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George
Taber's latest work describes an almost forgotten but important
aspect of the Nazi war machine - its ruthless drive to seize
gold from the conquered countries to purchase imported strategic
raw materials to build its weapons. Recently, several books
have been written and even a movie released (Monument
Men) about the Allied capture and the disposition of
the Nazi gold horde at the end of WWII. Taber puts that captured
gold into its cold business context: without that gold the
Nazis would have had difficulty financing the building of
its war machine.
Chasing Gold is well researched and its narrative
style made for an easy read. Taber describes the strategic
Nazi business objectives for gold, and the cat-and-mouse game
between the Nazi officials chasing the gold and those staying
one step ahead to keep the gold out of the Nazis' reach. Both
the Nazis and the conquered countries' leadership understood
fully the stakes involved should that gold fall into Nazi
hands.
The true stories Taber relates are exciting and the people
involved in saving the gold were real heroes -- ones who put
their lives at risk to move their countries' gold to safety.
Taber endowed the narrative with an almost thriller aspect
that kept me fully engaged. He also successfully conveyed
the real life drama involved with those saving the gold, especially
the Norwegian and Dutch efforts.
Chasing Gold is a comprehensive account that also
touches on the controversial role of "co-conspirators"
- namely the neutral countries like Sweden, Spain and Switzerland
that accepted illegally captured gold to trade with Nazi Germany.
For World War II history buffs like me, the extensive bibliography
provides more than enough material for a reader to delve deeper.
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