Max Heiliger
Encyclopedia
Max Heiliger was a fictional name created during the Nazi era under authority of Reichsbank
president Walther Funk
in a secret arrangement with S.S. leader Himmler; the false identity was used to establish bank accounts to launder
valuables stolen from those killed in the Nazi system of concentration camps
and extermination camps. Stolen banknotes and jewelry along with Holocaust victims' dental gold, wedding rings, and even scrap gold melted down from spectacles-frames et cetera flooded into the Max Heiliger accounts, completely filling several bank vaults by 1942. Heilinger accounts were also sometimes used to fence valuables
at Berlin's municipal pawn shops.
Other code phrases associated with bank-processing of camp victims' property included Melmer, Besitz der umgesiedelten Juden (property of resettled Jews), and Reinhardtfonds. The latter was a veiled reference to Action Reinhardt. The word umgesiedelten cloaked the true nature of the goods since victims were usually "resettled"
to an early grave.
Using the name Heilinger was a cynical Nazi joke since the actual word derives from heilig --meaning holy or saint. Such "humor"
was not unusual in Nazi circles. For example the one-way pathway to the gas chamber at Sobibor extermination camp
was called the Himmelstrasse --meaning "Heaven-street": the road to Heaven.
Reichsbank
The Reichsbank was the central bank of Germany from 1876 until 1945. It was founded on 1 January 1876 . The Reichsbank was a privately owned central bank of Prussia, under close control by the Reich government. Its first president was Hermann von Dechend...
president Walther Funk
Walther Funk
Walther Funk was a prominent Nazi official. He served as Reich Minister for Economic Affairs in Nazi Germany from 1937 to 1945, tried as a major war criminal by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg.-Early life:...
in a secret arrangement with S.S. leader Himmler; the false identity was used to establish bank accounts to launder
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
valuables stolen from those killed in the Nazi system of concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
and extermination camps. Stolen banknotes and jewelry along with Holocaust victims' dental gold, wedding rings, and even scrap gold melted down from spectacles-frames et cetera flooded into the Max Heiliger accounts, completely filling several bank vaults by 1942. Heilinger accounts were also sometimes used to fence valuables
Fence (criminal)
A fence is an individual who knowingly buys stolen property for later resale, sometimes in a legitimate market. The fence thus acts as a middleman between thieves and the eventual buyers of stolen goods who may or may not be aware that the goods are stolen. As a verb, the word describes the...
at Berlin's municipal pawn shops.
Other code phrases associated with bank-processing of camp victims' property included Melmer, Besitz der umgesiedelten Juden (property of resettled Jews), and Reinhardtfonds. The latter was a veiled reference to Action Reinhardt. The word umgesiedelten cloaked the true nature of the goods since victims were usually "resettled"
Scare quotes
Scare quotes are quotation marks placed around a word or phrase to indicate that it does not signify its literal or conventional meaning.- History :Use of the term "scare quotes" appears to have arisen at some point during the first half of the 20th century...
to an early grave.
Using the name Heilinger was a cynical Nazi joke since the actual word derives from heilig --meaning holy or saint. Such "humor"
Scare quotes
Scare quotes are quotation marks placed around a word or phrase to indicate that it does not signify its literal or conventional meaning.- History :Use of the term "scare quotes" appears to have arisen at some point during the first half of the 20th century...
was not unusual in Nazi circles. For example the one-way pathway to the gas chamber at Sobibor extermination camp
Sobibór extermination camp
Sobibor was a Nazi German extermination camp located on the outskirts of the town of Sobibór, Lublin Voivodeship of occupied Poland as part of Operation Reinhard; the official German name was SS-Sonderkommando Sobibor...
was called the Himmelstrasse --meaning "Heaven-street": the road to Heaven.