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Gold for wolfram. How Portugal and Spain profited from trading with the Third Reich
Portugal and Spain profited from trading with the Third Reich by acquiring several hundred tons of gold. They didn’t inquire about where Germany sourced the precious metal.
On the route from Pau to Saragossa, at the border between France and Spain in the Pyrenees, lies the deteriorating Canfranc railway station, abandoned for decades. Despite the passage of time, the main station building retains its captivating turn-of-the-century style. However, far more interesting than the station’s tourist future is its past.
Since 1941, trains carrying gold plundered by the Germans in occupied countries regularly crossed the border at Canfranc. Portugal and Spain purchased it through Swiss banks. In exchange, they sent shipments of raw materials and food to the Third Reich. The gold route from Berlin through Switzerland and Canfranc to the Iberian Peninsula ceased to exist only after the liberation of southern France from German occupation.
