Holocaust Gold

This book is part of a new trend in historical research: the study of the economic implications of the Jewish Holocaust in Europe. The Nazis plundered some 800 tons of gold to finance Hitler's war machine. Of this sum, some 290 tons were stolen from private individuals victimized and persecuted by Hitler's regime. After the war, these victims did not receive even a single ounce of gold in return. Neutral Switzerland was the primary "laundry" for the looted gold. Swiss leaders and the heads of the Swiss National Bank were fully aware of the origin of this gold, but made a systematic effort to blur the tracks of the gold and the looted treasures that reached the vaults of the Nazi Reichsbank. An entire chapter of this book is dedicated to a lesser-known affair: the minting of Vreneli gold coins on an unprecedented scale, and the sale of these coins to the general public in order to shrink the enormous gold stocks Switzerland built up during the war.

The book also recounts several fascinating sidelights - how Himmler's mistress was assured a luxurious lifestyle after the war, and how SS officials used gold extracted from the mouths of their victims for their own dental work.

The authors contend that the $1.25 billion that major Swiss commercial banks promised to pay Holocaust victims totally disregards the active role the Swiss central bank and Swiss government played in buying Germany's looted gold.