The two investigators documented the sealed wall and approached the authorities in the Czech Republic. If they were right, the Amber Room was just on the other side, but they needed permission to knock down the wall. At first, the officials refused to acknowledge that there was a cellar behind the wall.
Once Stenz and Mederer presented the pictures of the wall, the officials changed their story and claimed that there was a basement there that contained German books. Even though the investigators were allowed to return to the castle and continue their investigation, they could not bring in any extra equipment that would help them discover what was behind the brick walls.
The German investigators believe that the woman who reported the story stumbled upon the greatest art heist conspiracy in modern history. She worked in the palace in February 1945, right after Adolf Hitler commanded his men to remove the Amber Room from Konigsberg. She claimed that she saw soldiers bringing the crates into the basement of the castle for two weeks, and then she never saw them again. Were they hiding the containers that contained the panels?
Stenz and Mederer also argue that the Czech officials know that the Amber Room is behind the brick wall and that it has been part of a government cover-up. Why would they deny the existence of the basement and then change their story when confronted with evidence? Why would the officials block their investigation by refusing to allow them to discover what is behind the walls?
The Czech government’s suspicious behavior is not the only proof that the investigators have that the Amber Room lays closed up in the basement of Frýdlant Castle. They also have uncovered a document from Martin Bormann, a senior Nazi official, in which he writes an encrypted message that includes the phrase “where Matthias strokes the strings.” The Nazis were infamous for writing in code; Stenz and Mederer are confident that Bormann’s message is a reference to the site of the Amber Room by making a historical reference to Matthias Gallas, one of the palace’s previous owners.
The investigators are sure that the Nazis were successful in removing the panels from Konigsberg and hid it in the Czech castle in secret. Of course, the SS soldiers weren’t counting on a meddlesome cook to catch them in the act! If the investigators are ever allowed to investigate further, and the crates are still behind the brick wall in the basement of the castle, what happened in the Amber Room would finally be solved.
However, this theory begs the question: what are the Czech officials hiding? If the wall is ever knocked down, what other unrecovered priceless art treasures that were stolen by the Nazis would be found there?
Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading
BBC Travel – Russia’s “Eighth Wonder of The World”
Live Science – Nazi Wreck May Hold Looted Treasures from Russian Palace’s ‘Amber Room’
The Art Newspaper – Forty-Five Years Later and They’re Still Hunting For The Legendary Amber Room
Medium – Will the Legendary Lost ‘Amber Room’ Ever Be Found?
The New York Times – Could Long-Lost Amber Room Be Stashed in a Nazi Bunker in Poland?
War History Online – A Brief History of the Amber Room – Does Anyone Know Where It Is?