940,
Counterparty
1- Nederlandsche Bank
Number of
exchanges
. Total weight of
gold given by .
SIS (kg. tine)
SIS receives
; SIS gives
gold in
gold in
3- National Bank Yugoslavia
4-
Latvijas Banka
5-
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
I New York
7
4,934
411
199
5,544
Berne
Berne
Berne
New York
LondonlParis
Paris
3
4,744
Berne
New York
4
2,273
London
New York
1
2
Central Bank of Turkey
9,169
3,259
12,428
1
9
2-
11
6
17
1,002
500
1,502
Stockholm
London
New York
New York
Amsterdam
Berne
London
; Stockholm
! Stockholm
Berne
3
914
500
48
1,462
2
1
3
1,002
53
1,055
Stockholm
London
New York
Berne
·2
901
34
935
London
Berne
New York
Brussels
400
Paris
London
81
42
123
. Paris
Berne
Amsterdam
Berne
34
Paris
Berne
. 16
15
31
Brussels
' Paris
. Paris
New York
25
London
Berne
Eesti Pank
6- Reichsbank
.
7- SverigesRiksbank
I
8- Na,tional Bank of Belgium
3
9-
Bank of England
10- Comm. Euro"eenne pour la
Navigation sur la Danube
2
11- Banco Central Argentina
..
12- cOmmission Centrale pour
la Navigation duRhln
13- Finlands Bank
1
1
2
London
,
I
BIS • Note on gold shipments••• $4
I
�"
"'
)
t'
"
~
,
!
"
1
~ Counte,parfy
Number of
exchanges
'53,
BISgives
gold in
london
Beme
9
15-: N~rges Bank
BIS receives
gold In
20
, 14-1 Swiss Nationa; Bank
OVERALL TOTAL:,
1st Sept. 1939 - 30th June 1940
Total weight of '
gold given by
SIS (kg. line)
london
Beme
'30,585
,
"
I'
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,
"
I,
,
\
, SIS· ,,{ote on gold shlpmen,ts_. 35
,
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,
,
,
APPENDIX 5
I
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, ;
GOLD SHIPMENTS ORGANISED BY THE BIS
,
I
,
\
,
,
Period 3:
Ist,July 1940 - 31st'May1945
\,
'
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1
1'
, 1
"
,
,.
,
I·
\
I
1 '
'\
,
I
,\
I
i
,
i\
".1.
.
,
\
" I'
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,
\
\
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I
".',','
.
,
)
,
.
"
Chro~ological listing of gold ,shipments orgar:aised by theBIS' I
to
Period 3: from 1st July 1940
31st May 1945
.'
.,"
(8th May 1945 = end of the Secorid World War in Europe)
Date i
(transport
From
/eftli
Means of
transport
To.
For the
account
of
i Fine
. weight
I
I (kg.)
Number
of bars
"
1940
I
I
27.11.40 . Berne
. lisbon'
"
BIS
.1
64
799.27177
I
, ,
, 27.12.40 . lisbon
New York
."
ss Exeter
BIS
40
499.93775
BIS
BIS
58
24
703.85810
ss Excalibur
,
1941
,
9.01.41
I
31.01.4,
Zurich
.lisbon
' Be!,"e, '
"New York
1.1.10.41
Berne
lisbon
BdPortugal
29
363.53356
. Lisbon
Berne
Chamalieres Berne
Berne
lisbon
BdPortugal
BIS
BdPortugal
43
23
57
544.57871
288.12250' .
I
725.19802
.,.' BdP6rtugal.
BdPortugal
72.
72
902.56825·
898.75686
NBBulgaria
NB Bulgaria
43
44
I
527.18183
518.12160
57
.692.73582
4
48.19316
BIS
48
59~.24742
BIS .
20
29~.33402
!
. 7.11.41
I
13.1M~
21.11A1
3.12.41 , Berne
12.12.41 Berne
Lisbon
lisbon
1942
1
: ,"
"12:03:42 'Berne
25.03.42 Berrie
. 13.64.42
'."
Softa
.Sofia
Sofia
Berne
by rail
by rail
BC Sofia'
,',
I
,',!
23.06.42 Berne
29.10.42 Berne
.NB Bulgaria
Sofia
Lisbon
i
"
t:
'. "
194~.
25.02.~3
I
I
Berne
lisbon
.
10.03.43 ,Berne
I
BC Sofia'
Geneva
.
,
4
'j
~
4~.~8491
I
~944
I
,
20.04.44 . Chias;so .
241.85302
~
I
BIS
Berne
1,068
12,604.70634
.i
1
. Total tumoverJuly 1940 - May 1945
=
1,77021,306.18364
I
'
. SIS· Note on gold shlpmoots " 37
i
.
i
�..
I'
BIS gold shipments by customer
Period 3: from 1st July
~940
to 31st May 1945
Total
weight of gold
(kg. fine}
Transported
from
12,605
Chiasso
Berne
1,640
799
704
288
16,036
Berne
Lisbon
Zurich
Chamalieres
Lisbon
New York
Berne
Berne
8
Shipped
for the .
account of
5
3,435
Berne
Lisbon
Number of
shipments
1 Bank for International
Settiements
(for i,ts own account)
3
2
1
1
2
Ban90 de Portugal
Transported
to
i
3 NB Bulgaria/B. Credit Bulg.
OVERALL TOTAL:
4
1.
5
18
1,786
Berne
: Sofia
.49
Berne
G~neva
1,835
21,306
1st July 1940 - 31st May 1945
. I
BIS ~ Note on gold shlpment~,;, 38
I.
,
., .
,
�"
: , ..'~
",'
BIS gold shipments by customer
Period 3: from 1st July 1940 to 31st May 1945
Shipped
for the .
account of
Total
weight of gold
(kg. fine}
Transported
from
Transported
,
12,605
Chiasso
Berne
3
2
1
1
8
1,640
799
704
288
16,036
Berne
lisbon
Zurich
Chamalieres
lisbon
New York
Berne
I
Berne
5
3,435
Berne
lisbon
4
1,786
Berne
. Sofia
49
Berne
Geneva
5
1,835
18
21,306
Number of
shipments
1· Bank for International
Settlements
(for its own account)
2·
Ban~o
de Portugal
3· HB Bulgaria/B. Credit Bulg.
OVERALL TOTAL:
to
I
I
i
1st July 1940 - 31 st May 1945
. BIS ~ Note on gold shlpment~.;. 38
:
�~If'l.
,
.
,'.
.
,.
"
'I
APPENDIX ,6
.1
.
,
GOLD EXCHANGES WITH THE BIS
Period 3':
1st July 1940 .. 31st May 1945,
,
1
I
"',I,
, I
1
I, '
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"
...
I
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;
·1
1
i
I
�.'!."o
.'
"
,
~ "Chronological listing ofgold' exchanges wit.... the BIS
,
,_.
-'·~~-:,',-PEJHti'!,~: 'ffOm' 1st;)u~y. 19407
to-31 sfMay 1945(Bth.lVfay'194S· =-:elfd of'the'SecoiJd~Wotlil wfiriirEiifcfiie)
.,
,
SIS, _
·mcelWs frem
Date;
Weight
"
,kg~ nne gold
Place
In exchange for
which SIS gwes to
SSI'S
Weight
kg. nne golde
Place
" --954.05787
, '-.SsrS'
~Berhe
NB of Yugoslavia
79
',946.90059
New York
1.,
1940
18:10.40 '
':,NBot'Yug6;Slavia
coins
'NB of~ungal)'sight ale
eagles,
BC Argentina' '
, ,13.11.40'
13.11.40, '
2,633.12043 '
2;632.52872
New York
Buenos Aires -
NBof Hungary
BC'Argemtina .'
eagles
216
2,632:52872 .
2,633.12043
:,
Buenos Aires
New York
..
1~4~.
.~ '''.
.
.",r
;75' ,.:,,'834.sf341. '. '
...., . '
.
, SWisS'NB.
... ' 9:04.41'
.
9:06.'4:'1
9.0:6.41 '
"Swiss NB""191
NB HuhiJarY
eagles
ot
Bank Polski
,1'5.09.41'
30-daY,ale'
-
':..'
2,375.21039
~i377.·60710
,132.84980
" Swiss.NB
NeW'lork'
Berne':.
Buenos Aires
Chamalieres
-
SwissNB:
NB of Hungary
f
67,.
eagles
191
827.•74695.,
Buenos' Air~s
Berne
' London
Bank Polski
30-dayate
129.52855
eagles
21
139.10212
255.39863
12
eagles
'139:10690
255;8()152
Paris
Buenos Aires
" Barique,de Franee
23
,288.12250
Chamalieres
Bahquede-Franee
27
288.119~()
12.04.44, Ceri~1 Ban'kot Turkey
25.04.44" -, "
,. Banea d'itaiia'
sight ale
'London Central Bank cif Turkey
Beni~' , Banea (f'ltalia
Berne
80
276
1-,003.81234
3,189:87766 '
13.11.41-
BCArgentlna: '
NB'ofHungary
Berne
2,375.21039
.2~377.00710 .
..
BC Argentina
NB of Hungary
13,10.41 .
13.10.41
.,
Buenos Aires
Berne
Pari,s
'1.944
~44
sight ale
'1.06.44
-
, Bank
-----
~----.-:--
of England
1,025.00000 '
2,966.76918,
223.10848
.-:..... .._-,--....:. ..... -.------~----.-
1.
12.62325
Ottawa
Bank of England
---,~
',Berne"
Italy ,
12.62325-~
BfS • Note ongotd shfpments... IW'
-:t
�.:"
BIS
I8csives from
Bars
_ Weight
kg. fine gold
Place
. ~n exch{f!Jge for
which BIS gives to
Bars
.
\¥elght
kg. fine gold
Place
7.05.44
Central Bank of Turkey
sight ale
1,032.50000
London
Central Bank of Turkey
83
1,002.29051
Beme
8.07.44
Central Bank of Turkey
sight ale
1,115.57700
London
Central Bank of Turkey
90
1,081.73859
Beme
Swiss NB
sight ale
2,659.04061
New York
Swiss NB
223
2,622.45368
Beme
354.87566
Beme
Inst.Espanol Mon.Ex.
29
354.93039
Date
10.11.44
'.~
1945
10.01.45
InSt.Espafiol Mon.Ex.
Total Jury 1940 • May 1945
=
30
22,01~.01282.
Lisbon.
21,872.38940
8fS· Note on gofd shfpments ... ·41
. ,.;
;~,
1'\1
'
•
..
�,
.
~
.
..
'i
s,'~
i~
1"
..
.
Gold exchange,swith theSIS by customer
. Period 3: from 1st July 1940 to 31 st May 1945
Number of
exchanges·
Counterparty
I:
.
1- . Swiss National Bank
2-
National Bank of Hungary
3-
Cen,tral Bank of Turkey
5-
SIS receives
gold in
iSIS gives
gold in
I
I
2
1
3
1
2
3
2,633
2,630
5,263
Ban,co Central Argentina
I· Be~e
. New York
Beme
Buenos Aires
New York
Buenos Aires
I
BJenos Aires
I
Beme.
3,450
2,377 .
5,827
Banca d1/talia
4-
Total weight of
gold given by
SIS (kg. fine).
I
I
3,190.
. Beme
Italy
3
3,088
London
Beme
Buenos Aires
Paris
New York
Bqenos Aires
2
2,633
139
2,772
947
Beme
New York
Beme
Lisbon
6- National 'Bank Yugoslavia
7-
Instituto Espanol de M.Ex.
355
8-
Ban'que de.France
288
Chamalieres,
Bank polski
130
Chamalieres
10- Bank of England
13
Ottawa
... 9-
",\'
j
I
I
1
Paris
London
I
I London
..
,
~,~
OVERALL TOTAL:
17
21,873
1st July 1940 ",31 stMay 1945
I
,',
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I
!
!
.
,
I
BIS ~ Note on gold ShIPT.lnts", 42.
i
I
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I
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I.
I
I 'to
�I
!
j.
.
I
. Coopers "
&Lybrand
.business assurarlCG ' . .
PlumIl6e Court
. bus!neu' rec::GVe()' and iosoIvency
london EOIA 4HT :.
sOoo
1"l
OOIpOtallilnanoe
I
managemenl~~
lax ai1d
'.
t&lepMoe (Ol (1) 5a3
13C$lm (lml) 822 4652
local ~C$lmiIe (0111) 212 6366
Qbies, Co!ybra<l/lloodon
Ie/ex 881410
tunan resooo:e;8c:Mce
I
i
I
your fe,terence
,
our relersnc.J
I
The General Manager
Bank for International Settlements
,Central Bahnplatz 2
40~1 Basle
Switzerland .. .:
PC 205\htrbO?5k.sam
,
.
"
i
I
9 September 1997'
Dear Sir
I i . You hav~ ~ked us to review th~ factual accuracy and co~pl.eteness ofinfon'nation
whicJ:t you are publishing 'about certain transactions in gold undertaken by~the Ba'nk for
Internat~onal Settlemen~s C'BISIf) between 1. 1une 1938 and 31 May 1945. ./These
transactIons are set out m a "Note on Gold Shipments and Gold Exchanges orgarused by
the Bank for International Settlements. 1st June 1938 - 31st May 1945" C'the Note"),
I
being published today.
'
2
We have not reviewed. any other gold transactions; or any currency transa9tions.
undertaken by BIS except. for those transactions covered by our earlier review ;of the
"N;ote on Gold Operations involving the Bank for International Settlements ~d the
Gentian Reichsbank, 1st September 1939 - 8th May 1945"p~blished by the BIS ion 12
May 1997.
I
I
3
The partner responsible for our review is Andrew J Mainz, a' partner ',in the
Forensic Account~g department ofthe United Kingdom frrm ofCoop.ers·& Lybran~.
~
,
,
4:
Our review of the' transactions in gold de~ribed in the Note referred[ to' in
paragraph labove,·.'wasmtended solely 'to ,examine the factual information .contained
thei:eiQ, without' fonnmg or ,expressing any opinion on the background to . th~e'
trahsactions.
'
·5' .' Our review· of the infoim~tion oontained in the Note prepared by BIS', has been
based ·onour own, independent investigation of BIS' available records and .docilinents·
relating to the relevant period made available to us. We requested and wer~ giv~n free'.
access to the b~oks and records ofBIS, including its archives, and its personneL .1
.
.
to
'
1
6:
We weieable to confirm the details of each gold shipn:.ent or exchange inJolving
BIS and BIS's customers as described in the Note with the .BIS' books and tecords
examined by us. .
'!
,I
Yours faithfully
.
'.
[
_Io..
.. ~.;...~ ~,. ~-. ",~,",,,,- . . ......' .'
UoIo ....._
,
...
_
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.. LpMlf........_ _. . . _
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- - . -.....pMdpoI_.._ . .
. .
~io ... - - - - " " ' ... - . . ... -.;,;~ .. _ _ .....
....._ ...
~_!nEnglond_w
....
.. '. , .1·
.. ~ .... _ _..land .. I~-..~
'"
.
.
,
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.
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I
.......
c:....:-.. ~ ... ~ ..eo..-.. ~-.--...-~~ ..--:..
..
."
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�.:
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S~·
Department of Justice
Criminal Division
.1
Washington. D.C. 20530
APR 20 1998
BY HAND
Dr. WilliamZ .. Slany, Historian
Office of the Historian
United States Department of Btate'
2401 E. Street, N.W., Room L409
Washington, D.C. 20522-0104·
Re: .
Sligges~ed
,
,
I
I
Additions toSupplementaryRep0rton.Nazi Gold
Dear Dr. Slany:
As you know, in part at the urging of Under Secretary
Eizenstat, the Office of Special Investigations recently
dispatched Senior Historian D~. Steven Rogers to Vienna,Austria,
to examine i'he microfilmed copies of Reichsbarik records coll~cted
by Herbert Herzog, aIidto Frankfurt am Main, Germany, to conduct
re$earch in ;the World War II-era smelting recor<;ls of the Degussa .
firm. Your:;recent expression of epthusiasmfbr' incorporating
OSI's principal findings from this research ",into the supplemental
repqrt is greatly appreciated. Accordingly, some suggested ~ext
is·provided:below.
i
In addition, OSI has obtained· from the U.S. National
.
i
Archives th~ partially, declassified U.S. Army Counter
Intelligence Corps file on A.r\t.e Pavelic ,t-he leader cdf ··the, I
Ustashi movement' and head of the wartime Nazi puppet state of
Croatia. This ,file contains'important information that we feel
should be incorporated into'any discussion in the supplemental
report ~f P~velic's po~twaractivities'arid relations with th~
Vatican. Since the supplementary report cites'the CIA's
!
assertion that British intelligence knew of Pavelic's postwar
whereabouts:and intentionally perm~tted him to evade arrest, iwe
believe that it is ,particularly important that theCICfile'~
declassifJ.ed contents - - which reveal that Uni ted States
.!
intelligen~e similarly knew of Pavelie's whereabouts. and failed
,to effect his arrest ~-be disclosed. O~ce again, some sugg~sted
text is provided below. A copy of 'the CIC file on Pavelic i~
,
I
I
I
�-
2
being sent t-o ,you by OSI tinder' separate ",cover.
The proposed texts f61lowimmediately below. For your;
convenience, a computer disk containing these texts is enclosed.
I
[The following text ,might be added as a separate section,a1: t.he
I
end of the report]
,
New Information about Victim-Origin Gold at the Reichsbank
The Preliminary Study on U.S.' and Allied Efforts to Recover
and Restore;Gold'and Other, Assets Stolen or Hidden ,by Germany
During World War II examined how the Nazi Government looted gold
from individual victims whom it persecuted and how that goldiwas
disposed of 'during and after the war. Since publication of the
J?reliminary •Study in May 1997, U. S. Government:' researchers h<ive
'\.lncovered additional information that: 1) provides further;
details about t!?-e sale of victim, gold by Nazi Germany's'central
bank both to foreign countries and to German domestic·banks; ,2)
demonstrate~ what the industrial firms that converted victimigold
into bullion for the, Reichsba'nk knew about the origin ofsuc~
gold; and 3) ,provides the most detailed data currently avail$.ble
concerniI'lg the value of the gold (and other personal loot) that
the SS robb~d from its victims ,and deliv~redtothe Reichsba:b.k;'
the'se figures yield an estimate f.br total victim gold shipmeAts
that is'mar~edly higher than all, previollsestimates.
I
,
, I
, The pr~liminary Study desc;ribed the Reichsbank's practige of
purchasing from the SS gold '(including dental fillings)" jewelry,
precious metals, s~curities and currencies that the SS looted
from its victims at the ki~l)_ing. centers' and concentration, cat1tPs.
It noted that ,there were 78 known shipments of SS loot to the
Reichsbankbetween August 1942. and the end of ,the war: Each:
shipment was origimilly placed in the II Melmer" account, named for
SS Captain aruno Melmer, who delivered the shipments. The :
Reichsbank then opened and sorted, the contents of these
i
shipments" ~ncorporating ,q'urrencies , securities and gold and I, '
silver coin~ and 'bullion into ,its own holdings and disposing!of
the remaining conteI'lts in the following manner: small items!made
of precious metals, such as rings and gold teeth, were sent to
the Prussian State Mint, smelted into bars, then returned to ;.the
Reichsbank, ;which incorporated them into its holdings; precious
stones, j eWEHry and J,.arger, i terns made of precious metals were
sent tothelBerlin Municipal Pawn Shop, which arranged for the
more valuable items to be sold abroad for foreign currency and
sent tpe remainder to the Degussa Company to be smelted. onge
the contents of the shipments were ,processed" the Reichsbank
credited their value in Reichsmarks to the, SS account at the,
Ministry of ;Finance.
I
'I
The Re.i,.chsbank used the gold.' it 'acquired from 'the ss
f
shipments in the same way it used the gold Germany looted from'
the central ,banks of the nations it occupied: it sold the g~ld
to domestic 'and foreign banks in order to acquire foreign
�i
- 3 -
i
1
'
.
1
currencyne~de d to. f lnance. Germany's war effort .. The May 1997
Preliminary Study cited specific evidence of SS-looted gold tthat
the Reichsbanksold to t~e Deutsche Bank.and to banks in'
I
Switzerland and Italy. The report also presented the first-ever
conclusive proof that v~ctim-origin.~old (from ~he Melmer
account) that had been lncorporated lnto the Relchsbank's
I
reserves and remained there at the.end of the war was transferred
by the Uniteq ,States' after the war to the gold p6oladminist~red
by the Tripartite Gold Commission (TGC). During the past fifty
years, the TGC has distributed all but 5.5 tons of the gold in
the gold pool to the ce~tral banks of European nations that ~ere
looted by Germany during the war. The proof uncovered, by U.S.
Justice Department researchers ofi'tainting" of the TGC gold !pool
with victim-:or'igin gold has provided the factual foundation .for
the present :joint U:S-U.K. appeal to the TGC clalmant nation~to
permit the undistributed gold balance to be applied for the I
benefit of iictims of Nazi persecution.
1
i
I
,
As. the May 1997 Preliminary Study detailed, .when ,the U. S.
Army seized the remaining Reichsbank treasure in April 194.5, Ithe
Melmer accoutlt'stillheld 207'containers of unprocessed,SS loot.
.
.
• .
.
. '
. '
I
These containers ~ some of which held hundreds of pounds of gold .
teeth and de:ntal' fillings, represented part· of the 'contents bf 21
SS shipments'. In addition to the Reichsbank treasure, the
Army seized the records of the Reichsbank's Precious Metals
Department a:nd captured that department's chief, Albert Thomd,
I
who had been' responsible ,for receiving' and processing the
shipments of! SS ·lo.ot ~ Included in the seized records were .
receipts prepared by the Reichsbank showing the amount in
1
Reichsmarks that'was credited to' . some of the contents·
the SS for
"
:
I
. of the first 43 SS shipments of loot. A November'1946 report by
the Office of the Military qovernment United States (OMGUS) bn
these receip'ts noted that they totalled RM 23,455,781. 96', "0~
~~~~~II~ 1,.8,66,329.18 ,is ,gold coins and RM 3,.018,062. ~3 g,~ld'i
u.ls.
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Unfortunately, OMGUS did not complete a study of the
. Reichsbank records pertaining to the Melmer account prior to i
transferring, custody of the records in 1948 to' the newly
i
established Bank deutscher Lander and its first director, Aloert
Thoms. . Although the, U. S,; did ·microfilm many of the, Reichsbarik
records prior to relinquishing them,' it did not lllicrofilm th~'
Melmer receipts. The United States Government urged the German
authorities [last.year to attempt to locate these records and [they
have, searched for them. However, to date, neither the Bundesbank
(the successor to the Bank deutscher Lander) nor the German 1
Government hi=is: succeedt;:!d ih locatin~ the Reichsbank records t.lhat
OMGUS turned, over to Thoms ~n 1948 ~
"
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"
In April 1997, as ,a result of the U. S. Government
'interagency effort directed by Under Secretary Eizenstat ,the
Ip're'liminary Study, p. 167.
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,
microfilms that OMGUS made of part of the Reichsbank ,records Iwere
discovered by u. S. Government personnel in records, that had 'I
recently been transferred to the U.S. National Archives by the
U.S. Treasury Department . • It was not possible to complete ad
analysis of ithe voluminous microfilmed records prior to reledse
of the Prellminary Study in May 1997.
In the interveningmodths,
however, several researchers not ' , ' with the U. s.
aff,iliated
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,
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Government have studied the microfilmed Reichsbank records to
determine how much gold the'SS deposited in the Melmer accourlt.
The conclusions of these studies differ significantly: the ~ost .
conservative, study, conducted by the Swiss Independent Commisision
of Experts (also known as Bergier Commission) and confined to' the
gold bulliod and coins delivered directly by Melmer, concludeid
that a total of $2 . 5 million in gold had been deposited in tHe
Melmer account; German sociologist Hersch Fischler concluded lthat
the value of; the gold in the SS shipments totaled $3 million,!
'While American researcher Sidney Zabludoff's report for·the W;orld
Jewish Congr,ess put the total value at $4 million. 2 (Figures:
cited are in wartime values, when the price of gold was set ait
$35 per, ounc::::'e . The ,pric~ of gold i$ currently approximately :nine
times higher:.)
,
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Late in:, 1997, it was revealed that another set of microfiilms
of selected -Reichsbank records e'xisted in a private collectio'h in
Vienna. These microfilm$' had been made 'at the Bank deutscher:
Lander during the 1950s 'by Herbe:rt Hei;zog,a Viennese busines'sman
and Holocaus:tsurvivor who wasattempti l1g to t,race the gold f~rom
the; Italian ,central bank,that had been, taken t.o Germany late lin
the war.
In 1998, at t.he request of Under Secretary Eizensta,t,a
Justice Depa;rtment historian sought' a:nd obtained permission tb
review the H~rzog ,microfilms in Vienna, which remain in the i
possession the Herzog family there;, although he was not allowrd
to copy any of the records pn the microfilms, he was permitteo. to
take extensiVe notes. Thi$ ,review revealed that ,while the' I
Herzog micr6:films do include some' Reichsbank records that werle
not microfilmed by OMGUS, ,those rec'ords do not pertain to the
Melmer account;
In addition to copying Reichsbank records,
;.
'however, Herzog also microfilmed postwar studies that ,Albert
Thoms produced based on those records . One study of Diverse I
Goldbarren, ;i.e." gold 'bars that were not of a high f~neness,
shows that. during a six.."mont,h, period beginning, in May '1943,lF'
,such b~rs, l.n], the Melmer account were released to the Dresdnerl
Bank, while the Deutsche Bank acquired 22 such bars from 'the'
Melmer account; the Reichsbank ,sent another 4 bars fromthef
i
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2Swiss Independent, Commission .of Experts, Gold
i
Transactions in the Second World War: Statistical Review With
Commentary, December 1997, p. 14, which also cites 'the. Zabludoff
and Fischler: reports.
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Melmer account to Rome, presumably to-the Italian central bank. 3
In addition, : three bars originating from the .M€Hmer account that
this Thoms' report lists as having been, sent for resmelting hald
,
"
I
!lumbers that match the numbers on bars that were seized by U .,S.
forces at the end of the war, and turned over by the United St:ates
to the Tripartite Gold Commission in 1948.
,
Of parti<cularimportan<ce among the microfilmed studies,'
produced by Thoms is one that is titled IIRecapitu;Lation of.
Proceeds: Melmer Deliveries." This undated study of the
I
proceeds from the Melmer shipments of SS loot contains 29, 'I
,columns. The first c<;>lumn, ,which has, no heading" contains th,e
numbers one through nlrte, Wltp each number followed by an amount
in Reichsmarks. The amount following number one is identical i to
the aII)ount in the Reichsbank's first receipt showing payment
" the SS for some ,of the contents of its first three loot
,'. shipments, the only ~e'ceipt of which a copy is known to exist .4
Moreover, the total amount of Reichsmarks that Thoms listed 'at
•
I
the bottom of the first column matches the figure of RM
i
23,455,781.96 given in ,the November ,1946 OMGUS study of the I
Melmer receipts. SCqnsequently, it appears that the numbers in
this <column are based upon the receipts prepared by the,
':
Reichsbank spowing the amount~n Reichsmarks that was credite? to
theSS for l?omeof the contents of .the first 43 SS shipments pf
loot. r~he' r~mainin~ 29 columns ,have hea~iJigs ~ndicating
categorles of loot 1n the SS shlpments, lncludlng the followlng:
"Foreign Ex<cpange (B,ank Notes')" i ,IIGold Bars" i "Silver Bars" ;
"Alloy Barslli "Gold and Silver Coinsll; "Purses, knives and forks,
jewels, pearls, gold 'and diamond rings, etc '" watches" i "Dent fl.l
Gold, broken ,gold, silver, etc." Each colutnii contains a tota[l
Reichsmark value for the entries under each heading . ,The totfl
to
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3The section of this report concerning ,the wart1me'Jold
trade ih Turkey addresses the purpose for which thes'e gold ' I
releases were made' to the Deutsche Bank ,and' the Dresdner Bank,.
I
4A.:copy of this receipt was used as an exhibit in ~jwar
crimes trial:before the U.S. Military Tribunal at Nuremberg and
consequently: still exists in those records: Nuremberg Documeht
3949-PS, Ver~ertung von Noten, Gold, Silber und schmuckstuckep zu
Gunsten des Herrs' ·Reichsministers der' Finanzen (1'9 September:.j:
, , 1942), NARA Microcopy M-897, roll 39, frames 604'-605,.
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sThe Director of the Finance Division of the U. S .
:
Military <;;overnment also mentioned, the s';lm ot RM 23, 45578~asl,
representlng:the net proceeds'from the flrst 44 Melmer'shlpments.
See '''Report: SS Loot and the Reichsbank by Colonel' Ber~ard ,'I
'
Bernstein dtd 30 October 1945;" NARA,' RG 260: OMGUS, AG004.2)
Banking, Box; 8, Folder 3. The figures in both this report,anp
• the November: 1946 report were, probably provided by Thoms, wholwas
employed by the Finq.nce Division to analyze the Reichsbank
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records.
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of all the 'columns is RM 23,173,430.11. 6
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It is unknown what documents Thoms used as the basis fot
columns 2 through 29 in his report, but it does not appear t~at
the sums in these columns r~present proceeds that are' included in
the receipts listed in the first column. When it received the ss
loot shipmer?-ts, the Redchsbank sorted, their contents and
I
remunerated the SS ~or those items that were most easily disposed
of first, while c'redit for those items whose disposal was mote
complicated-- because, for example, they required resmelting or
marketing by another agency -- had to wait until their value!
could be determined. 7 In addition, there 'were fifteen shipme'nts
of SS loot'whose contents were no longer in the Melmer account at
the end of the war and also were not included in the receipt~ for
the first 43 shipments. Fourteen of the columns in the ThomS
report pertain to contents of SS shipments that would have been
sent to another agency to be smelted or sold, e.g.;' jewelry, i
dental gold,: and broken gold and silver.
I,t therefore appeats
likely thaj: :the amounts in columns 2 through 29 in the Thoms
report represent proceeds from the contents of the· first 43 .
shipments that had to be sent to other agencies for. processi~g as
well as proceeds· from the contents of later shipments that were
processed before the end of the war.
.
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. If this analysis .of the' Thoms report. is correct, thEm tae
report showS: th~t the total valu.e of the proceeds that the S8
received for its loot shipments to the Reichsbank was RM
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46,629,212.0'7 or $18,809,686.19. 8 According to the November i
1946 OMGUS s'tudy.of the receipts for the first 43 SS loot
:
shipments t~ the Reichsb<;mk,' the total value credited· to the ISS
for the gold bullion and coins in those. receipts was RM
.I
4,884;391.3f or .$1,970,30.7 .. 10.' Incolumns two through 29 'of,
Thoms's repO:rt, there are five columns pertaining solely to gold'
(two 'with th.e heading "Gold Bars," two with the heading "Goldl
Coins, II and. one column titled "Gold Rings n) that. have a total
value of RM 4,894,610.71 or $1,974,429.49. Adding this sum tlo
the amount edf gold bulli.on and coins reflected in the receiptis in
column one produces a.total of RM. 9, 779,002. '02 or $3,944,736.\60
.
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6Since the heading of the last column is not fully
legible bu.t may be "Expenses," theRM 16,629.11 total listed I
under that heading has :not been included in the total·given Here
. for columns: 2 . through 29. ' . '. .... .
.'"
.... .
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e~ample,
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the first receipt, which covered the
first three Melmer shipments of SS loot, only gives the valuel of
.the gold, silver, and currency' in those shipments but riot of ':the
jewelry, which the.receipt' notes was flnot yet examined and
evaluated. u 'Preliminary. '$tudy, p. 167.
1
8Theexchange rate used here is the same as that
employed by the Swiss Independent Commiss ion of Experts.: RM
2.479 per $1~00·.
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that was credited to the SS for gold in its loot shipments. ' IIn
addition, however, there are seven other columns in the Thoms
report with .headings that list gold along with other valuabl~s,
e.g., "Gold and Silver'Coins,1I "Alloy Bars, II "Dental ,Gold,
I
broken, gold, silver, etc." and "Diamonds, watches, gold and I
platinum." The total value fo'r these columns 'is RM 3,509,618.91
or $1,415,739.78. Thus the total value that the Reichsbank \
q:'edited to ,the SS ,for the gold in itsloqt shipments was bet;ween
$3,944,736.60 and $5,360,476.25. Given that in wartime Germany
gold was fai more expensive than silver and that the total vchue
of gold seized from Jews appears generally to have dwarfed tHe
total value bf silver seized from Jewish vi~tims,9 it ~an be
safely assumed that gol~ accounted for at least half (and
,
probably much more) of the value of the columns listing gold I
along with other valuables, particularly since 70 percent of ithe
total value of these columns is accounted for by the columns I
titled IIDental gold, broken gold, silver, etc." and "Alloy Ba,rs"
(Le., bars made of gold and silver). Consequently, the totall·
amount credited to the SS fo:rthe gold in its loot shipments ito
the Reichsbank ~anbe very conservatively estimatl!=das at least'
$4,652,606.4~.lO
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Itshouu.d be )ceptin ;mind :that this, estimate of
$4,652, ,E:)O 6. 48 pertains bnlyto the amount that the Reichsbank i , , '
apparently credited to the SS for the gold in its loot. shiPmerts.
9Por example, a wartime SS report on the loot taken \
from ,Jews during the Operation Reinhard program in Poland,valped
gold at RM 2 ~ 800 per kilogram and silve'r at just RM 40 per
I
kilogram. Consequently, although the report notes that the.
Operation Re~nhard program turned i~ 18,733.69 kilograms of
silver ingots as opposed to 2,909.68 kilograms of gold ingots -
or morE:! than- six times more silver than gold-'- i t lists the t9tal
value o~ the silver ingots as only RM 749,347 or nine pe~centlof
the RM 8,1476,610 value listed ,for the gold ingots. See
!
Nuremberg Document NO-059:' "Report on the Administrative'
Development 9f the Operation Reinhardt,lI signed: SS and Police
'
", Leader Odilo: Globocnik~ undated'(ca. January 1944), attaching! NO:
062:
"Detailed List of Money, Precious Metals, Jewels, Other!
Valuables and Textiles, signed byGlobocnik cmd Wippern
1
(Undated) ," Trials of War Criminals before the Nuecrnberg Military
Tribunals under Control Council Law No. 10, Nuernberg 1946-1949
[h~re~fter "?reen Series"] , ·14vols . (Washington:
Gov~rnment
, 'Prlntlng Offlce, 1950) v. 5, U.S. v Pohl:725~731.
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lOThis $4,652, 606 ~ 48 'figure. was reached by addingha~f'
of the value of the columns listing gold along with other
I.
,valuables (iJe;; half of$l,415;73~L7'8 ·or$707~869.79) to thei
'value of the columns that only list gold ($1,974429.49) plus the
value of the :goldicoins and bul~ion in the receipts~is!=-ed in I,
Column One ($1,970,307.10). Thlsassumea that gold ltems'
'
accounted for only half the total value of the seven columns that
list gold along with other, valuables.
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This figure appears somewhat low in view of the fact that
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ss land .
. Police Leader Cdilo Globocnik reported· in 1944 that he ha9.
I
shipped RM 9,883,658.12 or $3,986,953. 66 in gold bullion and I
··coins to the' SS in Berlin to be forwarded to the Reichsbank just
in the course of Operation Reinhard, the SS program for
I
exploiting Jewish property and labor and murdering millions qf
Jews in kill,ing centers in Eastern Poland. I I The gold shipped
by Globocnik, which was ~eposited in the Melmer account, did :not
include the gold looted by the SS from its victims at Auschwiltz
and at the concentratiori camps 'and$lave labor camps outside I
Lublin District in Poland.
It is quite possible that some off the
SS-looted gold that the Reichsbank sent to third agencies fori
processing was not returned to t;he Reichsbank before the ,epd 'Iof
the war.
It should also be borne in mind that the gold in the SS Iloot
shipments to the Reichsbank probably represented only afract:ion
of the gold looted from individual victims of persecution under
the Nazi. regime., . since the victims of ,the killing centers andl
concentration camps had already been· deprived of most of their
valuable possessions before· their arrival at the camps. Nor ~as
the SS the Reichsbapk's only source of gold looted ,from
1
individual victtms of persecution. For examp~e, beginning inl
: 1939, Jews in Germany apd.in areas occupied by Germany were I
,forced t6turn in jewelry and' othe·r· personal items containing,
gold to the Berlin Municipal Pawn Shop, which sent the lesser:
quality items to industrial smelters to be melted and refinedi.
. The fine gold extracted from the 'items was held by the smelter in
a special account at the disposal of the'Reichsbank,. which wohld .
make regu1ar:withdrawals. The name of this account was the lib-" .
account, or sqme'times, more explicitly, the Judengold or Jewikh
gold account. 12
i
The primary srqelter used by the.Reiehsbankto transform kOld
'articles, in the. SS loot ,shipments' into bullion was the industrial
firm of Degussa (Deutsche Gold- und Silber- Scheideanstalt). 'I I'n
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I
ll~~though the cr~dibility of many,o~ G.~obocnik's .. ' r
inh1s reports to H1mmlermay be questloned" he does s~ate
that this amount of gold was IIhan~ed over on receipt to the SS
Economic and.Administrative Main Office. II It seems unlikely'that
he would inflate· a figure for which he could be hel~ accounta~le.
See Nuremberg Documents NO:.. 059 and NO-062, Green Series', 5: 725-.
73i.
. .
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cla~ms
12S~e, for example, Bundesarchiv-Zwischenarachiv
Dahlwitz-Hoppegarten, CollectionR.8 X (Records'of the
I
Reichsstelle'fur Edelmetalle), folder 15, .reports of gold stocks
·1
held in inventories of various Scheideanstal ten, viz.: , 5 June
1941 report' of the Staatliche Sachsische Hutten-und'
I
Blaufarbenwerke regarding "Judengold Fonds 'J'" noting that 50 kg
had been placed at the Reichsbank's disposal in May, ·reducingithe
account to 18.0768 kg;
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1998, at the request of Under Secretary Eizenstat and after the
· World Jewish Congress had reached an agreement with Degussa 1
· ,officials granting acce~s to Degussa files to ·a researcher from
. the United $tates to be designated by the ,WJC, a Justice
i
Department' historian briefly'reviewed.Degussa's wartime smelting
records and, correspondence files .. Unfortunately, the availa~le
,smelting leq,gerl? only identify gold sent to Degussa by its g*oss
weight, the ,date of receipt, and the originating agency" witq no
description!that might indicate whether·the gold consisted ofI
,
'
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personal possessions. Similarly, the smelted gold that Degussa
sent back to the'Reichsbank is identified only by date and the
weight of the entire amount 'being sent, so that it is apparerttly
impossible to match up a particular delivery of gold to Degu~sa
with a'subsequent amount of smelted gold sent to the Reichsbcl.nk.
The only 'exceptions are entries from the period 1939-1941
!
containing the abbreviation "Jd., II which, in a few documents,! is
expanded to Judengold (Jewish gold), evidently referring to ~he
gold confiscated from German Jews during that period. 13 These
"Jd ll and "Judengold ll notations ,indicate that the Degussa company
was aware at, the' time that it was 'receiving gold seized from
Jews.
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The Jus,tice Department's rev.:i.ew of Degussa' s correspondebce
. files proved even more disappointing. All of the correspondepce
from the period 1942:-:1'943, when the Reichsbank began sending:
articles from SS loot shipments to'Degussa to be smelted, has!
apparently been destroyed. One significant letter remains,
:
written to Degussa's director.on February 8, 1945 by the headjof
Degussa's Berlin branch plant, where the Reichsbank sent much', of
· the gold in the. SS shipments that needed resmeH:ing.
In this.
.
letter, the head of the Berlin plant reported on his efforts to
e~ac~ate th~. stobks of precious metals in Berlin and noted thht
he was in the process of destroying the Geheimakten or
I
confidential records of theSonderring, a, special group withip
Degussa's Berlin organization that was established in 1942 tol
deal with pr~cious metals.' This letter thus reflects that
I
,records pert~ining to the processing of victim-originpreciouf
,
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13Degussa' archives', Frankfurt am Main, Germany,
1
Scheidebuch Zweigniederlassung Berlin'entries with the notati<?n
"Jd." from May 1939 (Nota 60,,61), June 1939 (Nota 69), May 1~40,
June 1940" July 1940, ,August 1940, September 1940· (also notation
"Jd'gold"), December 1940, January 1941, February 1941, MarchI
1941,' April 1941 (also notation "Jdgold"), May 1941,June 194=!- '
(also "Jd'gold"), and entries with the notation tlJudengold" ftom,
August 1940, :January 1941, September 1941, and December 1941. i
These references were brought to the attention bf the Office of
Special Investigations by Dr. Ralf Banken, an independent , i
researcher who, ,with the permission of Degussa, is studying the
Degussa smelting records from the Nazi period.
pro Banken
theorizes that these notations were made for accounting purposes,
because during this period Degussa charged the Reich a reduced
rate for smelting, a practice that ceased after 1941.
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metals by Degussa for· the Reichsbank were intentionally destroyed
near the end of the war, which provides additional grounds to
conclude that Degussa was aware that some of the materials it had
been processing had· not, been legitimately obtained by the
Reichsbank. 14
I
. [The follow~ng t'E~xt can be inserted at the bottom of page 123 of
the April 6 Draft Supplementary Report, just before the lastj
carryover sentence beginning "The captured Reichsbank records
apparentlyq.id not II]
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Similarly, Cl. postwar study of Reichsbank records conducted by
Albert Thoms, wartime head of the Reichsbank's Precious Metals
Department, .showed that the Reichsbank also sold I gold bars from
the Melrrier a:ccount to the Dresdner Bank during the period .fnhm
May to NoveIDber 1943. 15
[The following text ~an be inserted in the chapter on the
CroatianUstashi treasury either at the end of Section E,
11 Postwar
Changes in U. S. Policy Toward Croatiari U'stashi War
Criminals aqd Escapees," or in a new SectionF titled "U.S. ~nd
British Failure to Secure the Arrest of Ante Pavelic in ItalY.II]
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, perhap~ as a result of the changes in Allied policies
I.'
regarding, the Ustashf, there was some confusion among Bri tisli and
American off,icialsin Italy as' to how to proceed' regarding A.rite
Pavelic, t.he: Ustashi .le~der., The U. S. Army's Counter
1
Intelligepce, Corps (eIC). had responsibility forl'ocating war I
crim:i,nal$ . sought by the United States in Italy. Af,tel:" the crc in·
Rome reporte,d in June 1947 that Pavelic was residing at a
!
specific address on Via Giacomo Veneziano lion Church property
under the pr.otection of the Vatican, 1116 the Assistant Chief of
i
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!
14I:n additiQnto permitting Dr. Ralf Banken free access
to .its recorps pertaining to its wartime gold smelting
, 'i
operations, pegussa has this year commissioned Dr. Peter Hay~s of
Northwestern,. University,. a noted expert on German business. I.
history, to ,write an independent history of the company's'
activities -under the Nazi, regime, including not only its .
I
involvement in the conversion' of loot taken from Naz·i persecutees
but also its acquisition of companies confiscated'from Jewisti
owners, its employment of forced labor, and its role in suppl:ying
the' poisonous II Zyklon B 11. hydrogen cyanide gas used in themas1s
murder of·Jews at Auschwitz.
.
15~erbert Herzog microfi~m, .Vielma, Austria.'
16S:UmI!lary of Inform;itioh re',l'Pavelich, Anton" [sic]
. from Special! Agents William E.W. Gowen and Louis S. Caniglia, CIC
Rome Detachment Zone Five, June Q, 1947, 'and translation of
�11
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. Staff for Intelligence (G-2 )0£ the Meqiterranean'rheater. of
,.
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Operations ordered on July . 1947 that Pavelic "be taken 'int.o
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custody on Slight." One week later, however, G'" 2 -countermanderd. .
these instructions' and ordered "Hands Off. 1117 Apparently at
aboutthe.sqme titne,the British raised 'the question in
Washington. of' whether the Allies should "assist the Italian '1
Government 1;n ,endeavoring to arrest [Pavelic] , at 'a s~itable .
opportunity .outside Vatican territory, 'with a viewto~is ..
surrender to the Yugoslavs. II As a result ·of consultat10ns In·
'Washington, the State Department ins1:ructed the Supreme., Comm~nder
of Allied 'Forces. in Italy on .July- 29 that "the United States"
milita::ry a4tborit~es should'coope;rate with'the Italian
authorities' 'to the extentnecess.p.ry and possible, in this
. partiG:ular'c~se. 11'18 The British Government. concurred fou.r. daYt\~
later that the Allies should . ' .
undertake
such action. 19
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Upon reFei~ing~heS~ instructions, the Commander of·U.S.L
forces in Italy reque$f:.ed some' background ,inf,ormation,on Pave::t.ic
.and,sought recommendations ·from his staff fo;t:' sl?ec::if,ic~teps ~o
'be taken. 'The reply from G-2 noted that "Pavef1c, and h1S ' . . I' .
Croatian nationalists,. representing some of the'out$tandingthilgs
in the Balkans, . slaughter~dte.hs of thousands of. Serbians, living
in his independent state and.a.longit'sborder. u' Tli.e Deputy Chief
. f Staff concluded that 'I~ it is now ~ppropriat,eto pli:tn
o
".\
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.[Pavelic' s] ~rrest at a sui.table 'moment when he leaves the "
Vatican precincts, 11 but. hoted that "1;:.his will be an extremelYI .
·tr~cky operation requiring elabo;ratecO-"ordinati6n between 1:he:'
',U.S., Bri.tish and 'Italian 'authorities and the maintenance of· I',· .
abs~lut~ secrecy , . • '," ' ·.The{;:h..ief . of Staff conG:urred,.
' i
! r7c6mmendin~!~hata 'cOhfere~ce. be
he~.d in ..Rome·' lito c<?ordinate I .
w1th the Brlt1sh a plan of act10n Wh1Ch w1ll re,sult 1n the.
I
apprehension 'of Ante Pavelicouts~<ie th~ Vatican precincts, a1l1d
'.1
I .
.
,I
,'",
.'~
,
,'.
: ~ndated, uns~g~ed intelligence report being summarized, NARA," RG
'319, Investigative'Records '~epo$ito:i::y; eIC Dossier ,XE .00 .1'1 0.9:
, Anton' 'PAVELIC.
.' .
I .
..
.
,,17Memore "Paveli c , Anton" from·Bernard J. Grennan,
',' ,Chief of Operations; ,erc Headquarter!3,MTOUSA (Mediterranean.
: 'Theater. of Operations United; States) ,:, td Supervis~ngAgeri~ ~ C]C··
,z.one Five, 'Ju1y. 7 ~ '1~,47, and ma:r:-ginal,not~tion·.of ne~orders<\ .
July 14,.1947". 1b1d., . '
,.
, , .
.
. . , . .
[
,18M~rriO re "Ant'e PayeliC 1i from Joseph N.. Greene, Jr·./
i Acting U~ S.
P'olitical Advise'r, "to ActingSlipreme. Allied
~ Commander, JU'ly 29, 1947, ibid.
..
,
'i
. .
'
,
•
'.~
•
19Memo 're . "AntePavelic H from' P ~W~ :Scariett, . British'
Political Adviser, to Acting, Supreme Allied , Com,man?er,: . August' 2~
.1947i ibid.
'
�- 12.
his turnove~ to the appropriate. Jugoslav [sic] authorities. lIiO
On August 11, :G- 2 's assistant chief of staff met with !
various officials to draw up a plari of action to apprehend I
Pavelic, but no concrete actions were in fact taken to apprehend
him.21 InsteadI' the CIC in Rome' w.;:tsinstructed to prepare a I
detailed report on Pavelic with recommendations for action. lIn
their lengthy response on August 28, 1947, CIC special agents
Louis S. Caf!.iglia and William E.W. Gowen noted that "during t.he
early months of the Pavelic regime about 150,000 persons'of tthe
Serb Orthodox faith were slaughtered - in many cases, it is ~
matter of record, they were offered salvation if they renounced
their faith :and became Catholics. 1I This, the agents maintairted,
helpedexplciin why Pavel:ic IInow enjoys Vath:anprotection," ,d;ince
"in the eyes of the Vatican, Pavelic is a militant Catholic, 1a
man who erred, but who er'red fighting for Catholicism" and orie
who, moreover, "today is fighting communist atheism. II Althmlgh
the Vatican,' according to,. these eIe agents, conceded that. I
"Pavelic's' crimes of the past cannot be forgotten,
.'. he can
only only be tried by Croats representing a Christian and
:
Democratic Government. II In the Vatican's view, however, IIsince
the' Croat Stiate does not exist ,and. . . the Tito regime canrtot
, be expected:to give anybody a ·fair trial, the Subject ' should jnot
be turned over to the present Yugoslav Regime with the excuse of
bringing him' to justice. The. extradiction [sic] ofPavelic ~ould
only weaken the forces fighting atheism, and aid Communism ip lits
fight against the Church . ." According to the eIC agents,the,
.
Chetniks, the Serbian anti-Communist forces, were also oppbs~d to
Pavelic's extradition to Yugoslavia. 22
.
i
The CIC! 'agents' believed that the Vatican was not the bnl:y
power protecting Pavelici in' their opinion, Pavelic "has been:
closely linked to the British in the past and still is, though to
wh~t degree is unknown. II They' maintained that i immediatelya.if.ter
. the war, . Payelic fled to' Austria and ~as protected by the
I
British in British-gua~ded and requisitioned quarters for a t~o
(2) week period." The agents reported that although he then ;left
to avoid embarrassing the British Command, Pc:l.veilic remained ih
the Br.itish Occupation Zone and in touch with British'
, I
intelligence, for several'more months. The CIC agents also ga:ve
credence to a rumprthat a British Lieutenant Colonel Jonson
II
i
2°Ihformal Routing slip re"Dr. Ante Pavelic from
Major Generai L.C. Jaynes, Chief of Staff, to Comma,nding General,
MTOUSA, August 8, 1947, with attachments, ibid.
\ .
lI
21Mi:=mo re "Pavelic,' Ante" to Officer in Charge, CIe'
Rome Detachment,'signed: Lt. Col G.F. B:)..unda, Assistant'Chie~ of
Staff, G-2, .November 8, 1947, ibid.
I
..
.
.
I
22Memo re IIPavelic, Antell from CIC Special Agents Louis
S. Caniglia and' William E. W. Gowen to Officer in Charge" CIC Rome
Detachment, August 28, 1947, ibid.
\
I
.J
\
�13
I
(sic] escorted two truckloads of Ustashi treasure from the I
British Occupation Zone to an unknown destination in Italy and
that the treasure was subsequently being used to ,finance the'
Ustashi ,resistance movemen,t in postwar Yugoslavia. 23
'
I
,
.
•
1
Although the CIC agen~sacknowled~ed that there-were' I
numerous rumors that Pavel~cwas plann~ng to leave Italy, th~y
dismissed them as unlikely. Regarding actions to be', taken by
U.S. authorities, they recommended "that the Vatican and Chetnik
views of Pavelic be appreciated and that no direct police action
be taken against him" by the U.S., since such action would r~sult
in his extradition by U.S. authorities to Yugoslavia "and would
bolster the 'present British anti-American propaganda campaign
be [ing] waged, among the political emigres in West'ern Europe. ",
Instead, the, agents recommended gathering evidence ,of "British
protection and cooperation with Subject,". which ,would then fdrce
the British ,to undertake his arrest and extradition. ,The, agdnts
conceded tha:t n [t] he ultimate di!3posal of ,Pavelic is riecessa~y if
the Croat d~p10cratic and resist'ance forces are to ever- be
'I
recognized hy the United States ~ ,,24
,
I
,
G-2 con~urred tha~ the United States should not act
,,:,
unilaterally: to apprehend Pavelic, because "a nl:lmber of [the] I
Croat!3 [who]', have been used as informers by U. s. Intelligencel
agencies :.: . . are known to be loyal to' Pavelic' s anti:
Communist a'ctivities and Catholic fanaticism. 112~ Thus, instea1d
of attempting to apprehend'pavelic (or to instigate directly his
capt';lre by theBr~tish), u.S: A:rmy,Intell~gence it;structed
I
SpecJ.al Agents Gowen and Ca,n~gl~a tocont~nue the~r
I
investigatio~.
In their next report, on September 12, 1947, the
agents claimed that Pavelic had just,undergone a serious
, I
operation which he had barely survived and, suggested that they
might be able to arrange ~nlnterview with him following his '\
recovery. ~fhey recommended "that the final disposition of '
Subject's case await the clarification that such an interviewl
. . '. could bring" 'and warned against' taking any immediate steps
to capture him, because "Pavelic's ,contacts with, the Vatican are
so high and 4is present position is so compromising to, the
I
,Vatican, that any extradition of Subject would deal a staggering
. blow to the Roman Catholic Church.,'" The agents'~ource of
I
, information was Father Krunoslav Draganovic. 26, Aspreviollsly I
noted, Dragariovic was the leader of the' organization. responsible
for smuggling U!3tashi fugitives to South America via the vati1an.
,
I
23Ibid.
,
24Ibid.
2SNqvember 8, 1947 memo from Blunda, 'ibid.
26Memo 're tlPaveli~,;' Ante". from Caniglia and. Gowen to
Officer in Charge, CIe Rome Detachment, September 12, 1947, ibid.
\
,I
!
I
�,
.
,I
On November 8, 1947, G-.2 reported that. lito the best of o,ur
knowledge, Pavelic is still being harbored in the Vatican. The
British let him escape when they . . . apprehend [~d] qUiSlingis
intended for shipment to So'uth America. II G-2 concluded that lit
. was IIdoubtful" that any further measures would be taken with;i
" regard to Pavelicprior to the withdrawal of U, S. forces' from
Italy.27
' . .
.
I
G-2's prediction proved accurate: the Allies never did 1
apprehend Pavelic, who escaped to Argentina'and died in freedom
in 1959 . There are conflicting reports concerning the precis:e
date of Pavelic's departure from Italy. One report asserts that
he, sailed from Rome in 1948 28 while another states that he
·1
departed on peptember 13, 1947,29 that is, one day after Specilal
Agents Gowen: and Caniglia reported, on the basis of Draganovip's
iJ:!.formation, ,that Pavelic had just undergone a nearly fatal i
operation. Whatever the date of Pavelic's escape, it is clea~
that, as a r¢sult of their mistrust of the Yugoslav Government
and also, apparently, as a result of mutual mistrust 'by the I
American.and: British authorities~- the Allies lost forever the
opportunity to br:i,.ng to justice one of the most. seriously
implicate,d war criminals of W.orld War 'II.
I
,
I
i
I
,
I hope t-hat the foregoing suggef:;tions prove helpful to you
and your col;I.eagues as you finalize 'the text of your ~mportant
report.
I
. '
, I
.S0;~elY.
i
0
I
1
0
Eli' M. Rosenbaum .
'
'. Director· '"
.
" I
Office of .Special I'nvestigation:s
1001.G. Street, N,W:, Suite LOOO
Washington, D.C. 20530 . j
Telephone~
(202) 616-2492
'
Fax: ,(202) 616-2491
Enclosure (computer disk)
I
1
27November 8; 1947 memo from Blunda" ibid.
-c·,
"
, '
'~<.~~~~
,"
"
1
.
•I
, ttr!IYOHT2!H6ijja.f,'d. IBlum;\The 'Search for Nazis in' America (New
York: Quadr{:mgle~ 1977)., 154.
,
"'"",,,f':,..
~, -;;Ah;ons'
&
Loftus, Uriholy Trinity, 86.
�
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
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
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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>
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2954 folders
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Paper
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Title
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[Gold-Related Notes] [13]
Creator
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Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States
Art & Cultural Property Theft
Is Part Of
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Box 206
<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/6997222" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Provenance
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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Adobe Acrobat Document
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6/24/2013
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6997222-gold-related-notes-13
6997222