Confiscating the gold, jewelry and money of the captured Jews was originally intended to boost the economic situation and benefit the Nazis by helping finance the German military and government. But most of the stolen goods and valuables ended up being kept as personal reward for German officials or as incentives for their loyal soldiers.
While the treasured possessions of the Jews offered little economic benefit, the biggest negative economic effect was the loss of human resources. By enslaving and killing roughly about 4 million productive Jewish workers, the Germans wiped out a majority of the most educated and intelligent people in Western Europe. This meant that many with skills that could have been productively utilized, were extinguished causing a major economic downside still felt in many regions of Europe and Russia today.
While the treasured possessions of the Jews offered little economic benefit, the biggest negative economic effect was the loss of human resources. By enslaving and killing roughly about 4 million productive Jewish workers, the Germans wiped out a majority of the most educated and intelligent people in Western Europe. This meant that many with skills that could have been productively utilized, were extinguished causing a major economic downside still felt in many regions of Europe and Russia today.