The Nazi Gold: A Massive Scale of Theft and Looting during World War II
TLDR The Nazis looted and stole billions of dollars worth of gold from occupied countries and concentration camp victims during World War II, with rumors of hidden treasure still circulating today. Switzerland secretly assisted the Nazis in laundering their gold and still holds all of the Nazi gold in its reserves.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The Nazis were thieves on a massive scale, looting and plundering countries they occupied because they were broke.
04:59
The Nazis looted and stole gold from various sources, including the citizens of Vienna, Austria, in order to fund their war efforts during World War II.
09:42
During World War II, the Nazis stole at least $400 million in gold from occupied countries and another $140 million in gold from concentration camp victims, which was meticulously taken from their homes, safety deposit boxes, and even their teeth, and most of this stolen gold was stored in the Reichsbank in Berlin until it was moved to secret locations in 1945.
14:45
The Merckers mine treasure, containing $238 million worth of gold, was discovered by the military police, confirming the existence of hidden Nazi gold and fueling the search for billions of dollars worth of gold lost after World War II.
19:17
There are rumors and legends surrounding hidden Nazi gold, including the possibility of gold being hidden in a mine in Merckers, as well as gold and other valuable items being dumped in Lake Toplitz in Austria.
24:20
Divers continue to illegally search Lake Toplitz in Austria for Nazi treasure, but the lake's unique hydrology and layer of preserved logs make it dangerous and difficult to thoroughly search.
28:55
In the Owl Mountains of Poland, there is a long-standing rumor that a Nazi ghost train loaded with stolen treasures was driven into a tunnel during World War II and has remained hidden there ever since.
33:28
There were Nazi trains that carried gold and valuables, including the Hungarian gold train intercepted by Allied forces in 1945, but the rumor of the ghost train in the Owl Mountains has never been proven true, and the sinking of the SS Minden off the coast of Iceland in 1939 remains mysterious, with a group of British individuals spending $100,000 a day to lease a ship to search for the wreck, believing it contains a couple hundred million dollars worth of gold and potentially something even more valuable known only to a few high-ranking individuals.
37:57
There is a lot of Nazi gold that is still unaccounted for, and Switzerland, despite being neutral during World War II, secretly assisted the Nazis in laundering their gold and still has all of the Nazi gold in its reserves.
43:29
The Simon Wiesenthal Center accused Venezuela, specifically the administration of Nicholas Maduro, of trafficking in Nazi gold that was transferred late in the war to Spain and then on to South America to help fund a fourth Reich, and they believe that Maduro has been selling this gold to bankroll his country and regime.
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