The Amber Room - news just in

[abmm]

Anyone who was frequenting any "treasurehunting" forums or newsgroups a while ago may have seen people trying to desperately hook investors for a search in Germany of a lost treasure called the "Amber Room". Well, even I was skeptical of these guys, but there may indeed be something to it.

Source:Treasure hunters dig for Hitler's gold - CNN.com

Treasure hunters dig for Hitler's gold

DEUTSCHNEUDORF, Germany (CNN) -- Digging has resumed at a site in the southeastern German town of Deutschneudorf, where treasure hunters believe there are almost 2 tons of Nazi gold and possibly clues to the whereabouts of the legendary Amber Room, a prize taken from a Russian castle during World War II.

The searchers surveyed the land with their computer toward the end of the day.
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Heinz Peter Haustein, one of the two treasure hunters and a member of Germany's parliament, said: "We have already hit a hollow area under the surface, it's filled with water and we are not sure if it is the cave we are looking for."

Digging was stopped more than a week ago amid safety concerns, as authorities and the treasure hunters feared that the shaft might collapse and that the cave -- if it is there -- may be rigged with explosives or poisonous booby traps.

At a news conference Friday, Christian Hanisch, the other treasure hunter, said that geological surveying equipment had located a possible cave about 30 feet under the surface containing "precious metals that can only be either gold or silver. The instruments would not have reacted to any other metal like copper." See photos from hunt for lost Nazi gold »

Hanisch pointed out that his father, who was a navigator in the Luftwaffe, the Nazi air force, was one of the troops said to have been involved in hiding art, gold and silver as the Nazis realized that they would lose the war.

He said that when his father died, he left coordinates leading to the spot in Deutschneudorf.

"It's not about getting the reward," Hanisch said at the site. "I just want to know if my father was right and if my instincts were right."
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Haustein, who is paying for the expedition, said he hopes that finding the gold could lead to the Amber Room, whose interior is made completely of amber and gold. It was looted by the Nazis from a castle in St. Petersburg, Russia, after Adolf Hitler's forces invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.

The room looked so majestic, many called it "the eighth wonder of the world." It disappeared after the war, and today a replica stands in its place in St. Petersburg.

Although parts of the Amber Room have resurfaced, the vast majority remains missing.

Haustein has been looking for the room for more than 12 years. Watch hunt for Nazi gold at German mountain »

"I am certain that large parts of the Amber Room are buried somewhere here," he said.

He said he has collected much circumstantial evidence suggesting that the Nazis hid the Amber Room in old copper mines around Deutschneudorf, but he has no proof.

Haustein said the Nazis began bringing valuables including art, gold and silver to the region around Deutschneudorf as early as summer 1944.

Deutschneudorf is in Germany's Ore Mountains, and the mountain where the treasure hunters claim to have found the Nazi gold was a copper mine until the 19th century. Although the mine was shut down in 1882, geologists found evidence that soldiers from Hitler's Wehrmacht -- the German armed forces -- had been there. The machine guns, parts of uniforms and explosives are on display at the town's museum.

Though both treasure hunters say they are certain they will find cultural goods, both admit that they fear disappointment.

"Of course, if you embark on something like this, you ask yourself: 'What if we find nothing again? What if I was fooled?' " Haustein said. "But every man has to go his own way, for better or for worse."


If they do find the treasure, Haustein says, it would legally belong to Germany, although he would recommend that Germany give any Amber Room parts back to Russia.

Treasure hunters have typically received rewards of 10 percent of the value of the goods found, but Hanisch says there are no laws dictating the reward amount.

[Lt1stone]

I've read and watched shows on it, Curious to see whats found!

[ObMiT]

That sounds very exciting!

[Buster]

I will be waiting also to see what they find...Buster...

[gordiesgirl]

So interesting, Just imagine the finds. Should be some great stuff.

[MinelabMan]

I'm curious to see what becomes of it!

[Steve in PR]

This is Big-Time, Major treasure hunting!

[The TINMAN]

Been following the story. Wow Could Ya Imagine the anticipation of seein whats There. Hope they do better then GERALDO with AL CAPONES vault. I hope they Hit the Mother Load On this One.

[EPC Guy]

I'm not sure that I agree that Germany should have the right to retain the bulk of any treasure....if the amber room artifacts can be identified and returned to their rightful owners - surely other items could be identified and returned as well...these items were stolen during an act of aggression and war - I just think that if the decendants of the rightful owners should have the opportunity to reclaim heirlooms and valuables if ownership could be proven....just my opinion.

[abmm]

Agreed totally.

The Amber Room was orginally presented to the Russian Tsarina by the Imperial German Emperor prior to WWI. During Nazi Germany's occupation in WWII, some nazi thought it would be a good idea to loot the place.

The palace within which the amber room orginally sat is now decorated with an impressive replica. I'd like to see that same room returned to its original status, complete with all the amber and gold.

Plus it's good international relations - Germans give the Russkies back their Amber Room and the Russians MIGHT give back some of the artworks which the Red Army looted out of Germany.

As for the treasure hunters and their cut... well, if the German authorities give them a reward all well and good. If they don't then it's up to the treasure hunters to get creative and generate income out of their find using the media or by writing a book. You can't have something that doesn't belong to you. Especially something as important as this.

"It belongs in a museum"

I'm pretty happy though... the geophys unit they are using for this search is very close to the one we use for locating bunkers, invasion caches and disposal burials. This is a great, high profile precedent.