Nazi Millionaires: The Allied Search for Hidden SS Gold Read online

  One might look upon this book as a builder looks upon a home. The foundation and general framework represent the government of the Third Reich, the levers of the Holocaust, and the major players who shaped that unholy drama—like Adolf Eichmann, Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, and Ernst Kaltenbrunner. This aspect of our story is well known and has been visible to the world for some time. The front door of this rotten structure leads into a labyrinthine black interior decorated almost entirely with declassified manuscript sources few have seen and fewer still have read. Here, then, is our wallpaper and furniture in the form of detailed interviews, lengthy interrogations, intelligence and police reports, letters, and final accountings. These documents introduce us to a new cast of devilish characters, and augment our knowledge of other, better known, war criminals.

  Who in the general reading public knows of SS officer Franz Konrad, his frenzied escapes, nocturnal burials of loot, and endless prevarications to avoid a Polish firing squad? Or of Walter Hirschfeld’s remarkable interviews with General Fegelein’s elderly parents in search of Hitler’s diaries, followed by his out-of-control spiral while on the payroll of American Intelligence? How many have read of Josef Spacil’s twisted attempts to obfuscate his wartime activities, and so keep his millions hidden away from prying Allied eyes? Or that part of “Operation Bernhard’s” counterfeiting operation was so secret that even Berlin was not fully informed? Of all of the fresh revelations found within these pages, the bombshell regarding the exact nature of Walter Schellenberg’s relationship with his friend, Count Folke Bernadotte of Sweden, will likely detonate with the most force.

  It is our sincere hope that this study both enlightens and entertains. We hope it will encourage others to take up the lantern and search for new clues in dark corners. If we have shed additional light upon the corrupt activities surrounding atrocities of the past, and broken new ground in the process, then we will consider our mission a success.

  Acknowledgments

  Authors are always indebted to others. And so it is with this study. Many people and institutions along the way helped with our research, copied thousands of pages of documents, answered endless numbers of questions, and responded to desperate pleas (often on short notice) for this letter or that picture. We could not have completed this book without this help. If we have overlooked someone, we apologize in advance. You know who you are, so pat yourself on the back and forgive our error.

  Special thanks are due to Mike Bauman, Dallas, Texas; Julius Geönczeöl, Budapest, Hungary; Klaus Goldmann, Berlin, Germany; Willi Korte, Germany and Silver Springs, Maryland; and also to John Taylor, Richard Boylan, Rebecca Collier, David Giordano, and Vickie Washington.

  The indispensable and hard working librarians and archivists at the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, Fort Meade, Maryland, and National Archives and Record Services, Washington D.C., went out of their way to help us.

  Thanks also are due David Farnsworth, our publisher and the head honcho at Casemate, for seeing value in this work in its early stages and having the faith and ability to shepherd it through to publication. We wish you nothing but the best with Casemate, a new and outstanding company with a bright future before it. We await our evening’s worth of pints—dark, cold, and on your tab! Special thanks are also due to Holly Keane of Casemate, who read the manuscript and saved us from a number of embarrassing errors.

  Finally, our loving wives, Edda Alford and Carol Savas. Both extended to us the time and solitude required to finish this project. Their love and encouragement, truly, keep us going.

  Kenneth D. Alford

  Richmond, Virginia

  Theodore P. Savas

  El Dorado Hills, California

  Dramatis Personae

  Apfelbeck, Albert (??–??). SS Captain and Bureau II depot leader. He helped Josef Spacil hide treasures in Taxenbach, Austria.

  Augsburg, Emil (1904–??). SS Major, Einsatzgruppen officer, and senior assistant at the infamous Wannsee Institute, the SS think tank involved in planning the Final Solution.

  Barbie, Klaus (1913–1991). SS officer and Gestapo man known as the “Butcher of Lyons.”

  Becher, Kurt (1909–1995). SS Colonel who mistreated Jews in Warsaw and Hungary. He made a deal with Jewish leader Rezsö Kastner to trade lives for gold.

  Berger, Gottlob (1895–1975). SS General and Inspector General of Prisoners of War. Helped American agents recover a fortune in currency and gold.

  Bernadotte, Count Folke (1895–1948). The beloved head of the Swedish Red Cross helped save thousands of Nazi concentration camp victims. But he also was Walter Schellenberg’s friend. Their relationship was more complex and nefarious than heretofore believed.

  Billitz, Wilhelm (1902–1944). A representative of the Hungarian Manfred Weiss Works at the time of the German occupation of Hungary.

  Bober, Max (1896–??). Printing expert and concentration camp slave who forged English pound notes in Sachsenhausen as part of “Operation Bernhard.”

  Braun, Eva (1912–1945). Adolf Hitler’s mistress and, on the last day of her life, his wife. Much of her private correspondence, jewelry, photos, and other valuable items were smuggled out of Berlin into Austria.

  Conner, William J. (??–??). Master Sergeant, Military Intelligence Interpreter, Team 466-G Seventh Army. All efforts to discover more about this man have been unsuccessful. According to fellow CIC agent Robert Gutierrez, Connor had in his possession one of the most outstanding collections of Nazi memorabilia in the world.

  Eichmann, Adolf (1906–1962). SS Lieutenant Colonel and Head of Bureau IV B4. Eichmann was the logistician who implemented the “Final Solution.”

  Eigruber, August (1907–1947). SS Governor of the Upper Danube in Austria who attempted to prepare the Austrian Alpine Redoubt for a final defense.

  Fegelein, Gretl Braun (1915–??). The sister of Eva Braun and wife of SS General Herman Fegelein. She ended up with much of Eva’s jewelry and some of her correspondence.

  Fegelein, Herman (1906–1945). SS General and commander of the 8th SS Cavalry Division “Florian Geyer” in Russia. Fegelein committed war crimes in Poland and Russia, and later served as Heinrich Himmler’s liaison officer with Hitler’s bunker headquarters.

  Göhler, Johannes (1918–??). SS Major on the staff of General Fegelein. He served in Russia and Warsaw.

  Göhler, Ursula (??–1993). The young and attractive wife of Johannes Göhler. Ursula served as the secretary (and perhaps mistress) of an American CIC agent. She later claimed knowledge of a shipment of large quantities of Nazi-related materials (including Hitler’s diaries) to the United States.

  Greim, Robert Ritter von (1892–1945). Luftwaffe Field Marshal who flew out of Berlin with aviatrix Hanna Reitsch during the final days of the war.

  Gutierrez, Robert (??–??). Special Agent, 970 CIC, who investigated the where abouts of Adolf Hitler and many of nefarious personalities and hidden fortunes discussed in this book.

  Haufler, Erwin (1907–??). SS Captain, commanding officer of Fischhorn Castle, and a close associate of Herman Fegelein.

  Heydrich, Reinhard (1904–1942). SS General and the first head of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA). Assassinated 1942 by Czech partisans.

  Himmler, Heinrich (1900–1945). SS Reichsf©hrer. His efforts made the Holocaust—and thus the widespread raping of Europe—possible.

  Hirschfeld, Walter (1917–??). SS Second Lieutenant who worked closely with American Intelligence to arrest former SS men, and spy on former Nazis.

  Hitler, Adolf (1889–1945). The Führer who employed many of the men found within these pages. His actions triggered the most deadly war in human history.

  Höttl, Elfriede (??–??). The wife of Wilhelm Höttl. She ostensibly assisted American Intelligence officers in the search for concealed SS gold.

  Höttl, Wilhelm (1915–1997). SS Captain and Deputy Chief of Bureau VI. One of Germany’s most clever intelligence officers who knew much more about hidden SS loot than he ever reveal
ed.

  Kaltenbrunner, Ernst (1903–1946). SS General; second and last chief of the Reich Security Main office (RSHA). The tall, Chesterfield chain-smoking officer controlled the Third Reich’s machinery of death.

  Kalewska, Barbara (??–??). Polish Countess and Franz Konrad’s mistress in Warsaw. She following him back to Austria when Poland was overrun by the Russians, and left for parts unknown a wealthy woman.

  Kastner, (Rudolph) Rezsö (1906–1957). This fervid Hungarian Zionist made a deal with SS officer Kurt Becher to save his own life and those of his family, friends, and others suitable for emigration to Palestine to form a Jewish state.

  Konrad, Agnes (??–??). Franz Konrad’s wife.

  Konrad, Franz (1906–1951). SS Captain and administrative officer who committed war crimes in Warsaw. Konrad hid several fortunes in gold, currency, and personal effects, including the uniform worn by Hitler during the July 20, 1944, assassination attempt.

  Konrad, Fritz and Minna (??–??). Franz Konrad’s brother and sister-in-law.

  Krüger, Friedrich Walter Bernhard (1904–??). SS Major. He oversaw the counterfeiting scheme run at Sachsenhausen, popularly known to history as “Operation Bernhard.”

  Meier, Rudolf (??–??). Franz Konrad’s nephew, who helped hide a fortune in gold, jewels, and currency.

  Naujocks, Alfred (1901–??). An SS Officer and special operations man. Naujocks led the fake attack on the Polish radio station that triggered World War II, and helped initiate the “Operation Bernhard” forgery operation.

  Ohlendorf, Otto (1908–1951). SS Colonel and head of Bureau III. Ohlendorf organized mass murders in the Ukraine in 1941–1942 with the notorious Einsatzgruppen.

  Pichler, Willy (??–??). The husband of Franz Konrad’s sister Minna. Willy’s house was used to hide some of Konrad’s loot.

  Ponger, Kurt (??–??). U.S. Army Lieutenant, criminal investigator at Nuremberg, Soviet spy, and brother-in-law to Otto Verber.

  Reitsch, Hanna (1912–1979). Nazi Germany’s leading female pilot and admirer of Adolf Hitler. Reitsch piloted the plane that carried her and Robert Ritter von Greim out of Berlin after a sojourn in Hitler’s bunker. She admitted taking out four letters with her.

  Röhm, Ernst (1887–1934). The head of the powerful SA (Brownshirts) until Hitler ordered his ouster and murder in the summer of 1934.

  Scheidler, Arthur (1911–??). Top administrative aide to SS RSHA chiefs Reinhard Heydrich and Ernst Kaltenbrunner.

  Scheidler, Iris (??–??). Wife of Arthur Scheidler.

  Schellenberg, Walter (1910–1952). SS Major General and head of Bureau VI (counter-intelligence operations). Schellenberg’s well-known “official” relationship with Count Folke Bernadotte, the head of the Swedish Red Cross, was a bit more complex than history has thus far revealed.

  Schiebel, Kurt (??–??). SS Lieutenant and adjutant to Josef Spacil.

  Schlemmer, Gerhardt (??–?? ). German Army Captain and company commander of the 352nd Volksgernadier Division. He worked for the CIC in 1946 and 1947 as an undercover agent with Walter Hirschfeld.

  Schwend, Friedrich (??–1980). SS Lieutenant General who organized a master network of agents for the distribution of forged English pound notes as part of “Operation Bernhard.”

  Six, Franz (1906–??). SS General in charge of Bureau VII, and a former Einsatzkommando who eventually crossed paths with Walter Hirschfeld.

  Six, Marianne (1919–1946). Sister of General Franz Six who unwittingly played a hand in his apprehension.

  Skorzeny, Otto (1908–1975). SS Lieutenant Colonel and special operations commando. During the closing days of the war, he amassed a fortune in gold and American and Swiss currency.

  Smolianoff, Salomon (1897–??). Professional counterfeiter and forger who was located by the Nazis and sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp to assist in the forging of English pound notes as part of “Operation Bernhard.”

  Spacil, Josef (1907–??). SS Oberf©hrer (no U.S. equivalent) and head of Bureau II. Spacil was responsible for concealing vast sums of gold and currency at the end of the war.

  Spitz, George (1893–??). A notorious Jewish swindler who helped Friedrich Schwend and his counterfeit operation.

  Verber, Otto (??–??). U.S. Army Lieutenant, criminal investigator at Nuremberg, Soviet spy, and brother-in-law of Kurt Ponger.

  Wisliceny, Dieter (1911–1948). SS Major, Adolf Eichmann’s deputy, and one of Kurt Becher’s superior officers in Hungary. Wisliceny was responsible for horrendous war crimes in Slovakia, Greece, and Hungary.

  Introduction

  The Rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany

  The rise of Nazism, personified by its leader, Adolf Hitler, triggered a conflagration that spread suffering, destruction, and death across the globe such as the world had never before witnessed. The vortex of war drew in, in one way or another, most of the world’s countries. Few emerged in 1945 unscathed.

  The prolonged and aggressive war waged by Germany overran most of Europe and large swaths of western Russia. In addition to improving Germany’s strategic position, the obvious goal of these jackbooted offensives was the conquering of foreign soil for the acquisition of resources. Hovering below the radar screen and following in the Wehrmacht’s wake were several thousand officers and men tasked with other, less obvious, objectives: plunder and murder. Most of those who participated in this massive organized sacking of Europe and western Russia were tethered to Germany’s human enslavement and extermination industries. Like vultures circling dying prey, those responsible for pillaging cities and trafficking in human misery often sought a means to personally profit from the suffering of others. After the war, many were hunted down and imprisoned. Others, like Adolf Eichmann, were eventually executed for their crimes. Many more, however, secreted their fortunes from prying eyes and slipped quietly into the postwar world. Some recovered their gold and jewels; others did not.

  How were so many able to plunder so widely for so long and reap untold millions in gold, jewels, and currency? The answer cannot be fully understood without appreciating the system within which they operated. The entire edifice rested upon the military—industrial complex erected by Adolf Hitler.

  He was from humble origins, the son of an Austrian customs agent. Born on April 20, 1889 in Braunau am Inn, Hitler spent most of his youth in Linz. Much to the dismay and anger of his tyrannical father, Hitler proved to be an unfocused daydreamer and failure as a student. With dreams of becoming an artist, Hitler left secondary school in 1905 before graduation. Armed with but mediocre talent, however, he twice failed to acquire a seat in the Vienna Fine Arts Academy in 1907 and 1908. For the next several years the Austrian lived a Bohemian and apparently immoral existence scratching out an aimless living painting postcards and advertisements.1 When World War I erupted Hitler joined the army and served as a courier throughout the long and bloody war on the Western Front. He was wounded seriously in 1916 and gassed in 1918. He was apparently decorated four times, once with the Iron Cross, First Class. Attrition alone should have forced him through the lower ranks, yet he never rose above the transitory level of corporal.2

  Germany’s defeat in 1918 was codified in the Versailles Treaty, a harsh peace that outraged and devastated many Germans and Austrians, Hitler among them. He emerged from the war a fervent militaristic nationalist. A year later, while still attached to his regiment, Hitler acted as an army political agent and joined the right-wing radicals of the German Worker’s Party—the genesis of the Nazi Party. A few months later he was out of the army working full-time as a propaganda agent. Wracked by depression and political street wars, Germany teetered on the brink of anarchy. Hitler was keen enough to appreciate that turmoil offers opportunity to those ruthless enough to seize it. He worked tirelessly to transform the German Worker’s Party into the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (NSDAP), or Nazi party, and was elected its president in 1921. Surrounded by security thugs, the passionate and charismatic figure barked from street corners atop
overturned boxes. The country’s ills, he screamed, were the blame of communists, Jews, and the Versailles Treaty. Emboldened, he attempted to grab control of the Bavarian government in what is known as the Beer Hall Putsch. The effort ended in failure and imprisonment on charges of treason.

  When the revitalized and unrepentant Hitler emerged from Landsberg Prison in 1921, he began transforming the NSDAP into a national organization. Six million votes later, the Reichstag found itself with 107 additional Nazi members in 1930. Within just a few years Hitler had risen to preside over the second largest party in Germany. The stunning victory convinced bankers, industrialists, and others with political interests and capital resources to back Hitler. A close but failed bid for president of Germany in 1932 against incumbent war hero Paul von Hindenburg earned Hitler additional power when his Nazi party picked up 37 percent of the vote and another 230 seats in the Reichstag. The end game was now in sight. Hitler held the reins of power of the largest party in the land, and von Hindenburg reluctantly appointed the son of a civil servant Chancellor of Germany.

  With anti-Semitism firmly cemented in place as the keystone of his politics, Hitler moved quickly to solidify his power and revive the German military and industrial base. The Communist party was banned in 1933, and within a short time he managed to break apart and dismantle the remaining parties battling for control of Germany. In what was dubbed “The Night of the Long Knives,” on June 30, 1934, Hitler purged many of his long time supporters who posed the final threat to the complete control he was seeking. Hindenburg’s death that August opened up the presidency and Hitler climbed aboard, assuming the title “Führer” (supreme leader) of the Third Reich. Germany was now solely his own.3