Switzerland and Gold Transactions in the Second World War

Interim Report on Gold 40 Chapter 1
Germany’s gold reserves began to fall in December of 1933, reaching $28.6 million at the end of
1937. 72 It changed little during the war. 73
I/2. Hidden Reserves. In 1933, Reichsbank President Schacht began a policy of secretly accumulating
gold on several different accounts. 74 Widely believed by Reichsbank employees to be a warpreparation
fund, these hidden reserves were worth $82.7 million by September of 1939. 75
I/3. Other German Banks-of-issue. Several banks-of-issue, such as the Bavarian State Bank, were still
existing in Germany from the time prior to unification. Together the banks held $12.1 million in
gold which was placed at the disposal of the German government. 76
I/4. Austrian Gold Reserves. After the «Anschluss» in 1938, the gold reserves of the National Bank of
Austria, inventoried at $99 million, were amalgamated with those of the Reichsbank and
transferred to Berlin. 77 Subsequently, Austrians became subject to German law requiring citizens to
turn their gold holdings over to the government. Private gold received before September of 1939 is
included in «Hidden Reserves»; subsequent receipts of gold are accounted for in the «Four-Year
Plan Activities» described later. 78
I/5. Czechoslovak Gold Reserves. Unlike the National Bank of Austria, the Czechoslovak central bank
was never absorbed by the Reichsbank. Instead, it was newly organized as the National Bank of
Bohemia and Moravia and its gold, though confiscated de facto by the German government, was
transferred to separate accounts in the Reichsbank. Withdrawals from the accounts were always
reimbursed in paper Reichsmarks. A part of Czechoslovak gold reserves was transferred to Bern,
London, and New York before the invasion, but was returned to German control through swaps
within the BIS. $34.3 million in Czechoslovak gold contributed to the German reserves. 79 The
Czechoslovak reserves held in Switzerland were transferred to the account of the Reichsbank by
telegraphic order on 7 March 1939, one week before the German invasion. 80
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
For instance, the Schweizerische Nationalbank 1939, p. 55 (Monthly Report January 1939). An exchange rate of 2.479
RM/$ has been used for the Reichsmark (RM). United States Code of Federal Regulations 1940, Suppl. Title 31:
Money and Finance.
«Goldbestand am 1.9.1939» and «Sonderdeviseneingang zwischen dem 1.9.1939 und dem 1.11.44» [Memorandum,
«Gold reserves on 1 September 1939» and «Special receipts of foreign exchange between 1 September 1939 and 1
November 1944»], Four-Year Plan, 28 November 1944. Center for Historical Documents («Special Archives»),
Moscow, Inventory 700-1-97. Furtheron quoted as Four-Year Plan Documents.
Conversion Account, 1933, and Special Purposes Account, 1934. These two accounts were closed in 1935; An account
for gold purchases was opened in 1934 to which most of the gold from the Conversion and the Special Purpose Account
was transferred. An Auditing Account was opened in 1933, an account for Secret Gold in 1935, and a fifth account for
Special Purposes («DER») in 1937. These hidden reserves were sometimes described by Reichsbank employees as the
new «Juliusturm», in reference to pre-World War I gold reserves hidden in case of war. US National Archives, RG 260,
Box 444, Office of the Financial Division and the Finance Advisor, File 940.62 Work Papers, Table I, «Balances of Six
Hidden Gold-Reserve Accounts of the Reichsbank». Furtheron quoted as Six Hidden Gold-Reserve Accounts.
Four-Year Plan Documents.
Four-Year Plan Documents.
US National Archives. RG 43, M-88, Box 201, Memorandum from O. F. Fletcher, «Revised Estimate of German Gold
Movements from March 1938 to May 1945», 12 June 1946. Furtheron quoted as Fletcher Memorandum.
See I/2 and III/1 of the comments to Table I. The Austrian gold reserves were incorporated into the general gold
reserves of the Reichsbank. The possibility of a double assessment can be excluded. There was no large increase in the
hidden reserves in 1938, indicating that Austrian gold was at that point still recorded separately in the Reichsbank
accounts. Six Hidden Gold Reserve Accounts.
Four-Year Plan Documents.
SNB Archives, the amount listed here includes only Czechoslovak gold which was taken over by the Germans after the
invasion. The so-called shipment prior to the invasion must be included either under I/2 (Hidden Reserves) or under
III/1 (Four-Year Plan Activities).