Did the U.S. Army Rob Holocaust Victims?
U.S. soldiers did some of their own looting in a Europe devastated by World War II, according to President Bill Clinton's Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States. In May 1945, as the war drew to a close, a train loaded with valuables including gold, jewelry, paintings and rugs taken from Hungarian Jews by the Nazis was abandoned in a tunnel in Austria. American soldiers took control of the so-called Gold Train, but made no attempt to return the loot -- which was accompanied by a list of owners' names -- to Hungary, the commission says. Part of the treasure disappeared immediately. The rest was sent to military warehouses in Austria; some of it was requisitioned by high-ranking U.S. Army officers for their personal use.
At the time, U.S. policy stated that identifiable art and cultural material should
be returned to the country it was taken from. However, according to the report, the property was not returned,
even though members of the Jewish community gave assurances that the property owners could be identified.
| "Reports that wedding rings and other valuables of Nazi victims were stolen are shocking and disheartening. The U.S. Army valiantly fought to the death against Adolf Hitler to destroy evil, not to permit some of those who fought to enrich themselves at the expense of Hitler's victims." -- Phil Baum, American Jewish Congress Executive Director | Furthermore, the report said more than 1,100 paintings were given to the Austrian
government, in breach of U.S. policy, and many of the cultural valuables aboard the train, from silver platters
to loose diamonds, were sold at auction in New York to benefit non-repatriable refugees. The decision to decree the assets "unidentifiable" was the key reason cited by the United States for not returning the assets to Hungarian Jews. |
The Austrian government told U.S. investigators “a portion of this property has been restituted,” but gave no accounting of the disposition of individual paintings, the report said. Checks with Hungarian authorities also found no record of the paintings or other items, it said.
Appropriation of Nazi loot by U.S. forces took place “at the highest levels,” said the report, listing five U.S. generals who “took valuables from the gold train to furnish their residences and offices.”
The report cites government documents alleging that Maj. Gen. Harry J. Collins,
commander of a division in Austria, took from the confiscated goods five rugs, eight paintings, chinaware for 45
people, silverware, linens and bedding for his home, villa, office and private railroad car.
The report showed the general requisitioned items of "the very best quality and
workmanship available in the land."
The report stated that rugs, silverware and other items also went to Generals Luade,
Hume, Howard and Linden. The report did not include the first names of these officers, and the Pentagon has not
yet released any additional information.
The commission found no record of what happened to goods requisitioned by senior military
personnel.
Additionally, some valuable items, such as watches, seized from the Hungarian gold
train nine days after the May 7, 1945, Allied victory in Europe were sold in the U.S. Army Exchange, the commission
staff said in the report.
Related Sites:
Lest We Forget -- WWII Links
Holocaust Information - From About.com's Holocaust Web Page
Judaism - From About.com's Judaism Web Page.
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