[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 18, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6414-S6416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SWISS BANKS AND GOLD LOOTED BY THE NAZIS
Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the role
of Swiss banks and their handling of gold looted by the Nazis.
On May 25, 1946, the Allies and Switzerland agreed to a treaty
liquidating German property in Switzerland. In section II, paragraph 2
of the treaty, Switzerland agreed to pay the Allies $250 million in
Swiss francs payable on demand, in gold in New York. This treaty was
the culmination of a very difficult negotiation with the Swiss,
[[Page S6415]]
who long refused to deal with the problem of their banks, essentially,
laundering gold looted from all over Europe by the Nazis.
Yet, while the Swiss agreed to pay this sum, there was clearly more
gold deposited in Switzerland by the Nazis during the war. As a
February 5, 1946 State Department document clearly states, the amount
agreed to in this treaty was far lower than the true amount. At this
time, I ask that this document be printed in the Record.
The document follows:
Allied Claim Against Swiss for Return of Looted Gold
1. It has been determined from available ledgers of the
German Reichsbank that a total of at least 398 million
dollars worth of gold was shipped to Switzerland by the
German Reichsbank during the war. This figure does not
include the following which, when verified and amounts
definitely determined, should also be taken up with the
Swiss:
(a) One additional shipment known to have taken place after
these books were closed and evacuated from Berlin.
(b) Other shipments believed to have taken place early in
the war and to have been recorded in earlier ledgers of the
German Reichsbank which are not now available;
(c) An amount approximately 12 million dollars worth of
gold which the Germans seized when they looted the Italian
gold but delivered directly to the Swiss.
2. It is perfectly possible that the entire amount of 398
million dollars (or more) worth of gold received by the Swiss
from the German Reichsbank was looted gold because of the
following facts:
(a) The large amounts of gold known to have been looted by
the Germans from the countries which they occupied in Europe
before and during the course of the war. It is known that at
least 579 million dollars worth of gold was looted by the
Germans and made available to the German Reichsbank. This
figure represents a conservative tabulation based upon the
estimates of the countries from which gold was looted and
upon a careful examination of the records of the Germans.
(b) The relatively small amounts of legitimate gold
available to them.
(c) The very small proportion of the looted gold which
appears to have remained in Germany at the end of the war or
to have been disposed of in countries other than Switzerland.
The amount of such looted gold now identified as being in
Germany at the end of the war or disposed of to foreign
countries other than Switzerland is only 169 million dollars.
These figures have been derived for a complete inventory of
the gold found in Germany at the end of the war and a
thorough examination of the records of the Reichsbank,
including a detailed tracing of the processing and
disposition of more than half of the gold originally looted.
Subtraction of the loot thus traced to German war-end
stocks and to third countries (169) from the total loot (579)
leaves 410 million dollars worth of loot or more than the
entire amount of the known shipments to Switzerland still to
be accounted for.
3. Even if one makes the assumption, which is quite
unrealistic but presents the most favorable possible case for
the Swiss, that the shipments which they received included
all of the non-looted gold available to the Germans during
the war, there still remains an absolute minimum of 185
million dollars of the gold taken by the Swiss from the
German Reichsbank which must have been looted.
(a) A thorough examination of the records of the German
Reichsbank and intensive interrogations in Germany of high
Reichsbank officials in a position to know the true facts
have determined the amount of hidden reserves of gold held by
the Reichsbank before and during the war in addition to the
published reserves which were known to the world.
(b) For the purpose at hand June 30, 1940 has been chosen
as the base date in order to make the case as favorable as
possible to the Swiss and eliminate any uncertainty as to
legitimate acquisitions of gold by the Germans prior to their
attack on the low countries. The Reichsbank's total gold
holdings on that date were 232 million dollars.
(c) From the holdings shown above (232 million dollars),
there must be subtracted an amount of 49 million dollars
worth of loot accumulated by the Reichsbank in the preceding
year, which gives a total of 183 million dollars worth of
non-looted gold stocks held on June 30, 1940.
(d) The only significant source of legitimate gold still
open to the Germans after June 1940 was Russia. German
records show that the total amount of gold received from
Russia between the outbreak of war with Poland and the attack
on Russia was 23 million dollars. Although it is clear that
much of the gold was received prior to June 30, 1940 and,
therefore, is undoubtedly included in the German gold reserve
figure for that date (183 million dollars), we are making the
assumption most favorable to the Swiss and assuming that all
23 million was acquired after June 30, 1940 and is,
therefore, to be added to the gold reserve shown on that date
as additional legitimate gold. The resultant total of 206
million dollars is the maximum possible amount of non-looted
gold available to the German Reichsbank at any time after
June 1940.
(e) Subtracting from the total known shipments to
Switzerland (398) the portion of those shipments which took
place prior to the end of June 1940 (7 million) leaves an
amount of at least 391 million dollars worth of gold received
by the Swiss thereafter, and the difference between this
amount and the maximum possible amount of non-loot available
to the Germans in the same period (206) is 185 million
dollars.
4. On the fairest assumptions the amount of loot taken by
the Swiss from Germany can be estimated at 289 million
dollars.
(a) It is unreal to assume, as was done above, in
calculating the absolute minimum figure of looted gold
received by the Swiss from Germany that every ounce of non-
looted gold available to the Germans was sent to Switzerland.
(b) It is more realistic to assume that the ratio of loot
to total gold available to the Germans was reflected in all
German gold shipments including those to Switzerland. The
total amount of gold available to the Germans after June 30,
1940, as shown above, was 785 million dollars of which 579
million dollars or 74 percent was loot. Applying this
percentage to the total amounts received by the Swiss it
would appear likely that at least 289 million thereof was
loot.
allied policies for negotiations of looted gold question
It is definitely known that the Swiss received at least 398
million dollars worth of gold from Germany during the course
of the war. Of this amount the absolute minimum which is to
be classified as loot is 185 million dollars. In arriving at
this calculation every doubt has been resolved in favor of
the Swiss. A more realistic approach indicates that the
amount of looted gold taken by the Swiss is closer to 289
million dollars, and there is a possibility that all gold
received by the Swiss from Germany was looted.
With these facts in mind, the Allied Governments should
insist that the Swiss hand over immediately 185 million
dollars worth of gold. Any bargaining between the Allies and
Switzerland should only be with respect to the difference
between 185 million and 398 million. As to this, the Allies
should take the position that such difference should be
turned over unless the Swiss are able to prove that such gold
was either included in Germany's non-looted pre-war stocks or
legitimatedly acquired after the beginning of the war.
It is possible that Switzerland will ask to see the data
upon which the figure representing the minimum loot was
based. If so, the Allied negotiators should agree to this
concession upon the condition that the Swiss make available
to Allied experts books, records and other documents in their
possession relating to their gold stocks acquired from
Germany and the disposition of such gold. However to avoid
delays, such concessions should only be made after the Swiss
have agreed to turn over the initial 185 million dollars
worth of gold.
In taking the above position the Allied negotiators should
make it clear to the Swiss officials that the fact that
specific looted gold is no longer in Swiss possession does
not operate to defeat the Allied claim or hinder or impede
the handing over of an equivalent amount of gold. The Swiss
should be advised that in cases where the original looted
gold has passed from Switzerland to another country and the
Swiss Government has made the equivalent amount of such gold
available to the three named Allied powers, those powers
will, insofar as is feasible, lend their assistance to the
Swiss in obtaining the return of the specific gold or an
equivalent. However, such offer of assistance is not to be
understood or construed as a guarantee on the part of the
three governments named.
In the event that the Swiss Government should indicate its
preference to settle the gold question by paying over a flat
sum rather than assume the burden of proof as is indicated
herein above, any compromise figure between 185 and 398
million which is agreed to by all of the Allied negotiators
could be accepted. It would seem that 289 million would
represent a reasonable settlement.
German gold movements (estimate)
[From April 1938 to May 1945]
Income Million
Germany started the war with estimated gold reserves of (Published gold
reserves were only 29.)..........................................$100
Taken over from:
Austria..........................................................46.0
Czechoslovakia...................................................16.0
Danzig............................................................4.0
Poland...........................................................12.0
Holland.........................................................168.0
Belgium.........................................................223.0
Yugoslavia.......................................................25.0
Luxembourg........................................................5.0
France...........................................................53.0
Italy............................................................64.0
Hungary..........................................................32.0
________________
Total.........................................................748.0
================
Outgo Million
Sold to Swiss National Bank...............................$275 to 282.0
Possibly sold to Swiss Commercial Banks before 1942................20.0
Washed through Swiss National Bank depot account and eventually
reported to Portugal and Spain (larger part by far to Portugal).100.0
[[Page S6416]]
Rumania............................................................32.5
Sweden.............................................................18.5
Found in Germany (including 64 earmarked for Italy and 32 earmarked for
Hungary)........................................................293.0
Sold to or used in Balkan countries and Middle East--mainly Turkey.10.0
________________
752.0
================
Swiss Gold Movements (Swiss official statement)
[From January 1, 1939 to June 30, 1945]
Purchased from:
Germany........................................................$282.9
Portugal.........................................................12.7
Sweden...........................................................17.0
Sold to:
Germany...........................................................4.9
Portugal........................................................116.6
Spain............................................................42.6
Turkey............................................................3.5
Conclusions: (1) All gold that Germany sold after a certain
date, probably from early 1943 on, was looted gold, since her
own reserves, including hidden reserves with which she
started the war, were exhausted by that time; (2) out of
$278,000,000-worth of gold that Switzerland purchased from
Germany, the larger part was looted gold; in addition,
Switzerland has taken $100,000,000 looted gold in deposit,
which later on was re-exported to Spain and Portugal for
German account; (3) among the gold that the Swiss sold during
the war to Portugal, Spain, and Turkey, there could have been
looted German gold; (4) the gold that Switzerland bought from
Sweden during the war could theoretically be German looted
gold; monetary experts all over the world (Switzerland has
monetary experts at her disposal) knew, or ought to have
known, roughly the figures and movements as contained in the
above estimate--certainly they knew the gold holdings and
gold reserves of the German Reichsbank. Switzerland therefore
was lacking good faith. In addition, she was warned that all
Germany's own pre-war gold stocks had been used up by mid-
1943 at the latest and therefore all the gold then in the
possession of Germany must be presumed to be looted gold.
Mr. D'AMATO. As one can see, the amount of gold, estimated by this
report is said to be $398 million, $148 million more than the treaty
amount. A possible reason for the difference can be laid upon the Swiss
because they would not agree to give up more than $250 million.
I would like to know what happened to the other $148 million, or
more, that apparently was kept by the Swiss. I am quite sure that the
other nations of Europe who had their gold looted from them by the
Nazis and sent to Switzerland, not to mention the individual citizens
who had gold taken from them, would like to know where that gold is
today. Only the Swiss know and they aren't talking.
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