British treasure hunters 'find 'Nazi gold' near Iceland

British treasure hunters 'find 'Nazi gold' near Iceland

For decades it has been believed that Nazi Germany transferred gold from overseas banks throughout World War II.

The loot was destined for a number of purposes: getaway money for high-ranking war criminals, the basis for a German resistance movement called 'Werewolf' intended to fight the occupiers; and to become the pension funds for generals whose vast estates bequeathed to them by a grateful Fuhrer in the east which fell into the hands of new, unforgiving owners.

The present whereabouts of Nazi gold since the end of World War II ended fuelled searches across Europe and the world as treasure hunters hope to win big with finds.

The world will never know just how much treasure the Nazis plundered - but it is believed to be a lot. 

Much of it was stuffed on to trains headed for the Fatherland as the Reich began to crumble.

Just two thirds of the gold stolen by the Nazis from European central banks during the war has ever been found.  

Just last month, Argentinian police said they believed they found the biggest collection of Nazi artifacts in the country's history, including a bust relief of Adolf Hitler and magnifying glasses inside elegant boxes with swastikas.  

Some 75 objects were found in a collector's home in Beccar, a suburb north of Buenos Aires, and authorities say they suspect they are originals that belonged to high-ranking Nazis in Germany during World War II.

Another rumored gold haul was believed to be on a German train that disa ppeared.  

Legend has it the locomotive set off from the western city of Wroclaw, Poland, (then known as Breslau) before mysteriously disappearing around Walbrzych (Waldenburg at the time) while fleeing the Red Army in 1945.

Fortune-hunters have looked for it for decades, and in the communist era the Polish army and security services even carried out apparently fruitless searches for it. 

Local lore says Nazi Germany ordered the vast underground network, which snakes around the massive Ksiaz Castle, be built to hide Third Reich valuables.

German concentration camp inmates were used to build the huge tunnels - code-named Riese (Giant) - to use as production spaces for strategic weapons, as the site was safe from Allied air raids.

Located in the passages were underground Nazi shelters as well as one of Adolf Hitler's he adquarters. 

قالب وردپرس

Tweet

Subscribe to receive free email updates: