Dig for ‘stash of Nazi gold’ under palace gets go-ahead

TREASURE hunters searching for 10 tons of Nazi gold allegedly stashed under a crumbling palace in Poland have been given the go-ahead to dig up a canister that may contain the loot.

Since May last year, the Silesian Bridge Foundation has been digging for gold that it believes was hidden under the 18th-century palace in the village of Minkowskie.

The Polish group claims that the treasure was taken from rich German families on the orders of Heinrich Himmler, the SS chief, and buried beneath a conservatory as a war chest for a future Fourth Reich.

This week, the group announced it had received a key permit to allow it to step up the search.

“We are excited to share with you the [receipt] of our latest permit required for the final excavation of the deposits,” team member Roman Furmaniak said in a message on Youtube.

“Save the date – Sept 1. Big date for a big day!” he added.

The secret stash supposedly contains jewels and other valuables, as well as gold, which the German aristocracy allegedly handed over to the SS to protect it from the advancing Red Army near the end of the Second World War.

The foundation said it tracked down what could be the location of the stash by using georadar, which detected a canister under a conservatory at the palace in south-west Poland.

The search is largely based on the discovery of what is claimed to be an SS officer’s diary and a map. The Silesian Bridge Foundation says the documents were handed down through generations

‘The remaining 48 heavy Reichsbank’s chests I entrust to you. Only you know where they are located’

of the soldier’s family before being passed to them.

In one extract quoted in media reports, the officer writes: “My dear Inge, I will fulfil my assignment, with God’s will. Some transports were successful. The remaining 48 heavy Reichsbank’s chests and all the family chests I hereby entrust to you.

“Only you know where they are located. May God help you and help me fulfil my assignment.”

But historian Guy Walters cast doubt on the story of the loot, citing several inconsistencies.

It remains to be seen whether the canister will end up containing untold riches, or something far less glamorous.