To stave off immediate disaster, Goering ordered a draconian intrusion into private property. Every dollar, franc or pound, every ounce of gold and all Germany’s remaining foreign assets were to be put at the disposal of the Reich. Significantly, the man Goering charged with responsibility for setting up the special investigative service for foreign currency assets was Reinhard Heydrich of the SS.42 Schacht opposed these measures, fearing that signs of desperation would shake confidence in the Reichsmark. But over the next twelve months Goering’s teams bagged 473 million Reichsmarks in foreign
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