The search started afresh in Poland on Monday for a train full of gold and other valuables, which treasure hunters say the Nazis hid in a secret tunnel at the end of the Second World War.
When Piotr Koper and Andreas Richter announced in late August that they had found a train hidden by the Nazis at the end of the Second World War, the news made headlines around the world.
The hunt for the train has now started, with Koper and Richter undertaking the search along with experts from the Polish Mining Academy, according to The Local.
The team will deploy high-tech equipment including thermo-cameras, geo-radar and magnometers to locate the elusive loot.
In October the Polish military moved in to secure the area near Breslau, scouring the scrub land for mines and uprooting dense thickets.
“The area is more easily accessible now,” said Koper, speculating that the first results would not take long to gather. “We could publish our findings at the end of November.”
Three trains full of weapon prototypes, as well as historical documents, precious minerals, and works of art are believed to have disappeared in the area, where the Nazis had constructed a network of secret underground tunnels. Local entrepreneurs have also taken advantage of the legend, selling all kinds of souvenirs with “Gold Train” references in Walbrzych.
The treasure hunters have so far remained tight-lipped about the details of how and where they found the train, but insist they have a right to a finders’ fee of ten percent of its value.
For decades, rumors have circulated in the area that the Nazis hid the train in a network of underground tunnels they had built in Lower Silesia.
“When I first came to this region 13 years ago I didn’t take the stories seriously – they were just fairy tales to me,” Koper said.
But when he started to look into the story he became convinced it was true.
“These are no myths. That train exists,” he assured.
“At least three different secret services have hunted for this Nazi treasure,” he said, claiming that he was able to locate it because sophisticated technologies are now also available to hobby researchers.
Ownership Dispute
The issue has already been raised of who would actually own the Nazi-looted treasures should they be found on the mysterious train that went missing in 1945, RT reported.
Piotr Zuchowski, head of national heritage at Poland’s Culture Ministry, has asserted that “the analysis we have conducted with our lawyers quite clearly states that, if the train is found, it will be owned by the State Treasury.”
Meanwhile, Jewish representatives are also anxious to join the list of claimants. According to World Jewish Congress CEO Robert Singer, “if any of these items were stolen from Jews before they were murdered, or sent to forced labor camps, every measure must be taken to return them to their owners, or their heirs.”
Other theories that have been circulating claim that, not only could the train contain some Soviet loot, it could even hold the fabled Amber Room, which was presented to the Russian Emperor Peter the Great by the King of Prussia. It was stolen by the Nazis in 1941 and subsequently disappeared.
