WWII-era map leads to Dutch treasure hunt
A hand-drawn map from the World War II era released in early January has sparked a treasure hunt in the Netherlands. The map, released by the Dutch National Archive, depicts a red X, which reportedly represents a stash of jewelry looted from a bank vault by Nazis, per The Associated Press.
The treasure is supposed to be buried in the village of Ommeren in the east of the country with a population of just 715 people. It was buried by four German soldiers in World War II and was never found. "We don't know for sure if the treasure existed. But the institute did a lot of checks and found the story reliable," said spokeswoman for the National Archive Anne-Marieke Samson.
The trove includes "Four ammunition boxes and then just some jewelry that was kept in handkerchiefs or even cash money folded in," according to National Archive researcher Annet Waalkens. It is expected to be worth approximately $19.1 million, The Guardian reports. This has led to many making their way to Ommeren with metal detectors in hopes of snagging the riches for themselves. However, the local government has advised against searching for the treasure, "because of possible unexploded bombs, land mines and shells."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The treasure is yet to be found, leading to some theories that the Germans who buried it already took it back or even that American soldiers found it. During the third dig of the area by the Dutch Institute of Asset and Property Management, the team was approached by American soldiers who reportedly told them, "'we don't know what you're doing, but please mind your business, and this is our affair.'"
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.
-
Simone Biles: Rising – an 'elegantly paced and vulnerable' portrait of the gymnast
The Week Recommends Netflix's four-part documentary is more than a 'riveting comeback story'
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Paloma recipe: the cocktail of the summer
The Week Recommends This refreshing drink balances the fresh and fizzy taste of grapefruit soda with a subtle flavour of smooth tequila
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Mushroom edibles are tripping up users
the explainer The psychedelics can sometimes have questionable components
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Namibia grapples with legacy of genocide on Shark Island
Under the radar A non-profit research agency believes it has located sites of unmarked graves of prisoners
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
98-year-old charged with accessory to murder during Holocaust
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Seven tragic Second World War poems
In Depth Less well-known than those of the First World War, the poems of WWII are just as gut-wrenching
By Gabriel Power Last updated
-
What was Kristallnacht? 80 years since Nazi purge
In Depth Today marks the 80th anniversary of the ‘Night of Broken Glass’, a pogrom against German Jews that set the stage for the Holocaust
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
First World War: four things we get wrong
In Depth
By The Week Staff Published
-
German reunification: how the world reacted
In Depth This week marks the 28th anniversary of the formal dissolution of the German Democratic Republic
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Germany’s other genocide: Namibians sue over colonial slaughter
Speed Read Berlin returns remains of massacred indigenous people but descendants still waiting for apology
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
More than 100 First World War skeletons discovered in Belgian trench
Speed Read Experts will attempt to identify the soldiers, some as young as 15, in order to bury them ‘with full military honours’
By The Week Staff Last updated