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World War II -- economics gold NAZI seizure of indvidual gold
World War II Gold: NAZI Seizure of Individual Gold
Figure 1.--Here a U.S. soldier inspects some of the countless gold wedding bands taken from murdered Jews by the Germans and stashed in the Heilbronn Salt Mines in Germany. The photograph was dated May 3, 1945. Of course this box represently only a tiny fraction of the Jewish wedding bands taken by the NAZI. What is horrifying is that each of these bands would have been taken from NAZIs victims, often right before they were murdered. In some cases while theirs friends of damily were being murdered before their eyes.
The NAZIs also went after gold in individual hands. The Germans associated the Jews with gold. This is why as part of the 19th century emancipation process these names appeared. They were not tradiutional Jewish names. Authorities in Germany and Austria required Jews to register a family nane. Sone were chosen and some were assigned. Many of these names were associated with gold and to a lesser extent silver (Goldberg, Siverstein, ect.). The NAZIs were determined to extract as much gold from Jews they were murdering as possible. Here they had millions of Jews in Germany and the occupied countries to target. NAZI actions seizing the gold reserves of occupied countries was fairly staright forward. The gold was made available to the Reichbank. Than there was gold in individual hands. The NAZI began with community extortions in whch Jewish communities in the Reich or occupied countries had to pay out in goild and valuables. They were ordered to pay fines. Then theNAZIs went after the gold and valuables still in individual hands. Like the gold wedding rings here (figure 1), the gold stolen from individuals was less likely to get to the Reichbank. It dependened somewhat on when and how the valuables were stollen. Procedures were set up to steal the valuables of individuals with bank accounts and safety deposit boxes as well as those entering the ghettoes. Not only were their valuables stollen when they entered the ghettoes, bur while they were there. Similar procedures were set up in the death camos and other concentration camps. At Bikenau the opertation was called Kanada because the prisoners saw all the looted property as symbolic of a land of plenty. There were similar opoerations in other camps. Eventually even their gold teeth and fillings were collected. The situation in the death camps was even more styematized. Thus individual NAZI war criminals wre less likely to get their hands on individual property. We say less likely because this was a reallative matter. And there were NAZIs who got into trouble for it. It should be emphazied that they did not get into trouble for killing Jews and stealing their property. They got into trouble for keeping the solen property rather than turning it over to the Reich. The most damous such individual was one of the most odious of the NAZI war criminals--SS General Odilo Globocnik. He was a major actor in Operation Reinhard. Other actions such as Kristalnacht or the actions in the East conducted by Einbsatzgruppen and police units were much less controlled. Thus there are reports of Jewish property appeating in markets. And we note reports of men like SS-Standartenführer Hermann Fegelein who was Eva Braun's brother-in-law. He was involved in killing operations of Jews in the East. He latter was attached to Hitler's enterouage in his Berlin bunker. He tried to escape as the Red Army closed in. He was cauught by the SS with pockets full oif jewels stolen from his Jewish victims. Hitler ordered him shot for disertion.
