Military Agency Records RG 260

Theaters of Operations

Records of U.S. Occupation Headquarters, World War II (RG 260)
Office of Military Government, U.S. Zone (Germany) (OMGUS)

OFFICE OF THE FINANCE ADVISER AND THE FINANCE DIVISION
Foreign Exchange Depository Group

The origin of the Foreign Exchange Depository (FED) can be traced to a subsection of the Currency Section, Financial Branch, G-5 Division of the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), created on September 7, 1944. The primary function of the Currency Section was the receiving, holding, and supplying of occupation currency for Allied Armed Forces and for Military Government operations, but it was also empowered to act as a depository for, and to exercise control over, assets seized or impounded by Allied Military authorities. The Foreign Exchange Depository Field Unit was the Currency Section subsection created to serve as the safe depository. The first shipment of valuables was received at the FED on April 15, 1945. This treasure trove of assets was discovered at the Kaiseroda, or Merkers, salt mine, in Thuringia and consisted of gold bullion, gold and silver coin, platinum, jewelry, and various currencies. Also found was a large quantity of Schutzstaffel (SS) loot. Before the end of 1945, a total of 76 additional shipments of foreign exchange assets were received.

With the dissolution of SHAEF on July 14, 1945, the Currency Section was organized under the G-5 Division of the U.S. Forces, European Theater (USFET). On October 1, 1945, the Office of Military Government, U.S. Zone (OMGUS) recognized the Foreign Exchange Depository Field Unit as an independent agency within its Finance Division. The FED was responsible for the protection, custody, and inventorying of gold and silver bullion, coin, foreign currencies, securities and other assets; took custody and control of zonal currency reserves and allocated and delivered them to local banks as was required; maintained currency accounts; and undertook investigations of counterfeiting. The FED was organized into six sections: Executive, Administrative, Accounts and Reports, Claims, Currency, and Depository.

By early 1946, the operations of the Depository Section, namely the inventorying and examining of the seized assets, had completely stopped due to the lack of adequately qualified personnel. The assets of the Section were temporarily placed under "combat conditions" within the custody of the Currency Section in the name of the Commanding General, USFET. On April 1, 1946, the assets were formally returned to OMGUS, now called the Office of Military Government for Germany (U.S.).

When the OMGUS Finance Division was dissolved effective March 1, 1948, and the Office of Finance Adviser (OFA) was established, the Foreign Exchange Depository Field Unit became the Foreign Exchange Depository Group (FEDG). The FEDG provided banking and depository facilities to the Office of Chief of Finance, European Command for Army transactions requiring indigenous currency, and provided custodial facilities for valuables of German origin that came into the possession of the U.S. Army or Military Government pending disposition through reparations, restitution, return to German claimants, or delivery to successor custodian. Between 1946 and 1949, the FEDG received, stored, inventoried, and disbursed well over $500 million worth of loot and other valuables. Over the course of its development, the custodial, inventory, and accounting functions of the FEDG expanded to include Military Government Law 53 assets, Allied Military Marks, Military Government court fines, Military Payment certificates, Prisoner of War Payments, and assets seized by G-2 Censorship Division. Most assets were disposed by the end of August 1949.

The transition from military to civilian occupation administration was initiated by the Presidential appointment of the U.S. High Commissioner for Germany (HICOG), who assumed his duties on September 2, 1949. On September 3, the functions, personnel, equipment, and records of both the OFA and the Finance Division were transferred to the newly created Finance Division in the Office of Economic Affairs of HICOG, which assumed responsibility for the field of finance, including those of the FEDG. The transition was completed by September 21, the same day of the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany. OMGUS was formally abolished on December 5, 1949.

Central Files, 1944–1950 (A1, Entry 588)

Arranged into two subseries: the first subseries is arranged chronologically by date of correspondences, and the second is arranged numerically according to the Foreign Exchange Depository file number system. The FED file number system is assigned by agency subsections: Executive Section (910.00), Administrative Section (920.00), Accounts and Reports Section (930.00), Claims Section (940.00), Currency Section (950.00), and Depository Section (960.00).

This series consists of correspondence, cables, memorandums, reports, inventory forms and cards, restitution claims, bar lists, shipping tickets, balance sheets, worksheets, interrogations, payment orders, vouchers, registers, and other records regarding the deposit and release of assets. Records of interest include "Gold Pot" delivery, including an inventory and analysis of gold bars used to generate the Howard Report; restitution of non-monetary assets to the International Refugee Organization (IRO); the investigation of the Melmer deliveries, including information on the distribution of looted Schutzstaffel (SS) gold; interrogations of Reichsbank officials, including Emil Puhl and Albert Thoms; and documentation of prisoners of war and concentration camp victim effects, including a list of individual saving account records from concentration camp victims (940.304) and lists of Dachau prisoners (940.4052).

This series is available on NARA Digital Publication DN1924, Disks 1-61

Miscellaneous Records Regarding Operations, Payments and Shipments, 1945–1948 (A1, Entry 589)

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

This series consists of cables, correspondence, reports, inventory lists, directives, payment orders, cash books, inventory cards, registers, vouchers, and other records relating to daily operations. Records of interest include shipment summaries for valuables received; a draft of the Merkers mine report; restitution files by country; standard operating procedures on transfer of non-monetary gold to the International Refugee Organization (IRO); and special inventory procedures on Schutzstaffel (SS) loot.

This series is available on NARA Digital Publication DN1924, Disks 61-64

Records Relating to Operations “Birddog” and “Doorknob,” 1948–1950 (A1, Entry 590)

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

This series consists of correspondence, reports, receipts, orders, directives, currency lists, waybills, shipping manifests (Army Ocean Manifests), container lists, loading instructions, vouchers, registers, inventories, worksheets, charts, schedules, and other records relating to shipments of deutsche mark notes to the Foreign Exchange Depository. Operations "Birddog" and "Doorknob" were code names given to the military mission of receiving, storing, and subsequently distributing new deutsche mark currency in connection with the currency reform of June 20, 1948, in the American, British, and French zones. The material relates mainly to the logistics, plans, and arrangements made for shipping newly minted notes.

This series is available on NARA Digital Publication DN1924, Disks 64-71

Records Relating to Shipments of Gold and Silver, 1945–1947 (A1, Entry 591)

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

This series consists of lists, ledger sheets, worksheets, tabulations, charts, and other records relating to shipments and deliveries of gold and silver to and from the depository. Documents of interest include reconciliation of the Howard Report with actual gold inventory in the FED, and materials pertaining to "Gold Pot" delivery.

This series is available on NARA Digital Publication DN1924, Disks 71-75

Records Relating to Tabulation and Classification of Deposits, 1945–1949 (A1, Entry 592)

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

This series consists of bar and shipping lists, inventory forms and worksheets, shipping tickets and receipts, reports, tally sheets, ledgers, tabulations, registers, and other records regarding the inventorying and tabulating of deposits of gold bars, coins, securities, cash, and other valuables. Records of interest include inventories of currencies held by the depository, arranged by country; diamonds restituted to the Netherlands; and assets compiled for the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees. Also included are documents pertaining to Hungarian restitution (Shipping Ticket No. 15) and assets refused by the Intergovernmental Refugee Organization (IRO) (Shipping Ticket No. 168).

This series is available on NARA Digital Publication DN1924, Disks 75-132

Inventory Forms of Assets Released, 1945–1947 (A1, Entry 593)

Arranged into two subseries: the first subseries is arranged alphabetically by companies, individuals, organizations, and government agencies; and the second is arranged by country.

This series consists of inventory forms for assets released by the depository. Included on the form is a description of the shipment, including quantity, type, classification, and other identifying information and an indication of the officials responsible for recording, approving, and inventorying the assets.

This series is available on NARA Digital Publication DN1924, Disks 132-135

Miscellaneous Registers, 1945–1949 (A1, Entry 594)

Arranged alphabetically by type of record.

This series consists primarily of bank and daily registers pertaining to military payment orders, prisoner of war payments, certificates of credit, and container and inventory tag control records.

This series is available on NARA Digital Publication DN1924, Disks 136-138

Records of the Currency Section Received from Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF), 1944–1945 (A1, Entry 595)

Arranged numerically by SHAEF correspondence control symbol (SHAEF/G-5/##/##).

This series consists of cables, correspondence, reports, orders, instructions, directives, receipts, balance sheets, and other records regarding operations prior to the defeat of Germany. The records include material regarding the discovery and confiscation of Schutzstaffel (SS) loot from Merkers mine; the disposition of and claims on property owned in Germany by Americans and to the ownership of property in general; currency shipments to areas of military operations for use in military transactions; captured enemy funds and mutilated currency; the issuance of Allied military marks and U.S. Army deposit and cash accounts; and records regarding the loss of currency and the procurement of postage stamps.

This series is available on NARA Digital Publication DN1924, Disks 139-144

Records Relating to the Currency Section, 1944–1945 (A1, Entry 596)

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

This series consists of cables, correspondence, reports, orders, memorandums, circular letters, directives, receipts, vouchers, and other records relating to the policy toward and administration of finance in occupied areas. The records include material pertaining to the U.S. Group Control Council, Tripartite Control and Occupation of Germany, as well as to policies issued by the Informal Policy Committee on Germany (IPCOG). Also included are records regarding financial intelligence and operations; military government funds and currency; the organization of the Currency Section; and records pertaining to Eva Braun (Shipment No. 76)

This series is available on NARA Digital Publication DN1924, Disks 145-149

EDUCATION AND CULTURAL RELATIONS DIVISION
Cultural Affairs Branch

Records Relating to Monuments, Museums, Libraries, Archives, and Fine Arts, 1946–1949 (A1, Entry 622)

This series consists of reports, memorandums, correspondence, questionnaires, photographs, and other records pertaining to the restitution of art works. Subjects include investigations of crimes involving art objects, conditions of archives and libraries in the American Zone and their holdings, problems encountered in reopening museums, libraries, and archives, and the exchange of experts and exhibits.

This series is available on NARA Microfilm Publication M1921, Rolls 1–14.

OFFICE OF MILITARY GOVERNMENT, BAVARIA (OMGBY)
Land Director

Central Office Records, 1945–1949 (A1, Entry 629)
Boxes 12–178

Intelligence Division
Predecessor Intelligence Offices

Office of Strategic Services Research and Analysis Branch Reports, 1944–1945 (A1, Entry 892)
Boxes 95–103

Finance Division
Finance Branch
Blocking Section

General Correspondence and Other Records, 1945–1949 (A1, Entry 978)
Boxes 84–86

Records Pertaining to Blocking and Unblocking Accounts, 1946–1948 (A1, Entry 979)
Boxes 87–88

Investigation and Enforcement Branch

General Records of Investigations of Individuals and Firms, 1945–1948 (A1, Entry 987)
Boxes 113–122

Records of the Investigation of the Messerschmitt Firm, 1945–1948 (A1, Entry 988)
Boxes 123–124

Reports and Correspondence Concerning the Investigation of Dr. Kurt Weigel, 1945–1946 (A1, Entry 989)
Box 125

Financial Records of Private Individuals, 1944–1948 (A1, Entry 990)
Boxes 126–135

Finance Division Field Team in Nuernberg

Records Concerning the Supervision of Insurance Companies in Nuernberg, 1945–1946 (A1, Entry 995)
Boxes 143–147

Records of the Supervision of Banks in Nuernberg, 1945–1946 (A1, Entry 996)
Boxes 148–156

Records of the Investigation and Enforcement Branch in Nuernberg, 1945–1948 (A1, Entry 997)
Boxes 157–158

Office of the Financial Adviser

General Records, 1946–1950 (A1, Entry 998)
Boxes 159–167

General Correspondence and Related Records, 1945–1949 (A1, Entry 1000)
Boxes 171–192

Records Relating to the Bavarian Mint, 1932–1946 (A1, Entry 1002)
Box 196

Property Division
Reparations and War Potential Branch

Records Relating to Industrial Plants, 1945–1948 (A1, Entry 1109)
Boxes 1–2

General Records, 1946–1949 (A1, Entry 1110)
Boxes 3–10

Restitution Branch

General Records, 1945–1949 (A1, Entry 1111)
Boxes 11–18

Property Control and External Assets Branch

General Records, 1945–1949 (A1, Entry 1113)
Boxes 20–35

BERLIN SECTOR (OMGBS)
Finance Branch

Investigation Reports of Bank Employees, 1948 (A1, Entry 1298)
Box 624

Report on the Investigation of the Deutsche Bank, 1946 (A1, Entry 1300)
Boxes 626–628

Report on the Investigation of the Reich-Kredit-Gesellschaft, 1946 (A1, Entry 1301)
Box 629

Property Control Branch

Records Pertaining to Property Under Control 1945–1949 (A1, Entry 1307)
Boxes 653–659

Property Control Case Files 1947–1950 (A1, Entry 1309)
Boxes 661–848

OFFICE OF MILITARY GOVERNMENT, BREMEN (OMGBR)
Economics Division
Industrial Management Branch
Reparations and Restitutions Section

General Records 1945–1949 (A1, Entry 1364)
Boxes 357–369

Records Concerning Restitution Claims (A1, Entry 1365)
Boxes 370–383

OFFICE OF MILITARY GOVERNMENT, HESSE (OMGH)
Finance Branch

Correspondence and Other Records 1945–1948 (A1, Entry 1418)
Boxes 365–456

Property Division

General Records, 1945–1949 (A1, Entry 1500)
Boxes 1237–1293

OFFICE OF MILITARY GOVERNMENT, WUERTTEMBERT-BADEN (OMGWB)
Economics Division
Office of the Financial Adviser

General Correspondence, 1945–1949 (A1, Entry 1744)
Boxes 1204–1208

Property Division
Restitutions Branch

General Records, 1945–1949 (A1, Entry 1764)
Boxes 1287–1289

Restitution Claim Files, 1945–1947 (A1, Entry 1765)
Box 1290

U.S. Element of Inter-Allied Organizations
U.S. ELEMENT, ALLIED CONTROL AUTHORITY

Subject Index to General Records, n.d. [Note 59] (A1, Entry 1789)
Box 1

General Records, 1945–1949 (A1, Entry 1790)
Boxes 2–89

United States Forces, Austria (USFA)
CIVIL AFFAIRS – UNITED STATES ELEMENT, ALLIED COMMISSION FOR AUSTRIA (USACA) SECTION

The U.S. Allied Commission for Austria (USACA) Section was responsible for civil affairs/military government administration. It was organized concurrently with the establishment of Headquarters, United States Forces Austria (HQ USFA), July 5, 1945, as a component of U.S. Forces, European Theater (USFET). The single position of Commanding General USFA and U.S. High Commissioner for Austria was held successively by General Mark Clark, July 5, 1945–May 16, 1947; and Lieutenant General Geoffrey Keyes [Note 60], May 17, 1947–September 19, 1950. USACA Section provided the U.S. element of organizations comprising the Allied Commission for Austria, the name of four-power occupation administration established by a U.S., British, French, and Soviet agreement, signed July 4, 1945, and made effective July 24, 1945 [Note 61]. USACA Section also administered occupation government in U.S. zone of Austria and U.S. sector of Vienna. USACA Section was abolished following transfer of U.S. occupation government from military to civilian authority, marked by the Presidential appointment of Walter J. Donnelly as Envoy (later Ambassador) to Austria and U.S. High Commissioner for Austria, effective September 20, 1950. Donnelly was succeeded by Ambassador Llewelyn E. Thompson, Jr., July 17, 1952. U.S. occupation government in Austria officially terminated July 27, 1955, the date of the entrance into force of the State Treaty for the Re-establishment of an Independent and Democratic Austria, signed May 15, 1955.

Director of USACA

Files of the Director, 1946–1951 (A1, Entry 1990)
Boxes 1–71 (Box 34 contains, under file number 386, information concerning restitution and other property matters.)

Decimal Files, 1946–1951 (A1, Entry 1991)
Boxes 1–74 (Boxes 42–43 contain information on restitution.)

Reparations and Restitution Branch [M1926, Rolls 1–156]

Claims, 1945–1950 (A1, Entry 1992)
[M1926, Rolls 1–140]

General Administrative Records, 1945–1950 (A1, Entry 1993)
[M1926, Rolls 141–156]

Monuments and Fine Arts Branch [Note 63]
[M1927, Rolls 1–14]

General Records of the Monuments and Fine Arts Branch, 1945 (A1, Entry 1994)
[M1927, Roll 1]

Claims and Receipts of Property, Monuments and Fine Arts of Various Countries, 1932–1950 (A1, Entry 1995)
[M1927, Rolls 2–9]

Monuments and Fine Arts Lists, Receipts, and Reports of Objects for Restitution to Legal Ownership, 1945–1950 (A1, Entry 1996)
[M1927, Rolls 10–14]

German External Assets Branch [M1928, Rolls 1–132]

Reports on Businesses, 1945–1950 (A1, Entry 1997)
[M1928, Rolls 1–77]

• For list of businesses or sole proprietors,
  see Appendix [M1928 ]

General Records, 1945–1950 (A1, Entry 1998)
[M1928, Rolls 78–114]

Miscellaneous Records, 1945–1950 (A1, Entry 1999)
[M1928, Rolls 114–130]

GEA Reports on Austria Firms Wholly Owned by German Companies, n.d. (A1, Entry 2000)
[M1928, Rolls 131–132]

Property Control Branch

Correspondence and Related Records Regarding Pending Claims, 1945–1950 (A1, Entry 2006)
[DN1929, Disks 223–234]

Correspondence Relating to Claims and Queries, 1945–1950 (A1, Entry 2007)
[DN1929, Disks 235–247]

General Correspondence Files, 1945–1950 (A1, Entry 2009)
[DN1929, Disks 249–256]

Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1945 1950 (A1, Entry 2010)
[DN1929, Disks 257–262]

Reports on Property Control and Restitution Claims, 1945–1951 (A1, Entry 2013)
[DN1929, Disks 274–276]

Claims and Restitution Reports on Property Administered by the Military Government in Upper Austria, 1945–1951 (A1, Entry 2014)
[DN1929, Disks 276–287]

Claims and Restitution Reports on Property Administered by the Military Government in Salzburg, 1945–1950 (A1, Entry 2015)
[DN1929, Disks 287–291]