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Polish city wants army's help in securing 'Nazi gold train'

PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge 27.08.2015 09:19
City authorities in Wałbrzych, south west Poland, have stated that they now know the supposed location of a fabled missing WWII Nazi German train laden with treasures, but stressed that they will not proceed without state help.
From left:  Małgorzata Sosnowska, a lawyer representing the finders, Zbigniew Nowaczyk, deputy mayor of Wałbrzych, and Maria Majewska, lawyer representing the city. Photo: PAP/Aleksander KożmińskiFrom left: Małgorzata Sosnowska, a lawyer representing the finders, Zbigniew Nowaczyk, deputy mayor of Wałbrzych, and Maria Majewska, lawyer representing the city. Photo: PAP/Aleksander Kożmiński

It was reported a week ago that the two people – a Pole and a German - who had apparently discovered the train would not confirm the location of their find until they had been guaranteed a 10 percent share in the value of the treasure.

By law, valuables found on Polish soil are the property of the state.

However, the two men, who submitted their initial claim on 13 August, have seemingly now informed the city of the exact location.

The find is within our administrative boundaries,” said deputy mayor of Wałbrzych Zbigniew Nowaczyk during a press conference on Wednesday in the presence of the lawyers of the supposed finders.

I cannot of course reveal the exact place,” the deputy mayor added.

Local authorities will inform the ministry of defence, as the vehicle is supposedly an armoured train and the territory may be mined. The ministries of culture and the treasury will also be officially notified.

There has to be money in the budget so as to somehow retrieve it [the train],” said Maria Majewska, a lawyer representing the city.

A train is not a pin,” she added.

The Lower Silesian city of Wałbrzych was part of Germany prior to World War II and named Waldenburg.

In 1943, the Nazis launched Project Riese, which involved the construction of a series of underground structures in the vicinity of the city.

As Germans fled the advancing Red Army at the end of the war, innumerable valuables were evacuated from across Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe.

Stories of a train that disappeared in Lower Silesia - loaded with valuables – have endured until today.

The Soviets took Waldenburg (Wałbrzych) on 8 May 1945, and Poland's borders were shifted west following the war, and the city became Polish.

Most ethnic Germans were forced to migrate west to within Germany's new borders, although some remained in Wałbrzych.

Treasure-hunters have claimed to have found the train in the past, but no solid evidence was ever found. (nh/rk)

Source: IAR

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