yet over 24, 500 of the 300, 000 Jews that ran to the Swiss were turned away (Mathna 2).Switzerland, of all the neutrals, held most of Germany’s assets within their high-security banking accounts (Whittle, Current 2). Numerous Allied nations, including Britain and the United States, grew discontented with Switzerland’s actions, which is why they tried to punish the neutral country’s government by imposing sanctions after the war (Whittle, Current 3). It was hard work convincing them, but in the end, the Swiss surrendered most of the stolen assets by April of 1945 (Smith 50). On May 25, 1946, the Washington Accord was first opened between the Allied nations and Switzerland (Whittle, Current 3). After Switzerland signed the document, its government had to give over $58 million in gold to the Allied forces (Whittle, Current 3). Even before Switzerland’s agreement to turn the gold over, efforts were made to find hidden Nazi treasures. The United States government started to worry more about Germany’s attempts to hide their Nazi assets in other countries within Europe (Bradsher 2). It was rumored that Germany was simply stockpiling its gold for personal use, as well as to rebuild itself after the war (Bradsher 2). Early, in 1944, the Departments of State and the Treasury and the Foreign Economic Administration started a project, code named the “Safehaven Program,” or “Safehaven” for short, which was designed to trace and recover hidden Nazi assets (Bradsher 2).During World War II, Hitler’s army captured and imprisoned hundreds of Jews within concentration camps (Smith 45). These Jews had to turn over any gold, valuables, or jewelry, to their captors before being moved to the camps (Smith 45). Though many tried to resist, Germany was still able to confiscate a great amount of Jewish treasures. Whatever could be melted down was, and anything else was replaced for monetary c...
