Norway's gold reserves were secretly evacuated during the Nazi invasion, funding the government in exile and denying Germany a critical financial resource.
Key Facts
- Gold weight
- 50 tonnes tonnes
- Value in 1940
- 240 million kr (approx. US$54.5 million)
- Estimated 2015 value
- US$1.8 billion
- Gold returned to Norway
- 10 tonnes in 1987 tonnes
- Evacuation route
- Oslo → Åndalsnes → Tromsø → Britain → North America
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Germany's invasion of Norway in April 1940 threatened the seizure of the Norwegian National Treasury. To prevent Nazi forces from capturing the country's gold reserves, Norwegian authorities initiated an emergency evacuation plan to move the gold out of Oslo before German forces could secure it.
The gold was transported overland from Oslo to Åndalsnes, then by ship to Tromsø, and subsequently carried by Allied vessels to Britain despite German ground and air attacks. From Britain, the reserves were shipped onward to North America, completing one of the war's most consequential financial evacuations.
Most of the gold was sold to finance the Norwegian government in exile, allowing it to continue operations and support the Allied war effort. The operation denied Nazi Germany a substantial financial windfall. Ten tonnes of the original reserves were eventually repatriated to Norway in 1987.