[investigateworld]

I've heard various stories about how Stalin stole hugh amounts of gold from Spain. Any truth or just urban myth?

[robowombat]

The Spanish Republic's specie holdings were shipped to the Soviet Union for 'safekeeping' and to pay for the'socialist support' coming from Moscow. I think the book Swartz notes in this article covers this interesting chapter in European diplomatic history. Stalin ran the Soviet operations in this war in a very thrifty, one could even say capitalist manner, getting foreign 'comrades' to do the fighting and dying and the Republic to hand over its national gold holdings for some limited military aid.No wonder Franco is reported to have been convulsed with rage when these facts were presented to him shortly after the Nationalists won in 1939. 'Not only were the Republicans reds', he is reputed to have said, 'but they were monumentally stupid at the same time.'