by Willow Tohi, Natural News:
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- Germany demands transparency and repatriation of $115B in gold stored at the NY Federal Reserve amid growing geopolitical tensions. Distrust worsened after delayed repatriation requests in 2013 led to receiving improperly formatted gold bars.
- Post-WWII, Germany stored gold abroad (New York, London, Paris) for security, relying on Cold War alliances. Recent delays and inconsistencies in reclaiming gold have fueled doubts about its authenticity and availability.
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
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- German lawmakers (notably in the CDU) push for audits, fearing U.S. policy instability, inflationary risks, or asset freezes. Similar scrutiny arises in Italy and Switzerland, indicating broader European skepticism of U.S. custodianship.
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- Upcoming Basel III regulations (July 2025) may pressure the Fed to secure gold as compliant collateral. Speculation exists that gold could underpin digital currencies, but German officials demand concrete answers.
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- The NY Fed claims gold reserves are secure but avoids formal audits — only allowing limited inspections. Critics argue trust alone is insufficient, pointing to Norway’s 2003 decision to divest gold amid uncertainty.
Germany is once again challenging the security of its vast gold reserves stored in the United States, demanding transparency and repatriation amid escalating geopolitical friction. With over $115 billion worth of gold held at the New York Federal Reserve — and concerns over U.S. trustworthiness mounting after years of policy uncertainty — the debate over who owns the gold and who controls it has reignited. German lawmakers, economists and central bank officials are clashing over whether the Federal Reserve’s storerooms hold what is owed to Berlin, as historical tensions collide with modern monetary risks. The stakes now extend beyond Germany: the outcome could reshape global financial trust in the post-WWII order.
Historical context: From post-war stash to modern anxiety
Germany’s gold reserves — now the world’s second-largest — are deeply tied to its turbulent past. After World War II, Allied forces seized nearly all of its gold, leaving the country’s bullion coffers nearly empty. By the 1960s, a post-war economic miracle enabled Germany to rebuild its reserves, often storing bullion abroad, such as in New York, London and Paris, to safeguard against potential conflict. The Cold War logic of “diversifying security” via alliances with Western allies underpinned this strategy.
However, distrust began to simmer in 2013 when Germany discovered its repatriation demands faced steep delays. After requesting half its gold back by 2020, Berlin waited years — only to receive bars that had to be remelted due to improper formatting. This drawn-out process, detailed in internal Bundesbank records, fueled suspicion that the U.S. struggled to locate or verify the gold.
Current demands: Political tensions fuel German scrutiny
Fast-forward to 2025, and Germany’s unease has reached a boiling point. Senior figures in Chancellor-elect Armin Laschet’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party are pushing for audits of the 1,236 metric tons of German gold still in U.S. custody, now valued at $115 billion. Outgoing parliamentarian Marco Wanderwitz, a leading voice on the issue since 2012, argues German officials “must reclaim agency over their assets in an era of unpredictable tariff wars and de facto monetary autocracy.”
The urgency stems from shifting geopolitics. Recent U.S. troop reductions in Europe and President Donald Trump’s erratic fiscal policies have deepened fears that Germany’s wealth could face nationalization or inflationary risks. As Markus Ferber, a CDU European lawmaker, stated unequivocally, “Officials must personally countstored gold bars. Trust must be verified, not assumed.”
