This is a "must read" article if you want to get a broader understanding of what is going on in the international gold versus fiat currency struggle. I highly recommend going to the link and reading the whole article by Antal E. Fekete (New Austrian School of Economics)
http://www.larsschall.com/2013/01/28/american-bases-in-germany-and-the-gold-basis/
Germany is neither independent nor sovereign, prevailing pretences notwithstanding. It has American troops on her soil for reasons unexplained and unexplainable after all Soviet occupying troops were withdrawn almost 25 years ago. Equally significant is the fact that the lion’s share of the German gold reserve is in American custody. If the Bundesbank asked for the repatriation of a token part of that gold over a long period of time, we may take it for granted that it was done on American instructions.
But why would the Americans ask the Bundesbank to request the return of a part of German gold from the ‘safety’ of the basement of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in lower Manhattan? Surely not because the vaults are bulging with American gold and they have to make room for more.
It’s all grand theater. There is a hidden agenda that has to be camouflaged. The best way of doing it is to put up a show. The public is fascinated by images of shuffling central bank gold.
http://www.larsschall.com/2013/01/28/american-bases-in-germany-and-the-gold-basis/