Tables and Charts

U.S. and Allied Efforts To Recover and Restore Gold and Other Assets Stolen or Hidden by Germany During World War II

Tables and Charts

List of Agreements, Declarations, and Negotiations

Executive Order 8389	April 10, 1940	Froze Norwegian and Danish assets in the US; eventually every European country except UK was included, as well as China and Japan
Proclaimed List of Certain Blocked Nationals	July 1942	Prohibited dealings with named individuals and firms in the Americas whose activities were deemed hostile to hemisphere defense
Inter-Allied Declaration Against Acts of Dispossession Committed in Territories Under Enemy Occupation or Control (London Declaration)	January 5, 1943	Allies declared invalid transfers of property in occupied countries, even if they appeared to be legal
Declaration on Gold Purchases (Gold Declaration)	February 22, 1944	Declared that US would not recognize transfer of looted gold from Axis and would not buy gold from any country which had not broken relations with Axis; UK and USSR made similar declarations
Cordell Hull speech	April 9, 1944	Warned that US would no longer compromise with neutrals; warning to cease aiding enemy
Bretton Woods Resolution VI	July-August 1944	Called on neutrals to take measures to prevent disposition or transfer of assets in enemy-occupied countries
Klaus Mission to European capitals	August-October 1944	Fact-finding mission throughout Western Europe on German efforts to find safe havens abroad
US-UK-Swiss War Trade Agreement	August 14, 1944	Switzerland reduced exports of strategic items to Germany (Agreement revised semi-annually)
US and UK instructions to diplomatic missions	October 2, 1944	Instructed missions to request governments to adhere to Bretton Woods Resolution VI, to thwart Axis moves to hide loot in neutral countries
State Department circular instruction	December 6, 1944	Organization and enforcement of Safehaven program
State Department paper: SC-15, "Current Policy Toward Switzerland"	December 10, 1944	Advocated soft line toward Switzerland Emphasized Switzerland’s value as supplier for all belligerents and as intermediary for POWs Noted Swiss humanitarian efforts on behalf of refugees (OSS, Justice, Treasury, War, and Navy argued for harder line)
Yalta Conference	February 1945	Agreed that reparations would be exacted from Germany, including external assets Set up the Allied Reparations Commission

Currie Mission Agreement with Switzerland	March 8, 1945	Switzerland agreed to block assets of all European countries (except neutrals) and Japan prevent cloaking of enemy assets interrupt gold purchases from Germany assist in restoration of looted property conduct census of German assets in Switzerland (Switzerland reneged on commitments)
Kilgore Subcommittee hearings	June 1945	Warned that Swiss were continuing to deal with Axis
Potsdam Conference	July 1945	Decided to use external German assets for reparations and for non-repatriables Decided to restore looted monetary gold on a prorated basis to European countries Soviets agreed to waive all claims to all external assets in Western Europe and to gold
Allied Control Council Law No. 5	October 30, 1945	ACC assumed control of all German assets abroad and the responsibility to divest the assets of German ownership
Paris Reparations Agreement	January 1946	Disposition of external German assets Restitution of looted gold Establishment of the Gold Pool (see September 27, 1946 entry below) Establishment of $25 million fund for assistance to non-repatriables from reparations, to come from proceeds of liquidated assets in neutrals
Allied-Swiss Accord (Washington Accord)	May 1946	Switzerland to give 250 million SF ($58 million) to the Gold Pool Switzerland to liquidate German assets in cooperation with a Joint Commission with Allied representatives Liquidated assets to be split 50-50 with Allies German owners of liquidated property to be compensated in German currency by authorities in Germany US to unblock Swiss assets and Allies to discontinue black lists Interpretation of the Accord could be referred to arbitration Accord would be effective when ratified by Swiss Parliament
Annex to Washington Accord	May 1946	Switzerland obligated to advance as a down payment up to 50 million SF ($11.6 million) of their share from liquidated assets for the $25 million Paris Reparations Fund

Letters with Washington Accord	June 1946	Swiss committed to examine "sympathetically" making the proceeds of property in Switzerland of heirless victims at the disposal of the Allies for refugee relief (no action until 1962)
US and Allied Implementation of Allied-Swiss Accord	May-November 1946	May: US starts unfreezing assets in the US of Swiss Government and Swiss National Bank July: Allies eliminated blacklists October: Private Swiss assets in the US unfrozen November: Agreement on deblocking measures
Five-Power Conference on Reparation of Non-Repatriables	June 14, 1946	Provided plan for assistance to Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (later International Refugee Organization) for non-repatriables
Allied Announcement	September 27, 1946	Creation of the Tripartite Commission on the Restitution of Monetary Gold
Non-Monetary Gold Directive from Joint Chiefs of Staff to USFET, USFA, OMGUS (Cable WX-85682)	November 16, 1946	Instructed US occupation authorities to make available to IGCR all looted valuables that were in the custody of US forces in Germany and Austria; defined non-monetary gold as "all valuable personal property" looted from Nazi persecutees
Swiss Partial Implementation of Allied-Swiss Accord	June 1947	Switzerland turned over 51.5 metric tons of gold to the TGC ($58 million, 250 million SF)
Economic Cooperation Act adopted by US Congress	April 3, 1948	Legislative implementation of the European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan) for the economic recovery of Europe $4 billion appropriated for the first year
Swiss Membership in Organization for European Economic Cooperation	April 1948	Switzerland declared that it did not want economic assistance from the United States and would not agree to participating in the ERP if it meant compromising Switzerland’s traditional neutrality
Allied-Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Agreement	May 13, 1948	BIS agreed to ship 3,740 kg of gold ($4.2 million) to Bank of England for TGCž looted gold that BIS had "inadvertently acquired"
Swiss Agreement	July 27, 1948	Switzerland agreed to pay 20 million SF ($4.7 million) to Paris Reparations Fund for IRO in partial satisfaction of May 1946 obligation
Allied-Swiss talks, Washington	May-June 1949	No agreement on exchange rate, compensation of Germans in Soviet zone, or intercustodial matters
Swiss-Polish Agreement	June 1949	Allowed the Polish state to acquire the assets in Switzerland of deceased Polish citizens (mostly Holocaust victims) without heirs; these assets could be used to pay Swiss claims against Poland
Tripartite Brussels Conference on definition of monetary and non-monetary gold	January 1950	Defined monetary gold: monetary gold "should be held to include gold which under German law and regulations was monetary gold"

Allied-Swiss talks, Bern	March-April 1951	"April 20 Understanding" on compensation for liquidation (which Germany rejected) Germany to pay owners of liquidated property in Switzerland 50% of value (remainder to come from bonds issued by German Government) Germany to receive 25% of the proceeds to pay owners Allies and Switzerland split the rest (75%)
NSC 119, "The Position of the United States With Respect to Switzerland"	December 9, 1951	Established US policy to bring Switzerland into closer relationship with the European defense effort
German-Swiss Agreement on Financing German Debt to Switzerland	August 26, 1952	Established procedures for financing 121.5 million SF ($28.3 million) that Germany would pay to Switzerland for reimbursement of Swiss lump sum payment to Allies Unclaimed assets of Germans were liquidated and proceeds made available to German Government to finance 121.5 million SF payment to Switzerland German owners of property in Switzerland could either "contribute" to the German Government 1/3 the value of property returned to them or receive from the Swiss proceeds from liquidation in marks German Government would borrow 121.5 million SF from Swiss banks in order to pay immediately (collateral would be "contributions" from German property owners)
Agreement on German Settlement of Reich’s Wartime Debts to the Swiss	August 26, 1952	Switzerland renounced claim to payment for liquidated German assets under Allied-Swiss Accord so long as Germany agreed to recognize Reich’s debt of 1.2 billion SF ($275 million) (Germany agreed to pay 650 million SF)
Allied-Swiss Agreement on Liquidation of German Property (Revising 1946 Washington Accord)	August 28, 1952	Switzerland to pay the Allies a lump sum of 121.5 SF ($28.3 million), minus 20 million SF ($4.7 million) advanced to the Allies for the IRO in 1948, or 101.5 million SF ($23.6 million), in lieu of Switzerland’s liquidation of German assets in Switzerland From the 101.5 million SF, Allies contributed 13 million SF ($3 million) to bring the Paris Reparations Fund up to $25 million

Conversion Factors for Past Year U.S. Dollars Into Current Year (1997)

The dollar figures for non-gold assets cited in the report and in the following charts are often from 50 years earlier. To convert their purchasing power into today’s dollars, multiply the figures by the following factors for the appropriate year:

1945: 8.9	1948: 6.6
1946: 8.2	1952: 6.0
1947: 7.2	1962: 5.3

Conversion Factor for Gold

The dollar figures for gold assets cited in the report and in the following charts are based on the 1946 value of gold at $35 per ounce. Today it is nearly ten times higher. Readers may multiply these figures by 9.74 to obtain the approximate current gold values in dollars.

Sources of Contributions to the $25 Million Paris Reparations Fund
(Established by Part I, Article 8 of the Paris Agreement)

Date Received	Country	Kroner	Swiss Francs	Dollar Equivalent
July 12, 1947	Sweden	50,000,000		$13.5 million
July 27, 1948	Switzerland		20,000,000	$4.7 million
September 11, 1953	Switzerland		12,896,917	$3.0 million
March 29, 1955- December 15, 1956	Allied payment for Portugal		15,209,909	$3.5 million
Total				$24.7 million

The 1948 Swiss contribution of 20 million SF ($4.7 million) was an advance to the Allies against the Swiss share of the eventual proceeds from liquidation of German assets in Switzerland. The 1953 Swiss contribution was part of the lump sum payment of 121.5 million SF ($28 million) that Switzerland made to the Allies in 1953. The Portuguese contribution was paid by the Allies out of the Swiss francs acquired by the Allies from Switzerland pursuant to the 1952 Allied-Swiss agreement. In July 1947 the Swedish Government transferred the 50 million Swedish kroner ($13.5 million) into a blocked account at the Sveriges Riksbank as the kroner was at the time an inconvertible currency. Thus, Swedish funds were not immediately available to the designated refugee and relief organizations, and then only in phased amounts.

Tripartite Gold Commission
(Established by Part III of the Paris Agreement)

Content of the Gold Pool¹

Source	Dollars	Gold Equivalent	Year
Foreign Exchange Depository (OMGUS)	$263,680,452.94		1947
Switzerland	$58 million (250 million SF)	51.5 metric tons 1,659,121 troy ozs	1947
Bank for International Settlements	$4.2 million	3,740 kgs	1948
Spain	$114,329	101.6 kgs	1948
Sweden	$8 million	7,155 kgs	1949
Sweden	$7 million	6 metric tons	1955
Portugal	$4 million	3,999 kgs	1959
Portugal	$360,000	gold coins	1959

Total Distributions

	Dollars	Gold Equivalent
Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Albania, and Yugoslavia	$379,161,426	329 metric tons
Undistributed (1997)	almost $70 million

______________________

¹ The 1946 value of gold was $35 per ounce. Today it is nearly ten times higher. Readers may multiply these figures by 9.74 to obtain the approximate current gold values in dollars.

Estimates in the Allied-Swiss Negotiations, 1946

Monetary Gold

		Date		Dollars		Swiss Francs
Estimates of German gold reserves and movements, 1939-1945		February 1946 (State/Treasury report)		$781-785 million
ž amount of looted gold (74%)			$579 million
Estimates of gold traded by Germany to Switzerland			$398-414 million
ž amount of looted gold to Switzerland			$185-289 million
Allied estimate presented to Switzerland of looted Nazi gold sent to Switzerland	March 1946		$200 million		860 million SF
Allied statement of Swiss liability based on amount of looted Belgian gold	April 1946		$130 million		559 million SF
Amount of Belgian gold Swiss admit to receiving	April 1946		$88 million		378 million SF
Amount of gold Swiss agree to transfer to the Allies	May 1946		$58 million		250 million SF

German External Assets in Switzerland At the End of the War (Excluding Gold)

Source of Estimate	Dollars	Swiss Francs
Treasury Department	$500 million	2 billion SF
State Department	$250-500 million	1-2 billion SF
Swiss Delegation	$250 million	1 billion SF
Press accounts	$750 million	3 billion SF
Total paid by Switzerland, 1946-1952	$28 million	121.5 million SF

Swiss Obligations From the 1946 Washington Accord

			Swiss Francs			Dollars		Year Fulfilled
Transfer monetary gold to the TGC¹			250 million			$58 million		1947
Pay to the Allies 50% of the proceeds from liquidation of German assets in Switzerland
Allied estimate of these assets (1946)					$250-500 million
Swiss estimate of these assets (1947)		1 billion			$233 million
Swiss estimate of total subject to 1946 Accord after elimination of exempted assets	398 million			$140 million
Agreed to advance to the Allies for refugees out of the proceeds from liquidated German assets²			50 million			$11.7 million
Actually paid to the Allies		20 million			$4.7 million		1948
Payment of lump sum to the Allies for IARA, in lieu of proceeds from liquidated German assets³			121.5 million			$28 million		1953

__________________________

¹The 1946 value of gold was $35 per ounce. Today it is nearly ten times higher. Readers may multiply these figures by 9.74 to obtain the approximate current gold values in dollars.

²For conversion factors into current year dollars for non-gold assets, please see above.

³Of this amount, the Allies gave 13 million SF, or $3 million, to the Paris Reparations Fund (IRO).

Swiss Estimates of German Assets in Switzerland

Estimates Based on Swiss Census, 1946-1952

Date	Total	Subject to Liquidation Under the 1946 Washington Accord
early 1946	$233 million 1 billion SF	500 million SF	$116 million
late 1946		420 million SF	$98 million
June 1947		398 million SF	$93 million
1951-52		360 million SF	$84 million

Status of Liquidated German Assets in Switzerland in 1958
(Pursuant to August 1952 German-Swiss Agreement)

	Swiss Francs	Dollar Equivalent
Total assets liable for liquidation	697 million SF	$162 million
Assets exempt from liquidation because they were less than 10,000 SF or were assets of Nazi victims	100 million SF	$23 million
Assets without claimants liquidated by Switzerland	9.3 million SF	$2.2 million
Assets returned to German owners	588 million SF	$137 million

[return to table of contents]