Swiss help for Hitler's army

A REPORT by United States government historians concludes that much of the gold looted by the Nazis went through the Swiss National Bank in Switzerland to pay other neutral nations for supplies that sustained Hitler's army in the final years of World War Two, the New York Times reported.

The newspaper said the report, published today, doubles to $300m - now worth $2.6bn (pounds 1.6bn) - the US estimate of how much gold was held in a Nazi account that also received Holocaust victims' valuables. The report details the role that a large proportion of the gold played in securing Nazi war needs from Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.