| Source: http://www.ushmm.org/assets/nazigold.htm Accessed 12 December 1999 U.S. and Allied Efforts To Recover and Restore
Gold and Other Assets Stolen or Hidden prepared by: for: May 1997 Go to searchable version of document TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword Introduction to NARA and Archival Records Introduction to the Finding Aid Access to the Records Security Classified Records and Declassification at NARA Citing Archival Records Acknowledgements MILITARY AGENCY RECORDS Interallied and Interservice Military Agencies Records Records of
the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (RG 218) The War Department and the Army Records Records of the Secretary of War (RG 107) Theaters of Operations Records Records of the Allied Operational and Occupation Headquarters,
World War II (RG 331) The Naval Establishment Records Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (RG 38) Captured Records National Archives Collection of Foreign Records Seized (RG 242) War Crimes Records National Archives Collection of World War II War Crimes Records (RG 238) CIVILIAN AGENCY RECORDS State Department and Foreign Affairs Records General
Records of the Department of State (RG 59) Department of the Treasury Records Records of
the Department of the Treasury (RG 56) Department of Justice Records General
Records of the Department of Justice (RG 60) Department of Commerce Records Records of
the Department of Commerce (RG 40) Other Agency Records Records of
the Office of War Information (RG 208) Abraham G. Druker/Irving
Dwork Papers (OSS Research and Analysis Branch, Jewish Desk, World
War II) Non-Record Material Non-Record reference material from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York FOREWORD
This finding aid was initially prepared in May 1997 for the
Interagency Group on Nazi Assets, directed by Ambassador Stuart E.
Eizenstat, then the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade
and Special Envoy of the Department of State on Property Restitution in
Central and Eastern Europe. The finding aid was an appendix to the May
7, 1997, report for the Interagency Group on Nazi Assets, prepared under
the direction of Dr. William Z. Slany, Chief Historian of the Department
of State. The report was entitled U.S. and Allied Efforts to
Recover and Restore Gold and Other Assets Stolen or Hidden by Germany
During World War II: Preliminary Study. Both the report and the
appendix were put up on the Department of State's Internet site on May
7, 1997. For access to them please use http://www.state.gov. Specifically, the finding aid provides a guide to records pertaining to: U.S. efforts in 1940-1942 to freeze, block, and seize Axis and other assets located in the United States; U.S. efforts, in conjunction with the Allies, during the 1942-1944 period, to blockade the Axis to prevent them from obtaining the resources necessary to wage war; U.S. efforts during 1944 and 1945, to prevent the Axis from secreting and cloaking their assets in neutral and other countries (i.e., the Safehaven Program); U.S. efforts in 1945 and in the aftermath of the war to locate looted and other Axis assets; The U.S. postwar role in restitution and reparation activities; and, The U.S. diplomatic efforts to work with the neutral countries to obtain the return of and disposition of Axis looted assets as well as other enemy assets. This finding aid is by no means comprehensive, given the wealth of
the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
and given the time constraints in its preparation. There are, most
likely, other series of records within the Record Groups mentioned as
well as series in Record Groups not mentioned that contain information
about World War II economic warfare, Nazi looted assets, Safehaven
Program activities, post-war restitution and reparation activities, and
the financial and diplomatic aftermath of the war. There is also a
possibility that some pertinent records are still in the legal custody
of one or more Federal agencies. This finding aid, nevertheless, should
provide researchers with a relatively full guide to the archival records
in College Park and give clues where other material may be held. Not all aspects of economic warfare are directly addressed in this finding aid. Primary attention is given to the financial and diplomatic aspects of economic warfare. Nevertheless the finding aid directly and indirectly identifies records or series of records on other aspects of economic warfare, such as preclusive buying, lend-lease, reverse lend-lease, and efforts by the Allies to prevent the Axis powers from obtaining military supplies and economic resources to feed their industrial and war machines. Additionally because of researcher interest in financial matters the initial version of the finding aid concentrated on records relating to financial matters. Because of researcher interests this version of the finding aid has been broadened to include looting and cloaking of cultural materials. Mention should be made that there are very few records in the holdings of the National Archives at College Park that pertain to the personal assets of foreign individuals in foreign banks. The U.S. Government in the 1930s and 1940s did not systematically collect that information. We know that there are scattered among our records, such as the Office of Strategic Services records, Foreign Funds Control records, and Foreign Assets Control records, information that does relate to individual accounts in foreign banks. But the quantity uncovered by researchers during the past year so far is minuscule. Researchers interested in possible assets in foreign banks should directly contact the bank. If researchers wish to make a claim on dormant accounts in Swiss banks, please contact: Ombudsman of Swiss Banks, Seestr.7, P.O. Box 519, 8027 Zurich, Switzerland. Applicants must write a short letter asking for the dormant account questionnaire. The Ombudsman's office also can reached by fax at 011-41-1-281-1083 or telephone at 011-41-1-281-1037. In July and October 1997, the Swiss Bankers Association published a list of dormant accounts. Subsequent lists will be published. This initiative is being administered by an international board of trustees and supervised by the Swiss Federal Banking Commission and the Independent Committee of Eminent Persons. Ernst & Young, the international accounting organization, will help individuals submit claims in connection with the published lists. Ernst & Young have set up contact offices in New York, Tel Aviv, Sydney, Budapest, and Basel. For information about the names on the lists please call 1-800-662-7708 or write Ernst & Young LLP, c/o Dormant Accounts, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019 (their phone number is 212-344-0610), or to download the lists of dormant accounts and a claim form, please use the following Internet address: http://www.dormantaccounts.ch. For additional information about dormant accounts, please contact the Swiss Embassy at 202-745-7900 (phone) or 202-387-2564 (fax). The finding aid is divided into several parts: a table of contents; an introductory section on the National Archives and Records Administration and archival records; an introductory section on the organization of the records described in the finding aid; an introductory section on access to the records described in the finding aid, including a background to declassification of records; guidelines for citing the records; and acknowledgements, and, finally the listing of the records. Return to table of contents top INTRODUCTION TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION AND TO ARCHIVAL RECORDS The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) acquires, preserves, and makes available for research records of enduring value created or received by organizations of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Federal Government. A relatively substantial amount of the NARA holdings relate to World War II and are held in its facility in College Park, Maryland. Other NARA facilities hold many records and donated material related to World War II, including records related to the subjects covered in this finding aid. This is particularly true of the Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Harry S Truman, and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Libraries. Researchers should contact the other NARA facilities for assistance in their research efforts. ARRANGEMENT OF ARCHIVAL RECORDS Within a record group, the records of a government agency are organized into series. Each series is a set of documents arranged according to the creating office's filing system or otherwise kept together by the creating office because they related to a particular subject or function, result from the same activity, document a specific kind of transaction, take a particular physical form, or have some other relationship arising out of their creation, receipt, or use. NARA endeavors to keep records in the order in which they were maintained by the creating agency, in the belief that this best preserves their integrity and interrelationships. The agency filing systems were designed for administrative purposes and not for the benefit of future researchers. This finding aid seeks to assist subject-oriented researchers in understanding the complexities of the recordkeeping systems and in locating relevant material among the vast quantities of records. INTRODUCTION TO THE FINDING AID This finding aid is divided into three parts--the records of military agencies, records of civilian agencies, and records in the National Archives Gift Collection. The latter are subdivided by the individual who donated their personal papers to NARA. The military and civilian agency sections of the finding aid are subdivided by Federal agency and then by Record Group. Within each Record Group the descriptions of the records are, for the most part, in a hierarchial order. For each series of records a Series Title is provided. In most instances the date span of the series is provided as well as the series entry number. In many instances an arrangement statement and full description of the records in the series is provided. When applicable, the total number of boxes in the series is given along with the beginning location of the series. Where specific boxes are identified, the exact box location is provided. When a folder or file title in a particular box or boxes of a series is given, the term "File Title" is used to indicate only certain file titles are identified; when all the files in a box or series are given then the term "File Titles" is used. The location of each series of records at Archives II at College
Park, Maryland, is provided, with the stack area, the row, the
compartment, and the shelf where the series begins. When specific boxes
are indicated, generally the exact location of the box or boxes is
given. Thus a location of 450/34/7/01 would mean stack area 450, row 34,
compartment 7, and shelf 1. There is one exception to this general
guidance. The newly accessioned Department of Treasury records, mainly
from the predecessor offices of the Office of International Affairs,
have been declassified and moved to an unclassified stack area. To make
the pertinent records more accessible we have moved many boxes,
including those of several other Federal agencies, to the Textual
Research Room (Room 2000) hold area. Thus the location for these newly
declassified records is the Compartment Number. Also provided is the
original stack location. For example: Records in stack 631, as a general rule, are classified. As they are declassified, they are being moved to nonclassified stack areas. Thus, researchers should check with the staff to determine whether records identified as being in stack 631 are still classified or have been moved to a new location. Almost all of the records described in this finding aid are located
in the Archives II building in College Park, Maryland. The records are
serviced by the Textual Reference Division. The Division's Archives II
Textual Reference Branch assists researchers in locating records and the
Division's Archives II User Services Branch assists researchers in the
research room. Some of the records are microfilmed as NARA microfilm
publications and those records are self-service. If you would like to write us, please do so at the following address: Archives II Textual Reference Branch (NWDT2), Textual Reference Division, Office of Records Services-Washington, Room 2400, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. Newly accessioned Department of the Treasury records have been declassified and moved to an unclassified stack area. To make the pertinent Department of the Treasury records, as well as the records from several other Record Groups, more accessible we have moved many pertinent boxes of records to the Textual Research Room (Room 2000) hold area. Thus the location for these newly declassified records is the "Research Room Hold Area," with the Compartment Number provided as well as their original stack location. Records from other Record Groups have been and will be moved to the Research Room Hold Area. Special access procedures apply to these records. Specifically, on December 11, 1996, Clarence F. Lyons, Jr., Chief of the Archives II Textual Reference Branch, issued the following procedural instructions: 1. Many of the most frequently requested records will be placed in a location near the research room for easy retrieval by research room staff. These records are identified in the NARA finding aid for records relating to Safehaven and the Swiss banks. For a copy of the finding aid, please contact Carolyn Powell in the Textual Research Room (Room 2000). 2. Researchers may request these records at any time during the day. These pulls are not limited to the normal record pull schedule. 3. A researcher may charge out ONE box of these records at a time. When the box is returned to the research room attendant, a researcher may request and charge out another box. 4. A researcher may charge out a box for ONE day only. All boxes must be returned by the end of the day. 5. Requests for these records must be made in person. Records may not be reserved in advance. 6. These procedures apply only to those records moved to the proximity of the Textual Research Room. Other records in their stack location will be pulled according to the usual pull schedule and remain subject to established research room procedures. Mr. Lyons, in issuing these instructions, indicated that "these procedures are designed to meet the heavy demand for these records from many parties and ensure all interested researchers [receive] equal access to the materials." SECURITY CLASSIFIED RECORDS AND DECLASSIFICATION AT NARA Most of the records described in this finding aid are readily available, and researchers are not required to make arrangements in advance to consult them. Some records, however, remain closed subject to national security restrictions or warrant withholding for reasons of personal privacy or because of specific statutes. Many records described in this finding aid were never security classified. Many other formerly security-classified records were declassified by Federal agency personnel prior to 1973; either before or after the records were transferred to NARA's legal custody. During the past 24 years NARA has expended considerable resources to declassify security-classified records, including records described in this finding aid. Because of some misunderstandings about when and how NARA
declassified records DECLASSIFICATION OF NAZI GOLD RELATED Systematic declassification review began at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) under Executive Order 11652 issued on March 8, 1972. Under previous Executive Orders, NARA could declassify records only by referring each individual document back to its creating agency. By 1972, the growing volume of World War II documents retired to NARA had overwhelmed that system. E.O. 11652 addressed the problem by requiring NARA to systematically review for declassification all its World War II holdings. NARA established a declassification unit and, in 1973, began systematic declassification review. By 1978, NARA had declassified almost all World War II records then at NARA. E.O. 11652 also required the review of all other documents that were 30 years old or older. NARA had declassified many of these by 1978 as well. Executive Order 12065 issued on June 28, 1978, reduced the declassification review period from 30 years to 20 years and required all agencies to begin systematic declassification review of records still in their custody. NARA greatly expanded its declassification staff to meet the 20 year goal, and most agencies made some effort to meet the declassification review requirement. By April 2, 1982, when E.0. 12356 raised the declassification period back to 30 years and dropped the requirement that all agencies have declassification programs, almost all records relating to the "Nazi Gold" issue had been declassified either by NARA or by the creating agencies. Other "Nazi Gold" related records were transferred to NARA
in 1994 and 1995 when the new building in College Park opened and a
freeze on transfers from the agencies ended. Most of these older records
were either already declassified by the creating agencies or were easily
declassified by NARA staff. After some early experimentation, NARA now uses a six-digit case number as the standard authority for the box label. The first two digits of this number are the Fiscal Year in which the case was assigned, but the case may cover documents which were declassified years earlier. For example, the Department of Justice transferred a large collection of Nazi gold related material from the Office of Alien Property to NARA in 1994. The NARA declassification unit determined after examining the history of these files that they had been declassified prior to their original retirement to the Washington National Records Center in the 1950's. Thus, while the boxes bear labels with an FY 1996 case number, the records themselves have been declassified for 40 years. The government-wide security requirement that a declassified document be stamped with the date of the declassification "action" adds to the confusion of declassification dates. If an archivist decides to stamp an original document, the "action" is the stamping, and the date is the date he or she applies the stamp. To use any other date compromises the archival integrity of the document. Everyone who saw the document before that date would have seen a document without a declassification stamp. Thus, the date of the declassification stamping is a fundamental part of the document and cannot be falsified. Similarly, the "action" date for copies of unstamped declassified documents is the date they are made. This is the date applied to the documents or to the slugs placed on the self-copiers in the research rooms. Addressing specifically "Nazi Gold" related records, a NARA official recently estimated that approximately 50 percent of the relevant records were never even classified. A second estimate, based primarily on the general declassification history of record groups known to contain "Nazi Gold" related records, held that of those that were once classified, approximately 75 percent were declassified by 1982, 15 percent were declassified in 1982-1989, 5 percent in 1990-1994, and 5 percent in 1995-1997. In general, citations to textual records of federal agencies should identify the record item, the file unit, the series, the subgroup, the record group, and the repository and its location. Each of these citation elements contains unique informtion that describes the context and source of the record, enhancing its value and facilitating its retrieval. When microform versions of Federal textual records are cited, the rules for citing textual records of federal agencies should be followed and the microform should be properly identified. Thus, if a cited record is part of a record series that has been microfilmed or microfiched by the National Archives, information about the publication should be supplied in parentheses after the series title. The information should include the publication number, roll or fiche number, and frame number(s) on microfilm rolls (if available). After the initial citation of any microform publication, subsequent citations to the same publication may be abbreviated by citing the publication, roll, and frame or fiche numbers. The National Archives accessions microform from other agencies. Citations to accessioned microfilm or micofiche should identify the agency that produced it if the agency name is different from the record group title. Some accessioned microforms may have frame numbers while other may not. For more detailed information researchers are encouraged to read Citing Records in the National Archives of the United States, General Information Leaflet 17 before beginning their research and citing the records. Without the help and support of numerous NARA staff, researchers, and others, this finding aid would not be as complete as it is. Clarence F. Lyons, Jr., the Branch Chief of the Archives II Textual Reference Branch and R. Michael McReynolds, the Director of the Textual Reference Division, encouraged and supported my efforts to produce the finding aid, allowing me the time to work on it at the expense of other Branch and Division goals and responsibilities. Michael J. Kurtz, Assistant Archivist of Records Services-Washington DC, not only allowed me the time to serve on the Interagency Group, but gave his full support to the effort to ensure that NARA could produce a useful finding aid in a short period of time. He assigned resources to ensure that newly accessioned records were declassified and made available to researchers in an expeditious manner. Realizing the importance of the mission of the Interagency Group on Nazi Assets, the issues surrounding the subject matter of this finding aid, and NARA's mission of making records available to researchers, John W. Carlin, Archivist of the United States, fully supported our effort to provide "ready access to essential evidence." Numerous Archives II Textual Reference Branch staff members assisted me in uncovering pertinent series of records. Among those making a contribution to this finding aid are Rich Boylan, Robin Cookson, Rebecca L. Collier, Eric Freiwald, Maria T. Hanna, Ken Heger, Wil Mahoney, Marty McGann, Tim Nenninger, Dave Pfeiffer, Ken Schlessinger, Amy Schmidt, John Taylor, Bill Walsh, Barry Zerby, and Milton Gustafson. The latter was kind enough to provide text on the Department of State Decimal File and to provide decimal file numbers and specific boxes. Wayne DeCesar of the Archives II Textual Reference Branch and Alan Puglia of the Preservation Policy and Services Division helped identify pertinent newly accessioned Department of the Treasury records and assist in their movement to a more accessible location for researchers. Alan Puglia also assisted in the identification of specific boxes in the Records of the Office of Alien Property. Erick Chaskes of the Archives II User Services Branch helped to identify some Department of State specific interrogation reports and identified boxes for specific Foreign Economic Administration files. Our two Eleanor Roosevelt High School 1996-1997 interns, Mollie Karpman and Alexis Capili, created box and folder lists for over a half-dozen series of records within the Records of the Office of Military Governor, United States (OMGUS), and they also provided specific box numbers for certain records within the Records of the Foreign Economic Administration. Our intern Emily Byers made box and folder lists for several series of records for the August 1997 version of this finding aid. Tim Mulligan of the Declassification and Initial Processing Division graciously provided me with his yet unpublished guide to World War II military intelligence records in the National Archives. His finding aid speeded up my process of identifying useful series of records that are described in this finding aid. Geraldine Phillips, Deputy Assistant Archivist and Chief of Staff for the Office of Records Services-Washington, D.C., Jeanne Schauble, Director of the Declassification and Initial Processing Division, Ron Swerczek, a supervisory archivist with the Declassification and Initial Processing Division, and a team of declassifies under the direction of Marvin Russell and Dick Wood did yeoman work to accession, declassify, and relocate to an unclassified stack area, a significant body of Department of the Treasury records during November and December 1996 and January 1997. The team included: Tom Haughton, Crystal Dodd, Steve Hamilton, Tim Nell, Tim Willard, and Jeannine Swift. Gerald Cerny of the Declassification and Initial Processing Division and the Department of State reviewers of the 1950-1954 segment of the Decimal File of the Department of State were kind enough to identify specific files of interest for researchers. A thank you needs to be made to several researchers. Mia Waller pointed out some specific Office of Strategic Services records and Kevin Mahoney and Sidney Zabludoff provided insights into the Records of the Office of Military Governor, United States (OMGUS). Willi Korte in the Spring of 1996, identified the need for NARA to accession important Department of the Treasury records. Those records were accessioned by NARA in November 1996. Miriam A. Kleiman, working first with the World Jewish Congress and Senator D'Amato's Office and subsequently with a Washington, DC law firm, provided timely information about the fruits of her substantial research efforts, and was always a source of encouragement. The same can be said of numerous other researchers, including the teams of researchers representing the World Jewish Congress, the law firm representing the Swiss Bankers Association (especially Sarah M. Robinson, Patrick Tracy, Wil Reed, and Max Wilkinson), the Swiss Historical Commission (especially James B. Gillespie III, Hannah E. Troobott, Ernest H. Latham III, and Hans Safrian) and Senator Alfonse D'Amato office, especially Kelsey Libner and Gregg Rickman. Alan Kovan of the Washington National Records Center in Suitland, Maryland and Jackie Fultz of the Office of Records Services-Washington DC, provided me with information about certain holdings of the Washington National Records Center and the disposition of specific records. Jimmy Rush of the Archives II Textual Reference Branch provided computer assistance and Mary DeGeorge helped with the paper-to-paper copying tasks. Sharon Thibodeau, the Director of Records Control and Product Management Staff offered several useful suggestions regarding the style for this finding aid. Katherine Coram of the Records Control and Product Management Staff reviewed the text to identify errors. Lida H. Churchville, Chief of the National Archives Library Branch, provided me with news clips off the Internet regarding press interest in the subject matter. The staff of the National Archives Library, especially Jeff Hartley and Sheryl Griffith, has been a great help identifying secondary sources as well as Government publication. John Taylor of the Archives II Textual Reference Branch kept me abreast of researchers' interests. Susan Cooper and Giuliana Bullard of Public Affairs Office were kind enough to keep me posted on media interests. Dr. David Vogelsanger, formerly the Political Affairs Officer of the Embassy of Switzerland, was kind enough to provide me with a copy of a Swiss Archives-produced finding aid to relevant records in that archives, as well as other materials. Dr. Linus von Castelmur, formerly with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and a member of the Swiss Interagency Task Force, and now with the Swiss Indpendent Commission of Experts, graciously presented me with a copy of his book on the diplomatic aftermath of World War II. A thanks needs to be made to the Archives II Textual Reference Branch as a whole for their efforts to readily make records available to researchers. Joining our branch in efforts to provide timely and accurate access to relevant records has been the staff of the Archives II User Services Branch, especially its chief, Bob Coren, and Calvin Jefferson, Carolyn Powell, and staff members who have serviced the records in the Research Room Hold Area. And a final thanks needs to be made to past and present NARA staff who produced many useful finding aids to many of the records described in this finding aid. Undoubtedly mistakes have been made in the information provided in this finding aid. Also there may be individual documents, file folders, and series of records that should be included in future updates of this finding aid. Please bring to the preparer of this finding aid's attention any corrections, modifications, additions, or deletions that need to be made. I can be reached in Archives II, Room 2405 or by phone 301-713-7250 or by fax 301-713-7482. I cannot conclude without saying what a pleasure it has been to have worked with Sybil Milton and the other members of the Swiss Independent Commission of Experts; Helen Junz and Tony Desante, working with the Volcker Commission; David Herschler, Rita Baker and the other historians with the Department of State's Historians Office; the late Eli Maurer and Ruth Van Heuven of the Department of State; Steve Rogers, Ed Stutman, and Elizabeth Barry White of the Department of Justice; Jeff Clarke of the Center of Military History; Don Steury of the Central Intelligence Agency; Stan Turesky of the United States Holocaust Museum; Cindy Springer of the U.S. House Banking Committee; Don Adams and Jeanne Young of the Federal Reserve Board; Jim Hennessy of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Bill McFadden and Abbie Gilbert of the Department of the Treasury; and, Judith Barnett and Jim Desler of the Department of Commerce. It has also been a wonderful experience to work with William Z. Slany,
The Historian, Department of State and Under Secretary of State Stuart
E. Eizenstat and all of the other individuals and organizations involved
with the work of the Interagency Group. MILITARY RECORDS Decimal Title |