Wealth From Murder and Theft

The Nazis had a sick penchant for plundering every nation they invaded, most famously for their gold reserves and art. Germany began the war with reserves in the Reichsbank of around $208 million, of which some $97million represented gold already stolen from Austria, Czechoslovakia and Danzig. The total amount of gold looted by the Nazis during the war itself, not only from the defeated nations, such as Belgium, Holland and Hungary, but from Jewish and other victims, is now estimated at $580 million. The gold came from governments and civilians, including Jews murdered in concentration camps, from whom everything was taken down to the gold fillings of their teeth. Of this about $400 million (worth $4 billion today,) went to Switzerland either to the Swiss National Bank's own account or through their banks to other nations. I'm ashamed to say, that I didn't know that much about the Swiss connection during the war so I've been doing a bit of digging.