According to local legend, as Nazi Germany forces fled Soviet troops in 1945, they hid the train containing gold, jewels, weapons and treasured artwork in a secret tunnel near Wroclaw.
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At the height of the frenzy a year ago, the World Jewish Congress reminded Poland’s authorities in the case of a discovery of a treasure-laden train, any valuables belonging to Jews killed in the Holocaust must be returned to their rightful owners or their heirs.
Washington Post Foreign Affairs Reporter Rick Noack has been following the developments and told KCBS they really don’t know what’s down there.
Excavations began on a railway embankment yesterday (Tuesday) close to the southern city of Walbrzych, despite independent research concluding that the team will not find the fabled train.
It’s said they then carried out an explosion to seal the tunnel, hiding it from view and the possibility of falling into the hands of the Allies.
However, geologists using magnetic equipment have found no evidence of the locomotive in that location.
“I’m sure there are a lot of critics and skeptics, and at this point the authorities in Poland, they are one of those”, Noack said.
The Nazis had many miles of tunnels constructed near Walbrzych during the war.
Despite numerous heads-ups by experts on the small likelihood of finding anything, the hunters are determined to find the lost train.
“The train is not a needle in the haystack; if there is one, we will find it”, he added. But naysayers haven’t deterred treasure hunters from setting out in search of the train and its fabled riches once more.
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Koper and Richter’s privately funded effort will be streamed live online and could be over within two days. He said the man told him the train disappeared before ever making it to Waldenburg (now Walbrzych) some 65 kilometers (45 miles) to the west.
