The development of German’s precious metal sector in the period of the “Third Reich” from 1933 to 1945.

Ralf Banken describes and analyses on the basis of empirical sources in his professoral dissertation management, theft and recovery of precious metals in the German “Third Reich” in great detail. The question of the theft of private property is a central aspect. In doing so, the theft of precious metals in all practiced ways as well as the system of transfers and the economic recovery of precious metals is analyzed as an example of the German exploitation politics at that period. In addition, the development and management of Germany’s precious metals sector from 1933 to 1939 is a focus of the investigation.
The following research questions are analysed by the primary investigator:
1. How did the precious metals industry and the management of precious metals developed in the period from 1933 to 1945? How and why acted the single players of the companies and of the state ?
2. How was the procurement and financing of precious metals conducted in the period from 1938 to 1945 and what they were used then by whom?
3. Who benefited from the management system and procurement system? Were there alternatives to the developed structures of the system or were there room for maneuver for single players? (see Banken 2009, S. 17, S 19)

Topics

Datatables in the search- and downloadsystem HISTAT (Topic: Production – Mining, Manufacturing Business, Industry ( = Produktion: Bergbau, verarbeitendes Gewerbe, Industrie):

Information: HISTAT is offered only in German language.

The Datatables in HISTAT are a selection of the arcived study-data-tables. The complete data (Tables of the appendix and of the publication) can be ordered by using the “general order form for archive data“ (see: http://www.gesis.org/en/services/data/retrieval-data-access/data-archive-service/). The data of this study are provided under the study-no ZA8443.

A.02 Edelmetallproduktion der deutschen Unternehmen (1924-1945)
(=Precious metal production by German companies)
A.03: Deutsche Gesamtproduktion von Edelmetallen in kg (1913-1943)
(=German total production of precious metals in kg)
A.04a Auswärtiger Handel Deutschlands mit Edelmetallen: Einfuhr, Ausfuhr (1913-1942)
(=Germany´s foreign trade in precious metals: import, export)
A.04b Deutsche Platineinfuhr (1935-1938)
(=Germany’s import of platinum)
A.04c Der Import von Gold und Silber aus der UdSSR (1926-1938)
(= Import of gold and silver from the USSR)
A.07 Die Edelmetallversorgung Deutschlands, in kg (1913-1932)
(=Germany’s precious metal supply in kg)
A.12 Die Silberproduktion in Deutschland, in kg (1929-1940)
(=Germany’s silverproduction, in kg)
A.13 Der Gesamtbestand von Silber in der Bewirtschaftung (1936-1940)
(=Total stock of silver in the management)
Tab.33 Die offiziellen und geheimen Goldreserven der Reichsbank, in Mio. Dollar und RM (1933-1939)
(=The official and the secret gold reserves of the German Reichsbank, in million Dollar and RM)
A.34 Die Platineinfuhr des Deutschen Reiches (nach Quiring), in kg (1929-1939)
(=The German Reich’s Import of platinum (according to Quiring), in kg)