Cashing Out

By the end of January 1945, it was clear to Germany that the war was lost. The Third Reich was in freefall, and its leaders, apart from those clustered around Hitler in his Berlin bunker, sought to abscond before they were besieged. But they wanted to take their wealth with them.

Their escape routes were diverse: Sweden and Switzerland boasted proximity, banking, and industrial closeness, while Spain and Portugal offered an inviting Atlantic coastline and shipping routes to South America. And in various ways, each of these so-called neutral nations welcomed the Nazi escapees, along with the clandestine wealth they carried.

Cashing Out tells the riveting history of the race to intercept the stolen assets before they disappeared, and before the will to punish Germany was replaced by the political considerations of the fast-approaching Cold War. Bestselling author Neill Lochery here brilliantly recounts the flight of the Nazi-looted riches-the last great escape of World War II-and the Allied quest for justice.

"The record laid out here is damning... Perhaps the most striking--and dispiriting--lesson of 'Cashing Out' is that the wartime decisions countries make are almost always self-interested, no matter how great the moral issues at stake."
--Wall Street Journal
"A singularly excellent tale, nuanced and rich, original and eloquently told, and of deep relevance for our times."--Philippe Sands, author of The Last Colony
"A searing indictment... [Lochery] serves up an indignant blend of globe-spanning true crime, financial skullduggery, geopolitical and diplomatic history, and cloak-and-dagger intrigue."--Publishers Weekly

Neill Lochery is a world-renowned source on the politics and modern history of Europe and the Mediterranean Middle East. He has authored a series of critically acclaimed books, including the international bestseller Lisbon: War in the Shadows of the City of Light, 1939-1945 and most recently Brazil: The Fortunes of War, World War II and the Making of Modern Brazil. He divides his time between London, Portugal and the United States.

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