http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection Documents Related to the History of the So‐Called Hungarian Jewish Gold Train, 1944‐1978 RG‐39.014M United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archive 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place SW Washington, DC 20024‐2126 Tel. (202) 479‐9717 Email: [email protected] Descriptive Summary Title: Documents Related to the History of the So‐Called Hungarian Jewish Gold Train Dates: 1944-1978 RG Number: RG-39.014M Accession Number: 2007.242 Extent: 2 microfilm reels (16 mm) Repository: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archive, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place SW, Washington, DC 20024‐2126 Languages: Hungarian Administrative Information Access: No restrictions on access. Reproduction and Use: According to the terms of the United States‐Hungary Agreement, personal data of an individual mentioned in the records must not be published sooner than 30 years following the death of the person concerned, or if the year of death is unknown, for 90 years following the birth of the person concerned, or if both dates are unknown, for 60 years following the date of issue of the archival material concerned. "Personal data" is defined as any data that can be related to a certain natural person ("person concerned"), and any conclusion that can be drawn from such data about the person concerned. The full text of the Agreement is available at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives reference desk. Preferred Citation: RG‐39.014M, Documents Related to the History of the So‐Called Hungarian Jewish Gold Train, 1944-1978. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives, Washington, DC. 1 http://collections.ushmm.org http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection Acquisition Information: Source of acquisition is the Magyar Országos Levéltár (MOL) (National Archives of Hungary). The documents were collected by Hungarian historians Gábor Kádár and Zoltán Vági between 1999 and 2004 from the following archives: the National Archives of Hungary (MOL), Historical Archives of Hungarian State Security (ABTL), Budapest Municipal Archives (BFL), United States National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and the Archives of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, New York (AJJDC). The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum received the filmed collection via the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum International Archival Programs Division in 2007. Forms part of the Claims Conference International Holocaust Documentation Archive at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This archive consists of documentation whose reproduction and/or acquisition was made possible with funding from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. Existence and Location of Originals: The original collection is held by the Magyar Országos Levéltár, Bécsikapu tér 2‐4, Budapest H‐1014, Hungary, Phone: 011 361 225 2800; Email: [email protected]. More information about this repository can be found at http://mnl.gov.hu/ Related Materials: Ronald W. Zweig. The Gold Train : the Destruction of the Jews and the Looting of Hungary. New York : Morrow, 2002. Braham, ed. The Holocaust: Essays and Documents. New York : Rosenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies, 2009. Hungarian Gold Train Settlement. Miami, Fla.: U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz. Dean, Martin, Constantin Goschler, and Philipp Ther. Robbery and Restitution: The Conflict Over Jewish Property In Europe. [English language ed.]. New York: Berghahn Books, 2007. US NARA, Records of the Foreign Service Posts of the Department of State (RG 84), Box 106, File 851. Accruals: Accruals may have been received since this collection was processed, see archives catalog at collections.ushmm.org for further information. Processing History: Aleksandra B. Borecka, March 2014. Scope and Content of Collection Records generated by the Hungarian, German, Austrian, USA, and French individuals and authorities. Contains memorandums, telegrams, inventories and reports related to the stolen valuables from Hungarian Jews during the WWII, and transported out from Hungary in 1944 by the so‐called Hungarian Gold Train. Historical Note The Hungarian Gold Train was the case of a Nazi‐operated train during World War II that carried stolen valuables, mostly Hungarian Jewish persons' property, from Hungary towards Berlin in 1945. The U.S. forces had seized the train in May 1945 from the Nazis, who were shipping its contents, worth tens of millions of dollars at the time, to Salzburg, Austria. U.S. Army officials requisitioned – and failed to return – rugs and linens, silverware, jewelry, money, art, diamonds, gold, silver and even typewriters to furnish their offices and households in Austria, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. In addition, U.S. soldiers stole some items from a warehouse in which the Gold Train property was stored. The U.S. 2 http://collections.ushmm.org http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection government has expressed regret that U.S. military officials took valuables belonging to Hungarian Jews from the so‐called Nazi Gold Train during World War II. The apology is part of a settlement of a lawsuit filed in 2001 in Miami by Hungarian Jews. System of Arrangement The system of arrangement of the source repository has been preserved in the microfilmed reels. Arranged by the holders of originals. Indexing Terms Toldi, Árpád. Mingovits, István. Avar, István. Alford, Kenneth D. Pénzintézeti Központ Bank Rt World War,1939 ‐1945‐‐Confiscations and contributions‐‐Hungary. World War, 1939‐1945‐‐Jews‐‐Hungary. Jewish property‐‐Hungary‐‐History‐‐20th century. Jews‐‐Persecutions‐‐Hungary. Holocaust, Jewish (1939‐1945)‐‐Hungary. Holocaust victims‐‐Hungary‐‐Claims. Hungary‐‐Politics and government‐‐1933‐1945. Hungary‐‐Ethnic relations. Memorandums. Telegrams. CONTAINER LIST Reel List Reel 1 Documents from the Hungarian National Archives (Magyar Országos Levéltár) Budapest, Hungary Documents from the Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security (Állambiztonsági Szolgálatok Történeti Levéltára), Budapest, Hungary Documents from the Budapest Municipal Archives (Budapest Főváros Levéltára), Budapest, Hungary Documents from the so‐called Alford Collection Reel 2 Documents from the so‐called Alford Collection Documents from the United States National Archives and Records Administration (College Park, Maryland) Documents from the Archives of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, New York Reel 1 3 http://collections.ushmm.org http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection Documents from the Hungarian National Archives (Magyar Országos Levéltár) Budapest, Hungary The collected materials are from RG XXIX‐L‐2. This RG is a thematic collection compiled by the Center for Financial Institutions (CFI ‐ Pénzintézeti Központ) after World War II. CFI was a supervisory authority over Hungarian financial institutions. It was also one those governmental bodies that were responsible for restitutions and reparation matters. This is how this extensive collection of restitution‐ and reparation‐related documents came into being. The RG contains documents created between 1944 and 1978 by various Hungarian, German, Austrian, US and French individuals, institutions and authorities. This is the most comprehensive body of Gold Train‐related documents in Hungary. Documents from the Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security (Állambiztonsági Szolgálatok Történeti Levéltára), Budapest, Hungary The collection contains the post‐war investigative materials of two major characters of the Gold Train’s history. The materials were created by Hungarian law enforcement and judiciary authorities. Árpád Toldi(y) (investigative material no. V‐121.103) was a gendarme colonel from 1943. He was appointed prefect of Fejér county and Székesfehérvár in April 1944 by the Sztójay‐government collaborating with the occupying Nazis. From November 1944 he was head of Department XI of the Ministry of the Interior and as such, he also filled the position of the Government Commissioner for Handling the Material and Financial Affairs of the Jews (zsidók anyagi és vagyonjogi kérdéseinek megoldására kinevezett kormánybiztos), i. e. the government commissioner in charge of plundering the Jews. Toldi was the commander of the Gold Train and his activity largely influenced the fate of the assets ‐ István Mingovits (investigative material no. V‐38.734) was a financial counselor and chief financial officer in charge of the Gold Train. Besides István Avar, 4 http://collections.ushmm.org http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection deputy to Toldi, it was István Mingovits, who had the deepest insight into many details of the Gold Train’s history Documents from the Budapest Municipal Archives (Budapest Főváros Levéltára), Budapest, Hungary This file (Nb. XV. 3470/1946) constitutes the part of Toldi’s investigation material that can not be found in file no. V‐121.103 of the Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security (see above). Documents from the so‐called Alford Collection This is a collection compiled by US‐based researcher Kenneth D. Alford. The overwhelming majority of the documents are created by US military authorities while handling the part of the Gold Train freight that got under US control. The original copies are