Treasure hunters plan to dig up 48 crates of Hitler’s gold worth half a billion hidden under Polish palace ‘brothel’
TREASURE hunters are hoping to dig up 48 crates of Hitler's hidden gold worth nearly half a billion pounds at a Polish palace used by his SS henchmen as a brothel.
The team will begin the archeological excavation at the 18th-century palace in the village of Minkowskie in southern Poland next week and hope to unearth 10 tonnes of gold and other riches.
"He used to stay in the palace because he had a lover there. Due to its location it was often visited by high-ranking SS officers who treated it like a brothel."
He convinced Inge to keep a watchful eye over the treasure, who happily obliged because "she was in love with the handsome officer in a black SS uniform".
"They were like gods," Furmaniak continued. "She believed that she would have to stay there for a year, maybe two, then it would all be over.
"There was a two-month period in 1945 when she had to hide in the forest from the Russians. But when she got back, the area had not been disturbed.
"If they had dug a hole, they would have taken what they wanted and then left the hole. We have seen this in history many times in Poland."
The region eventually came under the control of the Russians at the end of the war, who ousted the German settlers amid the return of Poles who had taken refuge in Western Ukraine coming back.
Inge adapted her appearance and identity to conceal herself among the new population, even marrying a local man, while watching over the treasure until her death 60 years later.
The Minkowskie palace, built by Prussian general Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, was later a station for the Red Army and the Polish Army.
The historical building was later used as a local council office, a nursery and even a cinema, before the Silesian Bridge foundation took a long-term lease on the property.
"The recovery of lost works of art and their return to their rightful owners could become a catalyst for changes aimed to bring unity - not polarisation. This notion guides our mission," Furmaniak said.
The fascist regime stole around 600,000 pieces of prized artwork from across Europe, amounting to billions of pounds.
Many pieces remain missing - including the infamous priceless collection of amber panels, known as the Amber Room and nicknamed the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’.
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Estimated to be worth somewhere between £120-£240 million in modern day currency, the Russian artefact was looted by the Nazis and put on display back in Germany - before disappearing towards the end of the war.
Regarded as one of the greatest mysteries of the war, some obsessive treasure hunters have lost their lives searching for the Amber Room - which remains undiscovered.