7. What happened to the Nazi’s hidden gold?
As the Third Reich was staggering to its end in the winter and spring of 1945, its wealth in the form of gold bullion and coin, Swiss francs and American dollars, gold certificates, and other securities was removed from banks in Berlin and shipped to the Bavarian Alps. At the same time the personal loot pillaged from the occupied countries by leading Nazis was removed to safe locations, which the Germans considered to be in areas likely to be overrun by the western Allies rather than the Soviets. The wealth of the Jews, including money, jewelry, and art, was transferred to salt mines and the bottom of lakes and ponds, largely in the Alps. Himmler was believed to have hidden more than 9,000 silver rings alone, as well as gold and silver bullion, in locations which have never been found despite more than seven decades of searching by treasure hunters and forensic specialists poring over documents for clues.
Nazi treasure became an industry of its own following the end of the war and the occupation of Germany, with some sources reporting upwards of $37 billion yet to be found. Reports of more than 700 bars of gold sunk to the bottom of the Walchensee in the Bavarian Alps fueled treasure hunts for decades. In truth, most of the gold and other valuables was turned over to the United States Army in 1945, though discrepancies in records indicate that about 100 gold bars were missing when the Americans took custody. The caches of the private holdings of many leading Nazis, including Goering and Himmler, have for the most part never been found. The Jonastal (Jonas Valley) became a favorite target of treasure hunters because of the intricate and long tunnels which were dug in the region by forced laborers from the Buchenwald concentration camp, the nature and purpose of which have never been fully explained.