LeBor, Adam. Hitler's Secret Bankers: The Myth of Swiss Neutrality During the Holocaust. Secaucus NJ: Birch Lane Press (Carol Publishing Group), 1997. 261 pages.

In the early 1990s, the World Jewish Restitution Organization and the World Jewish Congress, with help from U.S. Senator Alfonse D'Amato, put pressure on Switzerland to compensate holocaust victims for stolen money and property that the Nazis had deposited in Swiss banks. Other wartime Jews opened accounts in Switzerland at the first hint of trouble ahead, but for years Swiss bankers demanded death certificates from surviving heirs before releasing assets, even though no such certificates were issued at Auschwitz.

This book reveals the extent of Swiss collaboration with the Nazis. Despite its stolen gold from Belgium and Holland, the Nazis needed foreign currency to pay for the war machine. The happy combination of formal Swiss neutrality, along with discreet and uninquisitive Swiss bankers, allowed the Nazis to exchange this gold for currency. The Swiss-based Bank for International Settlements, and its American president, Thomas McKittrick, also worked alongside Nazis to keep international finance fluid throughout the war. After demolishing the myth of Swiss neutrality on economic matters, the author looks at the Swiss wartime record for accepting Jewish refugees who were fleeing the Nazis. There are some troubling details, but on balance this issue turns out to be something of a mixed bag.
ISBN 1-55972-421-8

Extract the names from this source

Back to search page