The Amber Room: Nazi Plunder Found?

by jordan | February 22, 2008 at 10:36 am | 1125 views | 3 comments

A German lawmaker and part-time treasure hunter claimed Thursday he may have found where the Nazis stashed pieces of the storied Amber Room treasure plundered from the Soviet Union during World War II.

Working from a map and notes that were among the possessions of a dead Nazi air force radio operator, Hans-Peter Haustein maintains he has now pinpointed the location of the treasure buried in the mountains in the state of Saxony on the Czech border.

"A scientific test of the soil has also proven that there is gold in the mountain," Haustein told The Associated Press. Haustein said he would give more details about his discovery at a news conference Friday.

The Amber Room is an element of WWII history that pops up from time to time: a section of Czar Peter the Great's palace that was looted by the Nazis as they fled the Russian Front. Elements of the room have since been rediscovered, but the rest is widely presumed destroyed in the bombing of St. Petersburg.

The Amber Room currently on display is a replica, and draws tourists from around the world.

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Karen Hatter

at 11:10 on February 22nd, 2008

This reminded me of the scene in Remains of the Day when, upon arriving at their host's house, one of the Nazis in command directs some subordinate to make note of the paintings on the wall, like he was window shopping.

jordan

at 11:17 on February 22nd, 2008

I couldn't help thinking of Raiders of the Lost Ark! I bet Hans-Peter Haustein is feeling a bit like Indy right now...

bclmv

at 20:35 on February 24th, 2008

This photo is of work currently being done in the Amber Room Workshop. The small (~40 people) workshop does all the work for the replication of the Amber Room as well as private commissions.

bclmv has contributed a photo to this story.