Switzerland and Gold Transactions in the Second World War

Interim Report on Gold
II
Preface
technocrat whose primary concern was to execute the duties inherent in his position, and the
politician responsible for the country’s foreign security and its domestic tranquillity. Conflicts
of interest and power clashes centered around gold came to a head in Switzerland itself. For
these reasons, the Commission deems the gold issue to be an appropriate starting point for the
entire spectrum of its research topics.
Though the Swiss were largely spared the ravages of the war on their lives and property, they
did suffer many of its evil effects. They experienced the anxiety of a country besieged by the
Axis powers, which remained threatening even after the final outcome of the war had become
apparent. The Swiss lived through the war with all of the personal and civil privations which it
imposed on their lives. During those years, they also shared an ever-vivid collective memory of
the painful experiences of the past, particularly of the First World War and of the 1930’s.
Without further insistence on this point, it is essential to place the transactions which we are
attempting to reconstitute into this longer-term historical context.
Following a general analysis of Switzerland’s war-time gold transactions, the report accords a
preferential place to the gold shipments of the German Reichsbank to the Swiss National Bank
(Chapter II). This is due not only to the fact that these shipments were large and therefore
important, but because they give rise to the most delicate questions. What were the motives of
the Swiss National Bank in continuing its purchases until the very end of the war? What
interests was it taking into consideration in doing so? Did the National Bank act solely to carry
out monetary policy, or out of larger economic, political, or even personal concerns? Did those
involved in the transactions earn a profit? What did they really know about the doubtful origin
of a large part of the gold they purchased, and did they inform the government in time?
At the same time, the Swiss National Bank also bought gold from the Allies, albeit in a
chronological context that renders any comparison misleading (Chapter III). The origin of this
gold causes no problems. However, other questions emerge. In 1941, Swiss gold in the United
States was frozen and thereby rendered almost useless. What concerns or coercion instigated
purchases from the Allies after this point? What were the respective roles of the Swiss National
Bank, the Confederation, and the private sector in dealing with Allied financial policy-makers?
How did the Allies use Swiss currency obtained through sales of gold?
Gold can be used for any and everything. It is not a prerogative only of the central banks; and
in Switzerland, commercial banks also performed operations with gold (Chapter IV). On the
whole, one-eighth of the German shipments was meant for them. How was this gold used?
After 1942, their latitude for maneuver was drastically diminished: regular transactions were
thereafter the sole domain of the Swiss National Bank. The commercial banks consequently