Nazi dental gold

Boxes of gold dental caps and dentures from prisoners of the Buchenwald concentration camp, recovered by American troops after the liberation of the camp

The collection of gold dental fillings, dental caps and dentures extracted from the mouths of the victims of Aktion T4 and the Nazi concentration camps was a feature of the Holocaust. The practice originated with a 1940 order from Heinrich Himmler, and reinforced by a second order in 1942.[1] The collection was done with the active and voluntary cooperation of German dentists.[2] Dentists involved in the collection of gold included Martin Hellinger.[3]

Collected gold was then melted down into gold bars. The disposition of the gold was an issue following the end of the war.[4]

  1. ^ Riaud, Xavier (June 2015). "Nazi Dental Gold: from Dead Bodies to Swiss Banks". Vesalius: Acta Internationales Historiae Medicinae. 21 (1): 32–53. ISSN 1373-4857. PMID 26592082.
  2. ^ Riaud, X. (2015). "History of Nazi Dental Gold: From Dead Bodies till Swiss Bank". S2CID 73917327. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ Riaud, Xavier (January 2017). "Nazi Dental Gold: From Dead Bodies to a Swiss Bank". Dental Historian: Lindsay Club Newsletter. 62 (1): 15–23. ISSN 0958-6687. PMID 29949310.
  4. ^ "Nazi Gold: Information from the British Archives: Part II by FCDO Historians - Issuu". issuu.com. May 1997. Retrieved 2021-12-08.