Vatican drawn into scandal over Nazi-era gold

July 22, 1997
Web posted at: 11:16 a.m. EDT (1516 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Newly declassified documents in the United States allege that the Vatican served as a postwar repository of Nazi-era gold. But the Vatican quickly denied the allegation.
In what is believed to be the first such evidence of Vatican complicity, a document uncovered by researchers points to 200 million Swiss francs, mostly in gold coins, held for members of the ousted Nazi puppet government of Croatia after the fall of Nazi Germany.
It is estimated that if the 200 million Swiss francs were still held today, it would be valued at about $170 million, plus hundreds of millions more in accumulated interest.
However, on Tuesday the Vatican rejected the accusation. "There is no basis in reality to the report," said Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls.
The spokesman added that the allegations were based on an anonymous source and were of questionable reliability.

TV producers uncover 1946 document

According to the declassified document, dated October 21, 1946, "Approximately 200 million Swiss francs was originally held in the Vatican for safe-keeping." The document is a memo from Treasury agent Emerson Bigelow to his superior.
Other documents establish that Bigelow received reliable information from the American Overseas Special Services, precursor of the CIA, on Nazi wealth held in specific Swiss bank accounts.
The document surfaced after A&E Television producers Stephen Crisman and Gaylen Ross finished a two-hour documentary on Switzerland's handling of Nazi gold during and after the war.
Other researchers have vouched for the document's authenticity. It contained declassification markings dated December 31, 1996.

Memo: Vatican held Nazi puppets' gold

The memo quotes a "reliable source in Italy," apparently a U.S. intelligence source, as saying the Ustasha organization, the Nazi-installed government of Croatia during the war, removed 350 million Swiss francs from Yugoslavia funds it had confiscated.
The memo says 150 million Swiss francs was impounded by British authorities at the Austria-Swiss border and the balance was held in the Vatican.
While stating that as a fact, it says rumors say a considerable portion of the Vatican-held money was sent to Spain and Argentina through the Vatican's "pipeline," but says this might be a "smokescreen to cover the fact that the treasure remains in its original repository" at the Vatican.
Croatia's fascist Ustashas exterminated hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews and Gypsies during the war, in line with Nazi Germany policies of ethnic cleansing and "racial purity."
Historians have denounced the Vatican for its links with the regime led by Ante Pavelic. A Croatian cardinal was convicted by the postwar Croatian communist government of abetting war crimes.
The latest allegations come amid more efforts by Swiss banks to counter accusations of non-cooperation regarding Nazi gold and Holocaust assets in Swiss bank vaults.

Swiss banks to list dormant accounts

The Swiss Bankers Association, meantime, is expected to unveil a long-awaited list of the owners of dormant accounts from before 1945.
The association is scheduled to make the list public on Wednesday. Although no details have been released, the association reportedly plans to publish the list in newspapers around the world.
The list and details of the claims procedure also will be available on the Internet, with the address of the site to be made public at a news conference on Wednesday, an association spokesman said.
Ahead of the news conference, a spokeswoman for the association described the move as unprecedented, and said it was aimed at "ensuring justice for victims of the Holocaust."
After intense international pressure, Switzerland set up two commissions of independent researchers to seek assets left by Holocaust victims and detail the country's role as financial marketplace during World War II.
But as the matching of lost accounts to present-day heirs remains slow, the banks have agreed to a proposal for the public list from the commission seeking lost assets. That body was set up by Swiss banks and the World Jewish Congress, and is headed by former U.S. central bank chief Paul Volcker.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.  

Related stories:

* Swiss envoy promises full disclosure on unclaimed Holocaust accounts - May 30, 1997
* Guard who turned over Swiss banking files seeks protection in U.S. Senate visit - May 7, 1997
* Switzerland proposes $4.7 billion fund for Nazi victims - Mar. 5, 1997

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