NAZI LOOT
Treasure hunters digging for 10 tonnes of Nazi gold in palace grounds given permission to raise ‘£200m loot-filled tank’
TREASURE hunters digging for 10 tonnes of Nazi gold have been granted permission to raise what they believe is a loot-filled tank.
The £200million stash is said to be buried 10ft below the surface at an 18th-century palace close to Wroclaw in southern Poland - that Hitler's henchmen used as a secret SS brothel.
5
5
5
The big dig, which began in May 2021, is being led by a group called the Silesian Bridge Foundation in the village of Minkowskie.
The gold diggers unearthed a 5ft metal cannister using ground-scanning radars after pinpointing the location with the help of an old SS diary.
Now two months on from their thrilling discovery, the team have been given the green light to bring the tank to the surface.
They told history buffs to "save the date" of September 1 after the excavator's latest permit was granted.
READ MORE ON THE NAZIS
Sharing an update on the buried treasure, Roman Furmaniak, from the Silesian Bridge Foundation said: "We are excited to share with you the receiving of our latest permit required for the final excavation of the deposits.
"Save the date - September 1st! Big Date for a Big Day!
"Things are moving, we would love to make it a sprint, as much as we can, but we do understand your impatience and we are doing our best with what we have!"
They had to seek permission from army sappers amid fears the treasure could have been booby-trapped by SS soldiers, who are said to have buried the gold sometime after invading Poland in 1939.
Most read in The Sun
The team now hope to uncover a hoard of stolen swag that was swiped towards the end of World War Two under the instruction of SS boss Heinrich Himmler, to fund the creation of a Fourth Reich.
It is thought to be made up of jewellery and possessions treasured by Germany's elite who lived in the area.
They handed their valuables over to the Nazis in the hopes of avoiding them being snatched by Russia's advancing Red Army.
The elusive "Gold of Breslau", which disappeared from police headquarters in the Polish city of Wroclaw, is also believed to be amongst the buried booty.
The Minkowskie palace is the first location that the foundation has searched.
Treasure hunters pieced together the loot's location using secret documents, an SS officer's diary and a map from the descendants of Waffen SS officers belonging to a secretive lodge that dates back over 1,000 years.
According to the diary, an astonishing quantity of gold, art, valuables and religious artefacts were stashed away in safe hiding places across Lower Silesia.
The Foundation's goal is to verify the stories contained in the diary, which we have been doing for many years already.
Roman Furmaniak
The wartime memoir, written by an officer Michaelis, identifies eleven locations of WWII treasure hidden in the last months of the conflict.
He was said to be the link between senior SS officers and local aristocrats who wanted help to protect their property from the Soviets.
A pencil-written entry from March 12, 1945, discussing the stash at the palace reads: "A trough has been dug in the orangery, which is a safe 'home' for the delivered chests and containers."
The Silesian Bridge Foundation have been concentrating on the orangery for the majority of the dig at the 14-hectare park.
Roman added: "The Foundation's goal is to verify the stories contained in the diary, which we have been doing for many years already.
"The Foundation has finally received a PERMIT. Permit to carry out archaeological works and to check whether the deposits are still there.
"This task awaits us in the near future."
Read More on The Sun
The loot apparently includes works by Botticelli, Rubens, Cezanne, Carravagio, Monet, Dürer, Rafael and Rembrandt.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Other deposits are said to contain gold coins, medals, jewellery and valuables deposited by wealthy people in the city to the local Nazi police for safekeeping.
5
5
Topics