Treasure hunters say they have permission to lift a buried canister that they believe may hold the loot next month as they continue their search for 10 tonnes of Nazi gold in the grounds of a Polish palace built in the 18th century.
The Silesian Bridge Foundation has been in charge of the dig near the village of Minkowskie, which has been focused on a historic orangery in a small section of the 14-hectare palace park.
There are rumoured to be treasures buried there that were taken on Heinrich Himmler’s orders to establish a Fourth Reich.
The team discovered a 5 foot metal canister buried 10 feet below the surface in May of this year.
The Silesian Bridge Foundation’s Roman Furmaniak said in a video with English subtitles posted on YouTube on July 31: “We are delighted to share with you the getting of our newest permit required for the final excavation of the deposits.
“September 1st is the date to save! For a Big Day, a Big Date! We are trying our best with what we have, and although we would love to make it a sprint, we do understand your impatience. Things are moving.
The canister is said to contain jewellery and jewels from the private collections of affluent Germans who lived in the area, as well as the fabled “Gold of Breslau” that vanished from police headquarters in what is now the nearby Polish city of Wroclaw.
The affluent Germans gave the SS their loot to guard their valuable belongings from the approaching Red Army.
Secret documents, an SS officer’s diary, and a map that the treasure hunters acquired from the heirs of officers belonging to a shrouded lodge with a more than 1,000-year history all led to the spot.
The same notebook, allegedly authored by a senior SS officer, is supposed to contain information about another palace in the area where 28 tonnes of riches are purportedly hidden at the bottom of a well.
A letter sent by a senior SS commander named von Stein to one of the girls who worked at the palace in Minkowskie and eventually became his sweetheart is included in the collection of papers.
“My darling Inge, I will fufill my mission, with God’s will,” the officer wrote. A few transports went smoothly. I hereby entrust to you the remaining 48 large Reichsbank chests as well as every family chest.
“Only you are aware of their location. May God grant you and me strength to complete our tasks.
According to reports, the diary’s pencil-written pages name 11 locations around Lower Silesia that were German territory both before and after the war.
The palace in Minkowskie’s treasure was mentioned in a journal entry dated March 12, 1945, which read: “A trough has been dug in the orangery, which is a safe “home” for the delivered chests and containers.”
48 intact chests from the Reichsbank were concealed; they were well covered in dirt and “greened” with still-living plants, the passage continues.
“Let Providence keep an eye on us.”
Furmaniak stated in the recently published video that the Opole Heritage Conservator has finally given them permission to hoist the canister.
He declared: “The Foundation’s objective—which we have been carrying out for many years now—is to authenticate the stories contained in the diary.”
The Foundation has finally been granted a PERMIT, he continued. Permission to conduct archaeological research and determine whether the sediments are still present
The future holds this task for us.
The Prussian general Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz constructed the palace at Minkowskie in the 18th century.
It changed hands multiple times throughout the years, and after the war, both the Polish and Red Armies stationed troops there at various points.
Later, it served as a kindergarten, a municipal council office, and even a movie theatre.
The Silesian Bridge foundation has signed a long-term lease on the property, which is currently in disrepair and is owned by a private party.
The search for the 10 tonnes of Nazi gold in the palace started in May, with the initial focus being on an old orangery in a small section of the 14-hectare palace garden.
The foundations of the orangery were meticulously uncovered by a team of experts who were simultaneously treating the area as an archaeological site.
Breslau, which is now Wroclaw in Poland, was one of the richest cities under Hitler’s Third Reich.
But the Germans had to conceal tonnes of money and other valuables because the Red Army was about to arrive.
These comprised civilian deposits because the populace had been persuaded to deposit gold, money, and jewellery in addition to bank deposits from the Reichsbank and other private German banks.
The treasure, so the story goes, was gathered and put into crates in the police headquarters building.
It was then carried from Breslau to Hirschberg, then to what is now Jelenia Góra in Poland, and last to the Sudeten highlands, all while being guarded by the SS.
However, the track dried up quickly after they left, and the gold hasn’t been seen or heard of since.
One of the ideas holds that Himmler gave the order for it to be taken in order to fund the establishment of a Fourth Reich.
Von Stein designated Inge as the guardian to watch over the hiding site.
She was in love with the dashing officer wearing a black SS uniform, according to Furmaniak. They resembled the gods.
She thought she would have to stay there for a year, possibly two, and then all would be over.
Nobody anticipated the Soviet Union gaining control of the area back then.
She had to hide from the Russians in the jungle for two months in 1945, according to the story.
The place, however, was unaltered when she returned.
They would have taken what they wanted and then abandoned the hole if they had dug one. This is something that Poland’s history is full with examples of.
Following the war’s conclusion, the area was given to the newly Soviet-controlled Poland, the German population was completely evicted, and Poles who had previously resided in Western Ukraine arrived.
Inge changed her look and identity to fit in with the locals, eventually getting married to one, and kept an eye on the treasure until her death 60 years later.