“We found a public record in the file of the Netherlands Institute of Property Management, which tells about several attempts to recover after [Otrā] World War II stolen jewelry. And in this record there is a map drawn by a German soldier who witnessed the burial of this booty, treasures,” says National Archives researcher Annette Walkens.
The German soldier states in his testimony that his company was in Arnhem in August 1944 when the explosion took place. It hit the bank building, including the vault, causing everything inside to fall into the street as a result of the explosion.
Nazi soldiers put everything they could in their pockets and stashed ammunition in boxes, hiding them for several months. Around April 1945, the Dutch allies came in the direction of Arnhem, which was in the middle when the German soldiers “started to burn the ground under their feet”. It was impossible to take the stolen wealth with them, so the Nazis decided to bury them where they were at the time.
The Associated Press notes that the soldier who drew the map was interviewed by the Dutch military in Berlin after the war. However, the National Archives do not know if he is still alive, nor is his name being released due to the European Union’s privacy policy.
The Dutch authorities, using this map and the soldier’s testimony, have already tried to find the treasure once, in 1947. In the first attempt, the ground was frozen, so efforts to dig the ground were unsuccessful. But later, returning to the scene, the authorities failed to find anything.
Nazi treasure hunt in the Netherlands
Therefore, it is very likely that the buried jewels have been appropriated by someone else a long time ago. However, this possibility does not stop not only the local residents of Omeren, but also the guests of the village to see for themselves that the treasures are no longer here. This is also evidenced by the pits that have appeared all over the territory of the village.
“It is, of course, impressive news that has excited the whole village. However, not only our village, but also people from other places [uz to pavelkas]. A lot of people have spontaneously dug in places where they think there are buried treasures pointed out by metal detectors,” says local resident Marko Rudveld.
So far, no one has reported that they managed to find anything.
It should be noted that not all local residents view the Nazi treasure hunt positively. For example, Ria van Tuil van Neebos does not believe in this “nonsense”, but at the same time she also understands why others are fascinated by this possibility. The woman also points out that the bad thing is that some jewelers are so desperate to find something that they shamelessly dig wherever they want. News has also been received that the land is written in private property areas.
As a response, the municipality of Buren, which also includes the village of Omeren, has published a statement on its website, stating that the municipality has introduced a ban on the use of metal detectors. Officials have also warned that the specific territory is the front line of the Second World War, which is why such a treasure hunt is not a completely safe pleasure.
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