Hitler's Beneficiaries: Plunder, Racial War, and the Nazi Welfare State (61 page)

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Authors: Götz Aly

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58.
Stroumsa, Geiger, pp. 38-39.
59.
RKK administrative council, Nov. 5, 1942, BA R 29/4, pp. 174-77; Schaefer to directors, Landeszentralbank Bayern, Oct. 17, 1948, HAdDB Pers 101/20.335; RB (Wilhelm), Oct. 21, 1942, BA R 2/14552, p. 32.
60.
Berliner Börsen-Zeitung, Feb. 1, 1943, BA R 2501/7098, p. 25; Hahn, Währung, p. 5.
61.
Final report of commander for the Southeast (early 1945), NA T 501/358, microfilm 503; Mazower, Greece, p. 357.
62.
The otherwise instructive studies by Wappler (“Grundzüge,” pp. 56-57) and Rondholz (“Geschichte”) fail to recognize how the gold was used.
63.
Undated protocol (OKW to chief intendant, Wehrmacht command, Southeast, Salonika) [June 15, 1943], BA-MA RW 7/1710b, pp. 176ff.
64.
Telegram, Oct. 5, 1943, LArch, Berlin, B Rep. 039-01/343, p. 390.
65.
Status report of military commander, Greece, for military commander, Southeast, for Nov. 1943, BA-MA RH 2/685, p. 53.
66.
Envoy of the Foreign Office with the Wehrmacht command, Serbia, to Foreign Office, Berlin (for envoy Neubacher), Nov. 13, 1943, PA AA R 110358; military commander, Greece, to military commander, Southeast, Dec. 10, 1943. BA-MA RW 7/171 la, pp. 3-41.
67.
Reichsbank directors, Gold fur Griechenland, Dec. 1, 1943-May 25, 1944, BA R 2/14553, pp. 131-43; Foreign Office, Berlin (Fischer), to special envoy, Southeast, March 1, 1944, PA AA R 110358; RFM, Währungsfragen Balkan [Currency Questions in the Balkans], Nov. 8, 1942, PA AA R 110285; RFM, transcript (Bayrhoffer und Hahn), Nov. 8, 1943, BA R 2/14569, pp. 194-96; Hahn, Währung, pp. 28-35. According to Hahn (p. 29), on January 20, 1944. Göring approved the retroactive “allocation, for six months, of up to 4 million reichsmarks a month” to Greece, Albania, and Serbia; Gold-transaktionen, pp. 55, 64 (deliveries to Greece are listed under VI.3 [“Zweig-stellen der Dt. Reichsbank”]).
68.
Special envoy (Graevenitz) to Foreign Office, Berlin, Nov. 17, 1942, PA AA R 110358.
69.
Telegrams (Graevenitz), December 9 and 10, 1943, PA AA R 110285.
70.
Gotthardt and Neubacher, Jan. 15, 1944, BA R 2/14553, pp. 204ff.
71.
Graevenitz to Foreign Office, Berlin, for RFM (Breyhan), Oct. 4, 1944, PA AA R 110357.
72.
Hahn, Währung, pp. 41, 30.
73.
Neubacher, p. 87.
74.
Hahn, Währung, pp. 40, 52-53.
75.
Smaller revenues on Feb. 5 and Nov. 15, 1943, were likely allocated for special expenditures such as military spying. Hahn, Währung, p. 55, appendix 5, p. 2.
76.
Hahn, Währung, p. 51; Palairet (Ends, p. 36) offers no evidence for his assertion that the gold was delivered months earlier by the Reichsbank and then stored in Athens until November. Oertel (“Reichsbank,” p. 224) provides an apologetic account; Masower’s depiction (Greece, p. 72) lacks context.
77.
Final report of military administration in Greece (early 1945), p. 73, BA-MA RW 40/116b. The information on “Jewish assets” (pp. 8 Iff.) is purely fictitious.
78.
Reichsbank economics division, Aug. 1944, BA R 2/14569, pp. 224-28. The Reichsbank calculated that, after November 1943, 66 to 75 percent of German occupation costs had been paid in gold. That gold came from Germany, but the larger amounts that were employed in the first six months of 1943 had most likely been delivered from Salonika.
 
79.
Palairet, Ends, pp. 125-26; special envoy in Athens (Graevenitz), March 26, 1944, BA R 2/30674.
80.
Rates of the gold pound in Athens (March 19, 1943-Aug. 31, 1944), BA R 2501/7098, pp. 4-8; Reichsbank economics division, March 23, 1943, BA R 29/105, p. 19; military commander, Greece, status report of the military administration for Nov. 1943, NOKW-1794; progress reports of chief intendant to commander in chief, Southeast (Jan. 16-Sept. 4, 1943), BA-MA RW 7/1709b, pp. 155-62. Fleischer (Kreuzschatten, pp. 452ff.) is very much an apologist. Eckert (“Ausplünderung,” p. 265) reports, contrary to source information, that as of March 1943 the inflation rate “once again rose dramatically.” Xydis (Economy) and Boelcke (“Kriegsfinanzierung,” pp. 23-24) also miss the main point.
81.
RFM (Berger), April 24, 1943, to chief intendant to commander in chief, Southeast, BA-MA RW 7/1710b, pp. 170-71; RFM (Berger) to Foreign Office, Berlin (Wiehl), May 12, 1943, BA R 2/30674.
82.
OKW to chief intendant to commander in chief, Southeast, June 15, 1943, BA-MA RW 7/1710b, pp. 176ff. There was a similar dispute with Göring; see Neubacher, Sonderauftrag, p. 93.
83.
Economics officer Athens, July 16, 1943, BA-MA RW 29/103, p. 15. According to Hahn, “gold deliveries arrived” on Aug. 3 and 7, 1943.
84.
Neubacher, Sonderauftrag, p. 89.
85.
Palairet (Ends) doesn’t even acknowledge that the assets of Greek Jews were liquidated.
86.
Neubacher, Sonderauftrag, pp. 80, 88ff.
87.
Secret command affairs for chief, OKW, Wirtschaftslage und Wehrmachtfinanzierung in Griechenland [Economic Situation and Wehrmacht Finances in Greece], June 20, 1944, BA-MA RW 7/1712, pp. 105-06; final report of military commander, Southeast, NA T 501/358, microfilm 538.
88.
Hahn, Währung, pp. 52ff.
89.
Final report of military commander, Southeast, NA T 501/358, microfilm 538-39.
90.
“Simon Wiesenthal verklagt den griechischen Staat,” Tagesspiegel, Nov. 13, 1970; Merten to Landgericht [local court], Berlin, Nov. 13, 1970, LArch, Berlin, B Rep. 039-01/342, p. 275.
91.
“Hunt for Sunken Jewish Treasure,” Aug. 11, 2000,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/l/hi/world/europe/875376.stm
(Sept. 1, 2002); “Divers End Search for Greek Jewish Gold,” Aug. 15, 2002,
http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/briefs/08/12/europe
. 1208 (Sept. 1, 2002).
92.
Fleischer, “Griechenland,” p. 267.
93.
Rosh and Jäckel, Tod, p. 82.
94.
Bernhuber to Oregera, Bernhuber to Pelligrini, Aug. 9, 1944, ASBI, Azzolini archive, Ufficio speziale di coordinamento/00520010114/005200101160.
95.
Chief of OKW, May 10, 1944, BA-MA RM 7/239, pp. 341ff.
96.
SKL to Navy Group South, June 9, 1944; Navy Group South to OKM, June 10, 1944, BA-MA RM 7/239, pp. 320-21; Moll, “Führer,” pp. 417-18.
 
97.
SKL to Navy Group South, June 20 and July 3, 1944, BA-MA RM 7/239, pp. 365-72.
98.
Navy Group South to OKW/WFStb, June 26, 1944, BA-MA RM 7/239, pp. 382ff.
99.
Fleischer, “Griechenland,” p. 265.
1
00. War log, head of sea transport, Aegean, July 1-15, 1944, NA T 1022/2543.
101. Navy Group South to SKL, July 9, 1944, BA-MA RM 7/239, p. 393; Navy Group South to OKM/SKL, Sept. 24, 1944, p. 542; Rücktransportleistung Ägäis [Return Transport Performance in the Aegean], Aug. 23-Oct. 21, 1944, pp. 656-57; Kriegsschauplatz Ägäis [The Theater of War in the Aegean], no date, no signature, no letterhead (late Sept. 1944), BA-MA RM 7/1418, pp. 42-49.
102.
Secret command affair, Wehrmacht Needs in Greece (Kersten), July 31, 1944, BA-MA RW 7/1712, pp. 108-09.
103.
War log, head of sea transport, Aegean, Aug. 1-31, 1944, NA T 1022/2543.
104.
War log, Naval Transport Office, Rhodes, Sept. 1-30, 1944, NA T 1022/2528.
105.
Wappler, “Grundzüge,” pp. 165ff.
106.
Die Verkehrslage Griechenlands während der deutschen Besatzungszeit 1941-1944 [The Transport Situation in Greece during the German Occupation] (Winter 1944-45), BA R 2/30680; on the transport situation in the northern part of the route to Auschwitz, see Gerlach and Aly, Kapitel, pp. 271-74.
107.
SKL to Navy Group South, Aug. 27, 1944; OKW/WFStb to Navy Group South, Aug. 27, 1944; commanding admiral, Aegean, Aug. 28, 1944, NA T 1022/2635; SKL to commanding admiral, Aegean, Sept. 13, 1944, BA-MA RM 7/239, p. 515; Wappler, “Grundzüge,” p. 175.
108.
Order of High Command, Army Group E (Löhr), Nov. 24, 1944, BA-MA RM 7/239, p. 542. High Command, Army Group E (Löhr), Sept. 22-23, 1944, to commandant, Crete, and Sturmdivision Rhodes, NA T 1022/2635, is identical.
109.
Ordinance no. 30 (Kleemann), July 13, 1944, called for Rhodes’s Jews to be concentrated in the city of Rhodes and the villages of Trianda, Kremasti, and Villanova by July 17, NOKW-1802. Kleemann (1892-1963), a general in the armored forces of the Werhmacht, was stationed on Rhodes from September 1943 to August 31, 1944.
 
110.
War log, Naval Transport Central Office, Portolago, July 1-31, 1944, NA T 1022/2527.
111.
Sturmdivision Rhodos, secret order of July 16, 1944 (Kleemann), NOKW-1801; Hilberg, Vernichtung, p. 754.
112.
War log, Naval Transport Central Office, Portolago (Probst), (July 16-30, 1944), NA T 1022/2527. The MS Störtebeker had a capacity of only 200 tons; the Horst and Merkur, 300 tons each. They had been redeployed in May 1944, together with twenty-one other lightweight cargo ships, from the Black Sea to the Aegean. War log, head of sea transport, Aegean, May 1-June 30, 1944, NA T 1022/2543.
113.
War log, Naval Transport Central Office, Portolago, July 16-31, 1944, NA T 1022/2527. Earlier the problem was solely one of replenishing supplies. War log, April 1-June 30, 1944, NA T 1022/2511.
114.
War log, Naval Transport Central Office, Piraeus, July 16-31, 1944, NA T 1022/2527; War log, Naval Transport Central Office, Portolago, Aug. 1-15, 1944, ibid.
115.
Molho, Memoriam (1948), vol. 2, pp. 75-76. For a detailed description of the deportation, see Varon, Juderia, pp. 36-58.
116.
Angel, Jews, p. 152; Franco, Martyrs. (The figures they provide differ only slightly.)
a filepos=0000696000 >117. Documents, p. 363.
118.
War log, commanding admiral, Aegean, July 1-15, 1944, NA T 1022/3955.
119.
RKK administrative council, Oct. 9, 1944, BA R 2/13502, pp. 184-86.
120.
Molho, Memoriam (1981), p. 288. Molho is mistaken when he asserts the material was destined for Germany. Testimony by Pepo Recanati (alias Konstantin “Costas” Rekanatis), given on November 20, 1967, is not credible (LArch, Berlin, B Rep. 039-01/342, pp. 104ff.). On Recanati’s lies, see Edward Kossoy to Landgericht (local court), Berlin, March 3, 1968, ibid., p. 111; Franco, Martyrs, p. 57.
121.
District command, Rhodes city, to Sturmdivision Rhodos, Aug. 4, 1944, NOKW-1795.
122.
Gilbert, Holocaust, p. 707.
12
3. Rosh and Jaäckel, Tod, p. 85.
124.
Hilberg, Vernichtung, p. 687.
125.
Secret command affair, Wehrmacht Needs in Greece (Kersten), July 31, 1944, BA-MA RW 7/1712, pp. 108-09.
126.
Military commander, Greece, June 17, 1944, in Wappler, “Grundzüge,” p. 146.
127.
Sturmdivision Rhodos (Kleemann), July 16, 1944, NOKW-1801.
128.
War log of district command, Rhodes (Aug. 1944), Sept. 3, 1944, NOKW-1795.
129.
Testimony of Erwin Lenz, May 10, 1947, NOKW-1715; Institut für Zeit-geschichte, Munich, report (I. Arndt), March 21, 1967, with reference to NOKW-1715, LArch, Berlin, B Rep. 039-01/342, pp. 101-02.
PART IV: CRIMES FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE
 
Chapter 11: The Fruits of Evil
 
1.
Treuhandverwaltung und Judenvermögen [Escrow Account Administration and Jewish Assets], March 23, 1945, p. 4, BA F 627 P (also NA T 175/410).
2.
Wehrmacht Administration Office, Besprechungspunkte [Speaking Points], May 1943, NA RG 238, box 26 (Reinecke files).
3.
Gerlach and Aly, Kapitel, pp. 212-13.
4.
Boelcke, Kosten, pp. 110-11.
The first document used is a report by the Research Group for Military Economics (Forschungsstelle für Wehrwirtschaft, or Ff W) entitled “The Financial Contributions of the Occupied Territories as of Late March 1944.” It was published in 1986 by Christoph Buchheim (“Besetzte Länder,” pp. 123-45). The Research Group had begun compiling statistics in 1940-41 and continually updated the figures (BA R 2/3847, pp. 285-94). The group was part of the brain trust within Göring’s Four-Year Plan, and it was headed from 1939 to 1945 by the finance expert Otto Donner (Aly and Heim, Vordenker, pp. 54ff.). The 1944 version of the report used here is relatively clear in its organization. The authors tried to adjust individual countries’ occupation contributions—some of which (for example, in Greece) had become distorted by hyperinflation—in order to draw meaningful comparisons. They were open about the methodological problems in their calculations and assumptions. In line with the de facto situation, Göring’s advisers included clearing advances as part of the Reich’s revenues.

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