Institute of European Studies

This research project of the Research Institute for Social and Economic History at the University of Cologne is to clarify the process and causes of the theft of precious metals by the Nazis as well as explaining the economic utilization of the stolen property between 1938 and 1945, giving special consideration to the participation of Degussa in this process. The focus of the study is not only the plundering of Jewish gold in the German death camps, but considers all forms of the confiscation of gold, silver and platinum by German institutions in occupied Europe and the Reich. In this short overview, the sources, methods and results of the study are presented, with special regard to the Polish example.