The Search Begins; The Locations of World War Two Era Stolen Treasure, Uncovered 75 Years Later

If you thought 2020 couldn’t get anymore unbelievable, think again. Amidst the apocalyptic level of death, disease, war and social revolution, there is a treasure hunt 75 years in the making.

Just like in every adventure movie there is a newly uncovered map for these treasures. A former Nazi officer named Egon Ollenhauer who passed away in 1963 has left behind a detailed diary featuring the eleven locations of hidden treasure acquired by Hitler and the Nazi party during World War Two. While some of the more mundane artifacts are twenty-eight tons of gold and heirlooms hidden for safe keeping from the approaching Red Army by high ranking Nazi officials, the stashes are expected to hold at least forty-seven pieces of artwork lost to time; artists like Botticelli, Rubens, Cezanne, Caravaggio, Monet, Dürer, Raffael and Rembrandt, all extremely well known. During the German occupation of France much art was destroyed or stolen and the work in these hidden pockets of Europe are likely all that remains of what was stolen so long ago.

Money and gold are not the only things hidden away by the Nazis, hundreds of significant religious relics were also taken from around the world by the Nazi party as a part of Hitler’s hunt for evidence to support his belief in Aryan racial superiority. He believed he could use the idols of Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and many other indigenous people’s religions to prove white protestant Germans deserved the world-wide empire he had promised them. It’s also believed he hid Christian relics hidden as well to protect them, though no one knows exactly what he found. This treasure hunt could quite literally be a quest for the holy grail.

The first location has already been found. A castle in Poland treasure enthusiasts believe holds the first stash of gold according to Ollenhuar’s diary. However, the credibility of the diary is under intense scrutiny. It’s authenticity is hard to confirm, and many experts wonder why a Nazi party member would reveal these secret location in such a conspicuous way. The diary has been kept secret for 75 years, but why would he write the locations down at all? He even reveals their burial mechanism used at the polish site, explosives in the ground triggered a flood of dirt, burying the gold and art in an inaccessible chamber. While those who buried their heirlooms are long dead, if or when the identifiable ones are uncovered they’re expected to be returned. The same can not be said for the 1.2 million dollars worth of gold hidden away. When the gold, religious relics and art are uncovered will they be returned to their pieced-together origins? Or will one lucky enthusiast with dynamite and a permit hold the entire wealth of the former Nazi party in their hands. As the Polish government bides their time the world holds its breath, waiting for reparations of a crime three-quarters of a century old.