Nazi Gold Train
In 2015, representatives of the world’s media flocked to a small, unassuming town in south-west Poland. The reason? A pair of amateur treasure hunters announced that they were on the verge of finding the so-called Nazi Gold Train, a locomotive laden with treasure that was hidden in the closing stages of the Second World War, never to be seen again. However, despite making use of the latest radar technology, the intrepid duo went home empty handed. The Nazi Gold Train – if indeed it exists – is still out there, waiting to be found.
The idea that the Nazi would hide looted valuables in remote caves is far from fanciful. In fact, it was common practice. As they pillaged their way through Europe, many top officials of the Nazi regime looked for secret but secure locations to stash away treasures ranging from gold bullion to precious artworks. In most cases, they hoped they would be able to return to retrieve their loot once the war was over. So it’s no surprise that stories of an entire train filled with treasure being hidden in a network of secret tunnels in Poland’s Owl Mountains, emerged after the war and have failed to go away.
According to the legend, in 1945, when it was apparent to all that Nazi Germany was going to lose the war, a group of soldiers in Poland decided to hide their gold and other treasures, to keep their loot safe from the advancing Soviet forces. The train left the city of Breslau (now modern-day Wroclaw) and driven into the elaborate system of tunnels that had been dug into the mountains as part of a top-secret wartime plan. Whether the so-called Project Riese (or Project Giant) was aimed at building a new underground headquarters for Adolf Hitler or even a huge underground armaments factory, is not known. However, a large section of the tunnels were indeed completed, and it’s here that treasure hunters believe the train and its valuable cargo were taken.
Unsurprisingly, the victorious Soviet Army, upon learning of the story, set to work trying to find the train. However, despite numerous searches of the Owl Mountains, they never even came close. Neither have the treasure hunters who came after them, which leads us to the ill-fated 2015 attempt, which left its leaders looking foolish with the whole world watching. That most recent treasure hunt only helped support the argument, put forward by some academics and other local historians, that the train never existed in the first place. However, the legend refuses to die down, much to the delight of the small towns and villages situated alongside the mountains as tourists and amateur sleuths continue to head there hoping to strike gold.