The Fate of Jewish Money in Swiss Banks Since World War II
Nearly eighty years to the day since the end of World War II (May 8, 1945), questions persist about the fate of Jewish wealth across Europe, where it vanished to, where it resides today, and whether rightful proprietors have been compensated. The Holocaust marked one of history’s most sinister periods, during which Nazi Germany systematically murdered six million Jews. Beyond the genocide, the Nazi regime orchestrated large-scale financial plunder, stripping Jews of their assets, properties, and economic autonomy, from the isolationist Nuremberg Laws in 1935 to the arrival in the camps spread across the beset continent. As Nazi forces invaded country after country, they looted Jewish-owned wealth, often seizing bank accounts, businesses, and valuables before deporting their owners to concentration camps. Adolf Hitler’s regime used this massive financial confiscation to sustain its war machine and fund the terror campaign of the Final Solution of the Jewish Question.
From artworks to rings, watches, and even gold dental fillings, every conceivable asset was taken. While much of this wealth was absorbed into the Nazi economy, a significant portion found its way into Swiss banks, renowned for their secrecy and neutrality. This raises enduring questions: Why did Swiss financial institutions become the custodians of looted Jewish wealth rather than German banks? Where is this money now? And has justice been served?
The Financial Confiscation and the Role of Swiss Banks
Before the war erupted with the invasion of Poland, many Jews considered Switzerland a safe haven for their assets. However, as the conflict unfolded, the realities of war made it clear that Switzerland’s strict banking secrecy and neutrality offered a refuge for even more wealth. Swiss banks engaged in extensive transactions with Nazi Germany, profiting from illicit gold trade and other financial dealings, and by trading with Nazi Germany, Swiss banks indirectly supported the German war effort and prolonged the Holocaust. Reports show that Swiss banks purchased approximately CHF 1.7 billion (approximately $1.7 billion) in Nazi gold, including some looted from occupied countries and Jewish victims. Switzerland maintained a politically and economically stable environment, even amidst the chaos of World War II. Consequently, many Jewish individuals continued to view it as a safe storage for their finances The Swiss franc remained a strong currency during the war, unlike the currencies of war-torn economies. Switzerland’s mountainous terrain and political stability made it an unlikely target for invasion, allowing it to serve as a hub for global trade. Switzerland remained in a passive state of relative peace, away from the food shortages and bombings that decimated civilians and infrastructure in its surrounding neighbours.
However, when the rightful owners perished in the Holocaust, the Jewish accounts often remained untouched, particularly when unclaimed assets faced stringent regulations requiring proof of ownership that were often long since then destroyed, lost or manifestly inconceivable such as death certificates, often unattainable for the mass exterminated Jewish victims, especially within the context of these chaotic times. Michael Bazyler, a Holocaust expert, emphasized that the Holocaust was « both the greatest murder and the greatest theft in history, » estimating that between $230 and $320 billion (in 2005 US dollars) was stolen from the Jews across Europe. Still, the exact sum deposited in Switzerland remains unknown.
What Happened to the Money?
As rightful heirs died, many accounts were left dormant, with significant funds being still unclaimed, pumping the bank reserves. Survivors and heirs faced immense challenges in reclaiming their wealth, a process further complicated by the Swiss banking system’s rigid requirements for documentation. For decades, Swiss banks resisted calls for transparency, arguing that dormant accounts could not be identified without proper documentation. This trend began to change in the late 1990s as pressure mounted from Jewish organizations, historians, and governments demanding accountability for Holocaust-era assets. The Cold War, along the Soviet Union and International tensions, had attenuated and eyes shifted towards the past and Switzerland’s wartime conduct. Initially, the issue was first delt with in 1946 during the Washington Agreements where Switzerland repaid 250 million Swiss Francs to European countries to hush past wartime purchases from Nazi looted gold. Further down the timeline, the question of what had become of the Jewish money gained traction.
Settlements and Compensation Efforts
By the 1990s, growing scrutiny led to official investigations and negotiations. In 1996, the Independent Commission of Experts (Bergier Commission) was set up to examine Switzerland’s role during World War II. Their findings confirmed that Swiss banks had held and profited from looted Jewish assets.
The handling of unclaimed accounts gained renewed attention in the late 90s, leading to formal lawsuits. The most significant case was a class-action lawsuit led by Michael Hausfeld in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, which highlighted systemic injustices faced by families of Holocaust victims. Furthermore, the issue of Jewish assets in Swiss banks gained international attention in the 1990s, largely due to the efforts of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato. In 1996, class-action lawsuits were filed against Swiss banks, including Credit Suisse and Union Bank of Switzerland, on behalf of Holocaust victims. The lawsuits alleged that Swiss banks had knowingly kept and concealed assets of Holocaust victims and had accepted and laundered Nazi loot. Following years of negotiations, legal action and international pressure, Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse agreed to a historic $1.25 billion settlement, around $1.9 billion (CHF1.9 billion) today, reached after extensive inquiries, generating compensation for over 458,000 Holocaust survivors and heirs. Austria had paid for its war crimes, Germany had begun in form of reparations in kind. Switzerland was finally made accountable, to some degree, after “more than fifty years of stonewalling over the fate of their assets”, according to the worldjewishcongress.org. The settlement was overseen by U.S. District Judge Edward Korman, who described it as a « historic agreement » that would bring « moral and material justice » to those the families concerned and advanced aged survivors.
The settlement also led to the establishment of the Claims Resolution Tribunal (CRT), which adjudicated claims to dormant accounts. By 1964, assets worth 9,469,883 Swiss Francs had been summed. By 2002, the CRT had identified over 53,000 accounts with probable or possible links to Holocaust victims, though the total value of these accounts remains disputed. Though, while this marked a significant step toward addressing historical wrongs, it failed to compensate fully for all lost wealth. The unresolved nature of many Jewish accounts and assets stays a troubling legacy and it is difficult to determine the full scale of wealth that has disappeared. Overall, critics argue that Switzerland’s delayed response and initial reluctance to compensate victims highlight the moral and ethical failures of its banking sector.
Legacy of Swiss Banking Practices
Despite its longstanding reputation as a proud neutral nation, the recent findings of its unsavory financial dealings with the Nazi have tarnished the usually spotless Swiss image. In 1997, Swiss President Arnold Koller acknowledged that Switzerland had « underestimated the criticism addressed to us and therefore did not take it seriously enough. » He admitted that Switzerland had reacted too late and with insufficient sensitivity to the suffering of Holocaust victims.
As part of its moral duty, Switzerland established two funds in 1997. First, in February, the Big Three commercial banks (Swiss National Bank, UBS, Credit Suisse) organized a 100 million Swiss franc fund is created to support holocaust survivors directly. Also, in March a 4.7 billion CHF foundation built upon a reassessed gold portfolio whose returns will aid in combating global oppression and suffering, including Jewish refugees and Holocaust survivors. The latter was funded by revaluing Switzerland’s gold reserves, a move that was both philanthropic and self-interested, as it also enriched the Swiss National Bank.
Too little, too late?
To conclude, while the $1.25 billion settlement marked a significant step toward justice, it did not fully address the moral and ethical failures of Switzerland’s wartime actions. Moreover, the denial and bureaucracy on the Swiss part made it a time-consuming ordeal, for Swiss banks only hastened cooperation at last when it was made clear that their future was at threat. As the last survivors of the Holocaust pass away, the question of what happened to their wealth remains a poignant reminder of the need for historical justice. Ultimately, as Thomas Border, Swiss diplomat and Ambassador, stated “It put an end to the quarrels which took over three years. I think it brought closure.”
This short article thus outlays the complex dilemma of great theft within the controversial banking system that had exploited its neutrality during times of war, omitting the minute details but providing a comprehensive outline.
Mathilde Van Oostrum / S7FRC / EEB1 Uccle
