Nazi Gold: The Full Story of the Fifty-Year Swiss-Nazi Conspiracy to Steal Billions from Europe's Jews and Holocaust Survivors

It is almost unbelievable how the Swiss and others had really no regard for others. It seems that all they cared about was money and were willing to lie and use the law in a dishonest way to add to their wealth.

This was a fairly intense book, for several reasons. First, the subject was the long battle for access to the contents of Swiss bank accounts belonging to European Jews who had died during the Nazi period, a topic which in addition to the horror of the Holocaust, includes families broken apart and having to start from scratch after the war. Second, it's a detailed account of the many exacting and often infuriating negotiations between the Swiss bankers and Swiss government, and the American government and representatives of claimants to the accounts. And finally, the author, Tom Bower, tells the story with passion and dos not hide his contempt for the actions of the Swiss bankers and other Swiss collaborators.For all the lip service the Swiss paid to being neutral, they were anything but. They were being pressured by both the Nazis and the Allies to cooperate in various ways, but early on, the Swiss mostly decided their sympathies and interests were with the Nazis. This seemed to last well after the war was over. Nazi Gold is not an easy book to read, but it's important and well documented.(Thanks to NetGalley and Open Road Media for a digital review copy. )

A difficult book to read that becomes bogged down in detail - much of it legalistic. A good opening which sets out the problem but then quickly becomes a chore - reflective of the efforts to get the Swiss to acknowledge the unclaimed deposits that were made prior to, and during, WW2 by Jewish and other victims of the National Socialist (Nazi) regime.Could have been shortened and punchier. Worth reading if just to get an idea of the problems that faced the survivors and their descendants. I received an advance version of the book through the courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.

A world wide conspiracy to avoid a complete Jewish genocide. Don't know that many nations didn't have it's fingers in the pot to a certain extent. I doubt the truth will ever be known. Shame on all involved in the biggest robbery of history and to all those poor souls denied any semblance of satisfaction. My view of the Swiss will forever be darkened!

The book was in great shape and the shipping was fast

Over the last decade much has been written regarding the wanton theft of money, precious stones and metals, and other treasures and loot during the Second World War by both the Nazis and the Swiss bankers who helped finance the German war effort. This interesting and fact-filled book by author Tom Bower details the horrifying facts surrounding the multitude of ways in which Jews and other victims of the Nazi regime were fleeced, both by the Nazi authorities in the first place, and then by a plethora of other villains after the fact. Particularly distasteful are the ways in which victims of the Holocaust were manipulated, tricked, or forced into giving all they had in an attempt to save themselves and their families, only to find they were both swindled of the valuables in the first place, and then betrayed and sent to the death camps after so doing. On many levels then, this is a shocking account of the plethora of ways in which those lost in the Holocaust were victimized.The primary story here is the well-documented system developed and employed by the Swiss banking systems to garner the money deposited by Jews and other potential victims attempting to flee fascism, and to then safeguard it against any and all attempts to withdraw the money by the legitimate survivors of those victims. At base, this is the story of the craven and deliberate theft of what is most likely many billions of dollars by the Swiss, who have stonewalled attempts to give some kind of accounting for the money and other valuables left behind by the Holocaust victims. It is, by the way, also the story of a small group of dedicated lawyers, accountants, and other professionals to force the Swiss into accounting for the money and compensating the families of the victims, even though it is clear that there is no way all of the money can ever be accounted for, or, for that matter, ever returned.Given this situation, then, what his book represents is the last grisly chapter in the history of the Holocaust, a chapter in which memories and dignities are shattered and held up to ridicule by bankers more interested in their own financial gains than in a fair accounting of the facts. Bower provides a stunning description of the truly despicable behavior displayed by the Swiss, and their nefarious role in denying victims' families knowledge about or access to any of the funds left in their care. He also describes a wide variety of ways in which the Swiss betrayed their pose of studied neutrality during the war by actively providing goods, materials, and money to the Germans, all of which aided and abetted the German war effort against the Allies. This book is scrupulously researched, meticulously documented, and carefully described, and as a result gives the reader a much better appreciation for the true nature of Swiss involvement was both during the war and thereafter. This is an interesting and worthwhile book, and one that I recommend to students of 20th century history. Enjoy!

The truth of how the allies did not want and fought, to prevent the Jews heir from being paid the deposits made pre-WWII.Churchill wanted the money / gold to be retained for the English to use. Many world leaders abused their political positions to keep the money for themselves.Switzerland's pandering to the Nazi's kept them from being invaded.When Switzerland refused to make the payments, they denied the people who needed their money or parents, to survive the hardships after WWII.The heirs did have friends but everything took years to work through the red tape of governments and the Swiss Bankers. The bankers told the government how they wanted the accounts paid out. The bankers destroyed files of accounts, making it difficult/impossible for people to claim what was theirs.The fifty years of fighting for what was theirs was justice denied.The politics behind the banks proves Switzerland was no better than the other countries.

This is another book that could be used for post graduate study and not for anyone expecting to be entertained.

The story of one of the darkest times in human history and how greed prompted indifference to human suffering.The author writes a compelling and detailed and thoroughly-researched account of how property and money looted from Jewish victims was cynically held on to with total disregard for morality.A sad but brilliant book.

The subject itself is undoubtedly interesting but not enough interesting content to fill a whole long book.Probably too repetitively long

all good, thanks.

Really enjoyed all books thank you