The Man Who Sold Hitler's Stolen Gold

After the war, vast quantities of Nazi gold and stolen currency were discovered hidden in the Merkers salt mine in Germany — part of the Reichsbank's reserves, along with art treasures, personal valuables of Nazi officials, and currency from occupied countries. But another cache was found in a different context: personal collections of Hermann Goring, who had amassed over $200 million worth of art, jewelry, and gold — much of it stolen from Jewish collectors and European museums. When U.S. forces arrived at Goring's estate at Carinhall, they found an art collection rivaling the major museums of Europe. Goring himself, after his capture, spent hours showing American officers around his collection with the pride of a museum curator. He was tried at Nuremberg and sentenced to death, but committed suicide the night before his scheduled execution by swallowing a cyanide capsule he had hidden in a fountain pen.