1on the morning of March 8, 943, the end of the famous marshal Rommel came. He was one of Hitler's most shrewd and cunning generals. His remaining armored forces have retreated in the direction of Tunisia.
In Tunis, there are a large number of gold coins shipped from Italian bases, as well as a large number of treasures plundered by Rommel from Arabs.
When the failure was irreversible, Rommel was determined not to let his treasure fall into the hands of the British. He had considered transporting the treasure from Tunisia to southern Italy, but the war situation was a powerful counterattack against his idea. Britain has completely controlled the sea and air rights, and Germany and Pakistan cannot carry out maritime transportation. Rommel had to find another way.
On March 8, several close friends of Rommel were responsible for sneaking Rommel's treasure away and hiding it. There were 15 to 20 military vehicles, which were responsible for transporting Rommel's property. There are a large number of world-famous treasures in these properties, filled with 36 large gold cabinets, each weighing more than 1 ton. These military vehicles drove in the middle of the night, disappeared into the vast darkness, and headed for a secret desert destination. Colonel Hans Nederman, one of Rommel's cronies, is responsible for escorting military vehicles. They want to bury the treasure in a safe place in the Sahara desert so that it won't fall into the hands of the British army. Rommel knew that British intelligence knew all about his gold source, so they tried their best to get it. In order to confuse the enemy, Rommel adopted a diversion strategy: he sent a fleet of speedboats, loaded with boxes of works of art robbed by his men from museums and palaces, and transported them to a secret destination on the Italian coast. The allies have been waiting for this action for a long time. As soon as their reconnaissance plane found these speedboats, it was ready to intercept them and sink them if necessary.
Rommel's diversion strategy completely worked. When British bombers and naval vessels tried to capture these speedboats full of treasures, the convoy carrying most of Rommel's treasures was accelerating in another place, along the hidden dirt road, heading southwest to the desert town of Duz in Tunisia. According to the plan, these gold and silver treasures will be sent to a safe place here by camel team and buried in one of hundreds of sand dunes all over the area. At least, this is the original plan.
Rommel's camel team left Duz around March 1943 and walked in the desert for 1 ~ 2 days. You can safely bury a lot of treasures without going further. But where is it buried? This is a mystery with no answer.
Only a few weeks later, a British radio news broadcast said: In a battle on the edge of the desert near Duz, the British army intercepted and annihilated a well-equipped German detachment, which was obviously sent to a remote place to join its troops after performing its mission. According to the radio, all the German soldiers were killed.
The fact is clear: after the expedition successfully buried this treasure in the Sahara desert of Tunisia, it was ambushed by the British army on its way back to Duz. They all died in the subsequent battle. So, no one knows where Rommel's treasure is buried, not even Rommel himself.
After the war, in order to find and possess these treasures, western governments and various companies, groups and adventurers stepped onto the stage one after another and staged a farce of treasure hunting, which killed many people. What's more, it is likely to be the Rommel treasure dispute around the "flaig case".
One morning in June, 1948, a 25-year-old lanky young man walked into the French Consulate in Stu Tegart. He claimed to be Petrel flaig and applied for a visa to visit Corsica. When the French agent learned that he was a quartermaster of the Italian SS diving unit, he became suspicious and said, "I can consider your application, but you must tell the real purpose of Corsica." Be careful, don't fool me with trivial things! "
Flaig zheng, but after a little thinking, he told a shocking story:
From 1942 to 1943, flaig served in an SS diving unit in an Italian seaport. 1943 One day in September, he was suddenly ordered to go to Corsica with diving equipment to report to Lieutenant Colonel Ludwig Deryl of the SS. On September 17, four officers, including Derrier, took him to sea and came to St. Floren Bay outside bastia. Flaig's task is to find a hiding place that can hold six iron boxes on the seabed. After several days of diving, he finally found a cave with a water depth of 55 meters on the steep cliff at the bottom of the sea and marked it with a buoy. The next morning, four officers took flaig to sea again. This time, six iron boxes with a volume of 80cm× 40cm× 40cm were added to the ship. After arriving at the buoy, flaig began to prepare for diving. At this time, an officer measured the coordinates of this point with a sextant and recorded it on paper. Flaig "inadvertently" glanced at the paper, and then firmly remembered the numbers on it. To be on the safe side, he also estimated the location of the sinking point according to several visible features (a bombed house, a lighthouse and a small forest).
But two days later, flaig was suddenly arrested by the Gestapo in Corsica. Only during the trial did he know that the box was full of gold coins, jewels, jewelry and other valuables stolen by four police officers. Flaig insisted that he was only carrying out orders, and he knew nothing else, let alone the preparation location of the treasure point. Later, when he testified in a military court, he learned that four officers had not confessed. Finally, Derrier and other officers were shot and he was sent to fight on the Eastern Front.
On the same day, a top secret telegram flew to Paris. Then, a special appraisal committee was set up. Experts carefully analyzed the information provided by flaig and raised a series of questions. For example, how can an SS officer make a complete diver do such a secret thing? Will such an important coordinate let flaig have a look? Since flaig had nothing to do with the crime and didn't know what was in the box in advance, why didn't he give the Gestapo an accurate hiding place? In a word, the appraisal committee was full of doubts about flaig's words, but the French government decided to use flaig to find these treasures. Lineberger Company volunteered to undertake specific work.
In bastia, flaig is very confident. When negotiating with the representatives of the authorities, he insisted on getting one-third of the treasure before helping to explore it. The authorities won't talk about offering a reward until the treasure is found. The two sides finally reached an agreement. A few days later, flaig took the sketch of the treasure point and led all the ships of Lineberger to set sail. However, chaos soon appeared: the position on flaig's map did not match the coordinates he "glanced at", and there were no geographical indications within dozens of kilometers along the coast.
Flaig looked worried, either complaining that the shore had changed too much or cursing the officer for not knowing sextant at all. Finally, the experts had to draw a rough search area according to flaig's sketch and his contradictory explanation. 10 professional divers dive in turn, and flaig also goes to sea. Only then did people discover that this former SS diver was almost a layman in diving.
Time passed day by day. A few months later, the cost of treasure exploration has reached 6.5438+0 million francs, but even the shadow of the treasure has not been seen. People began to wonder whether they had been cheated. Finally, the general manager of Lineberger Company found flaig and said only one sentence: "Liar, you bankrupt me, and you, a villain, will never have a good end!"
With a warm smile, flaig kept indoors and secretly planned to flee to Germany. In order to get the travel expenses, he tried to secretly sell the diving equipment and two binoculars allocated to him. As a result, the matter was exposed and he was sentenced to two months in prison. When flaig was in prison, the news about Rommel's Treasure in Corsica reached the press. A German newspaper published an article entitled "The Magical Treasure in the Arabian Nights", saying that General Rommel had commanded his men to rob gold and silver treasures and art treasures worth more than100000 pounds in African countries. 1943, due to the deterioration of the war situation in Africa, these treasures were transported to Italy and then disappeared. Then, this French newspaper published a summary of an interview with Louis Boulder, a former resistance fighter. The former guerrilla in Corsica said that one night in September 1943, he clearly saw a German speedboat sinking some boxes into the sea through a telescope.
In this way, flaig became a news figure as soon as he got out of prison. He also took the opportunity to briefly introduce Rommel's treasure to reporters, but said nothing about the location of the treasure, only suggesting that he was forced to participate in the treasure exploration this time, so "it is impossible to have sincerity."
In prison, flaig met a professional diver named Andre Mortiere, who lived in a village called Polito near bastia. 1949, flaig went to Polito to persuade Mortiere to take part in treasure exploration. But Mortiere refused in one bite, because the Corsican mafia had declared the treasure his own, so Mortiere didn't want to die. Subsequently, flaig, who went to the seaside to spread, suddenly disappeared, and the newspaper speculated that he was kidnapped and killed by the mafia. The French police were also busy for a while, and finally went away. Flaig's disappearance made a wonderful advertisement for the existence of Rommel's Treasure.
On June 23rd, 1952, Frenchman Henri Elie hired six diving experts to take the speedboat "Young Actress" to bastia. He intends to "grind" all the seabed where treasures may be hidden. But the next day, a cruise ship returning to Hong Kong crashed the "young actress" parked on the shore in full view. Anri Eli thought it was just an accidental story, so he rented a speedboat to go out to sea. I don't know how far I went, but the engine suddenly stopped. Ellie realized it wasn't an accident. He knew he couldn't beat the mafia and had to retreat.
The treasure hunter who followed closely was an American female millionaire. 1952 In August, she hired a former naval officer. Heading for bastia. As soon as the captain arrived, he recruited workers and divers from the local people with high salaries. "There must be a brave man under the four rewards." In less than three days, the troops were recruited. Who knows that these people quit on the pretext that the preparatory work was not finished. It turned out that each of them received a note on the same day, which "advised" them to break the contract quickly or they would be severely punished. As a result, the treasure hunter left in despair again.
1954, a treasure ship named comet was sunk by a fishing boat at sea and a sailor was killed. The French media immediately reported this "accident" with the headline: "Who's next? Are there any warriors who dare to challenge the mafia? " After that, "Rommel's Treasure" seems to be gradually forgotten. However, on August 196 1, 15, several French evening newspapers simultaneously published the news of the assassination of Andre Mortier. According to the newspaper, this "friend in need" in flaig once lost his manners after drinking, saying that he would tell the secret about the hidden treasure that flaig told him. As a result, he was killed by a submachine gun in the bushes outside the city when he left the bar at midnight. A year later, the suspect who killed Mortiere was also removed by the same means.
These tragedies remind people of "Rommel's Treasure". 196 1, in Paris and Marseille alone, the police arrested many swindlers who sold the schematic map of the so-called "Rommel Treasure" burial place. The fanatical revival of Rommel's Treasure aroused the interest of a man named Jon Godley. His participation brought a new turn for the "flaig case".
Jon Godley is an Irish journalist and traveler. He carefully studied all the information about flaig, and declared in the American Weekly of 196 1 that everything flaig said was pure fiction! A German magazine immediately reprinted this article, and Godley himself suddenly received an invitation from West Germany: Mr. flaig wants to meet him. So, he "died" in flaig of 13 and suddenly lived.
Godley was invited to fly to Germany. Flaig admitted that everything he said in the past was a lie, and then revealed his "true feelings" to Godley:
From 65438 to 0943, flaig was a first-class sailor at the Italian naval base. /kloc-in September of 0/7, the Gestapo suddenly transported six iron boxes to their speedboat, and then left three officers headed by Dreier. Their ship was ordered to sail to Corsica to join a fleet escorting supplies back to Germany. Before sailing, Derrier made a final inventory of the contents of the box, which surprised flaig when he opened it: the box was full of gold and silver. On September 18, the speedboat arrived at bastia Port, where it was attacked by the allied forces. In such a critical situation, the drill bit ordered the treasure to sink to the bottom of the sea. Flaig remembered that the location of Shenbao was not far from the shore, facing a bombed mosque.
Regarding his disappearance for many years, flaig explained that he was kidnapped by the mafia in Polito village in 1949. After forcing him to draw a schematic diagram of the hidden treasure, the gangster let him go and gave him a little reward. However, they warned that he would be killed if he explored the treasure by himself or through others. He was frightened, so he has been hiding in a small town in Germany, anonymous 13 years.
For flaig's words, Godley thinks it is even less credible. So he is determined to find out the true face of this Mr. flaig. In just half a year, Godley's investigation has made a major breakthrough. It turns out that this Mr. flaig is not only a fake resume, but also a fake first name and surname. His real name is Walter. The real surname is the letter K. Before 1948, K had never set foot in Corsica, even in France. 1945, K was put into Dachau concentration camp by the US military because he was a member of the SS. Among many important Nazi war criminals, his crimes are simply insignificant, so he has more freedom of action. Coincidentally, there is a Nazi backbone named Schmitz in the same camp. His appearance, height, skin color, etc. Almost the same as K, after observing and talking about K, Schmitz decided to buy and use K. One evening, Schmitz quietly told K in a corner of the military camp that he was the commander of a special force under Rommel and was responsible for transporting precious items robbed by various troops to Germany. 1945, when he saw that the defeat of the empire had been decided, he left many treasures that could not be transported in three places-Australia, Italy and the seabed near Corsica. Schmitz suggested that as long as K agreed to give him his ID card and clothes, he would give K the schematic diagrams of three treasure locations. K agreed and got three sketches. However, Schmitz was taken away by the military police in the middle of the night and has since disappeared. K knows that to get rich, it is enough to get a treasure, but first you must be free. So, he went to see Captain Bretan Bach, the representative of the US military in the concentration camp, and said that he happened to know the location of two Nazi treasures, and drew schematic diagrams of two locations in Australia and Italy.
Two US military task forces immediately rushed to the location shown on the map and returned with full loads: in Australia, many art treasures were dug up; In Italy, many precious jewels and money were found. So K was released, and the authorities gave him an identity card with Pechell flaig on it, and gave him a bonus as he asked. With this money, after two years of comfortable life, flaig went to Hamburg on 1947, attended a self-funded diving training class and began to prepare for his trip to Corsica.
After mastering these materials, Godley was convinced that the third treasure location mentioned by Schmitz must exist. 1962, he told all this to his good friend, Edwin Link, an undersea archaeologist, and produced some documents and maps. So, the two began to prepare for the treasure hunt. In order not to leak the news, all employees must promise to keep their work secret for ten years. Link quickly converted the speedboat "diver" into a fully equipped floating laboratory. The whole operation is based on the schematic diagram obtained by flaig in the concentration camp.
1963 On April19, the speedboat "Diver" quietly arrived in bastia Port. Although Godley and Link meant well, the "marine diver" was targeted by a fishing boat as soon as he went out to sea. This fishing boat, like a ghost, never leaves, making treasure hunters extremely nervous and seriously affecting work efficiency. Soon after, Godley received a note that read: "Sir, I want to warn you about Rommel's treasure: many people have died in this matter, and I suggest you not to add your name. This treasure is ours! " The signature of this letter is illegible.
The "marine diver" left in frustration. Another failed treasure hunt.
1975, the French journalist Robert Sharu interviewed a leader of the neo-Nazi movement about whether neo-Nazi organizations were involved in the "Rommel Treasure" dispute. First, the leader called flaig a charlatan, and everything he said was a lie. His purpose is to cheat money from naive people. He also threatened to punish flaig for insulting four SS officers. Finally, the leader admitted: "If there was a treasure, we would have found it long ago. We should be the first to get the treasure ... hundreds of divers we organized have searched the whole east coast from north to south in Corsica, one meter at a time. There is no treasure there! "
After the interview was published in the newspaper, flaig was frightened and quickly issued a statement in a German newspaper: "Yes, I have lied all my life, but the treasure does exist, but it is not hidden in Corsica, but in an Italian temple."
The "flaig case" that has been tossing for decades has ended like this, probably completely. But the battle of "Rommel's Treasure" is not over yet, and it will not end until all the treasures robbed by the fascist army are discovered.
"Rommel's Treasure" has finally become an eternal mystery, but one day, a brave and clever hero will find this lost wealth for mankind.
The unaccounted-for "treasure of great Germany"
1at the end of 944, when Nazi Germany was about to collapse completely under the joint attack of the world anti-fascist armed forces, Hitler was already considering hiding the property of the German government in a safe place so as to make a comeback in the future. This is the first time in European history that a defeated country hides its wealth.
1000 in April, 1945, nearly1000 trucks were found to be responsible for transferring the property of German banks. This property was then valued at 350 billion francs. In addition, there are a large number of jewels, gold bars, precious stones, rare art treasures, as well as the private property of Nazi leaders, church property, and property looted from Jews in Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece and the Czech Republic. This is a "treasure of Great Germany", with a total value estimated at 700 billion francs. This is to carry out Hitler's order on the eve of the 1945 Armageddon and hide all the treasures left in Germany at that time in the name of "national property".
Some of these treasures have been found and recovered, mainly1the treasure hidden under a salt well in Gao Shan in May 945, with a value of 1000 billion francs. Later, the property worth 65.438 billion francs hidden by Caton brenner, the head of the secret police, in the garden of Villa Riga in Oscar, and the property buried by Viscount Helmut von Himell in the cellar of the Archbishop's residence in Salzburg in 654.38+0.946 were recovered. Later, some of Marshal Goering's private property was found in the reinforced concrete cellar of Wiltonstein villa near Nuremberg: 36 large gold candlesticks, a silver bathtub, a group of famous paintings by great painters and extremely rare brandy.
Dolf Eichmann became an Israeli prisoner in 1960 and was sentenced to death by the Nuremberg International Tribunal. He buried a treasure worth19 billion francs in the alpine pasture area of Blaya Ahlmer. Two big boxes buried in 1945 by Savad, the leader of the Nazi SS, were found in a barn near Fusk Castle. In a concrete basement that has now become a slaughterhouse, Nazi German Foreign Minister found a small vault with gold, foreign currency and treasures.
1946 One day, Franz Godrich, a former lieutenant who participated in the property hiding operation, revealed: "There is a considerable treasure buried near Lund, Austria. He said, "I know this because I took part in that operation. Thirty containers were buried by Russian prisoners of war. However, after the job is done, they will never talk again, because they are dead! "
Later, dozens of people died looking for these treasures.
1946, two treasure hunters Helmut Meyer and Ludwig Petrcher entered the Austrian mountains with accurate floor plans. But soon, people found their bodies. Not far from the two bodies, people found several secret places where the treasure was buried. This shows that the sought-after treasure was carefully moved to other places and buried. 1952, a camper named Joseph Matai mysteriously disappeared in Rifkop Mountain, and only his camping tent was abandoned in an empty valley. 1953 in may, another body and eight empty treasures were found in Rifflekop mountain area.
All these bizarre assassinations and disappearances clearly show that the treasures hidden in the Austrian Alps are closely controlled and guarded by some secret commandos. This must be a huge fortune, because people found the following list from a German suspect who was caught by Americans that year, with the official instructions and signature of Nazi SS general F Roric: 6.6 billion Swiss francs; 9.9 billion US dollars; 13.5 tons of gold bars; 294 diamonds and tens of thousands of works of art.
The armed forces of the United States and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have been searching for Hitler's German treasure in the Toplitz Lake area of Austria, and some of them have been found. 1959 In July, German technicians with ultrasonic detectors and underwater cameras found the 16 container at the bottom of the lake 70-80 meters below Toples. Many containers were salvaged. People found a fake pound exactly like the real pound in the box. Its value is 654.38+000 billion francs. This batch of fake pounds came from a counterfeit master who was detained by the Germans in Saxony Hausen concentration camp. At that time, these fake pounds were the main measures of Nazi Germany's "bernhardt Action" to disrupt the allied economies.
It is believed that there are at least 20 sealed boxes in Lake Toplitz at an altitude of 2,000 meters, including original drawings of jewels, gold, artificial gem and prototypes, in addition to fake pounds that have been found. Some people think that real gold bars are buried near fake pounds in the lake area.
It is also believed that the main treasure of the "Great German Treasure" has been transferred many times, and its main treasures are scattered in mountainous areas, mainly in Jarstein, Salzburg and the vicinity of Salzburg. These treasures are closely watched, and it seems unlikely that people who are not familiar with the inside story will find them. Some people think that the main treasure location is near Austin town. The city is about 60 kilometers away from Salzburg, at the southwest end of two lakes with a length of 10 kilometers. During the war, Australia was one of the last strongholds of Nazi Germany and the main strategic point of Hitler's plan drawn up by 1945. At the Nuremberg trial, it was estimated that 200 million Domagk's property was hidden in Australia.
The former German federal government and the Austrian government are trying their best to find this treasure. Secret agencies in France, the United States, the Soviet Union and Israel have also spied on these treasures. Because, legally speaking, almost all parties can claim this property. However, no one knows who will end up with this mysterious "treasure of great Germany".