the war had unwittingly considered sending their assets to France’s Central Bank, which was known as one of the safest and strongest banks in Europe, at the time (Smith 11). Unfortunately, this theory was shattered when France surrendered to Germany in June of 1940. The Reichsbank was able to withdraw (from the bank) numerous accounts that belonged to a few of Europe’s nations (Smith 11). The neutral countries that aided Germany, at the time, including Sweden, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland, all associated with the Reichsbank for an important reason; they had all felt that Germany would eventually win. As the war progressed, though, they began to realize that the Nazis were fighting a losing battle (Smith 48). Yet, to this day, it is still being speculated that many of these neutrals still have not turned over all of Germany’s stolen assets (Whittle, Current 1). Most of the neutrals throughout Europe were in great fear of Germany’s power and influence. Most were small, insignificant countries that Germany had no problem controlling or occupying (Smith 48). But some, such as Spain, Turkey, and Sweden, played major parts in the war. Neither Great Britain nor the United States came to an agreement on the methods needed to be used to apply pressure on certain neutrals, such as Spain (Smith 48). The British were quite afraid that the United States’ harsh economic measures against Spain might anger the nation into joining an alliance with Germany (Smith 48). This would compromise Gibraltar, a British interest (Smith 48). Portugal, on the other hand, had powerful economic ties with Britain, which helped influence Doctor Antonio Salazar, ruler of Portugal, into granting the Allies the use of bases located within the Azores mountain chain (Smith 48). This did not mean that Portugal was below dealing with Germany. By the end of the war, over 950 bars of gold, bearing the Reichsbank insignia, were found i...
