Polish officials have reported the reception of a letter disclosing the whereabouts of a fabled Nazi treasure train that disappeared towards the end of World War II.
Dated April 23, the letter, penned by an anonymous individual, alleges the discovery of ‘disguised train cars’ concealed in a tunnel close to the city of Wałbrzych in the southwest.
As per the long-standing tale, in the waning stages of the conflict, an armored Nazi train departed from Wroclaw but never reached Wałbrzych, sparking rumors that it had been hidden within a subterranean tunnel system connecting the two locations.
Priceless gold, jewellery, and artworks on board were supposedly lost to the world, and efforts have been made by treasure hunters to uncover it ever since.
Now a letter has been sent to authorities in Wałbrzych making fresh claims that a loot-filled train, the existence of which many historians dispute, is in a hidden tunnel in the area.
The anonymous sender reportedly wrote: ‘Three railway wagons from the period of World War II, are hidden in a camouflaged tunnel.
‘Each wagon is approximately 12 metres long, four metres wide and four metres high.
‘The wagons are hidden behind a closed, sliding steel gate at the entrance to the tunnel.’
Claims have long been made that the train entered an abandoned coal mine or tunnel system near Wałbrzych. Pictured: Experts investigate part of an underground complex built by the Nazis near Wałbrzych in Poland
The train – if it exists – is believed to be an armoured locomotive similar to the one pictured, used by the Nazis during WWII
It added: ‘The wagons contain valuable precious metals, including gold.
‘Precise geodetic data will be made available to the mayor of Wałbrzych or his deputy in the form of attachments,’ the letter ended.
City spokeswoman Kamila Świerczyńska said: ‘A certain man, whose details I cannot disclose, made a procedural report of the discovery, referred to by the press as the gold train.
‘The letter looks factual and specific. The letter indicates four attachments, such as a tunnel with a train inside.’
She added that the letter included a ‘table with geodetic data, terrain profile, including the tunnel layout, a map with track simulation and tunnel course, and account of a witness who lived in Wałbrzych during the war.’
Anna Nowakowska, head of the Wałbrzych branch of the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments, said: ‘After analyzing various sources and documents, the man came to the conclusion that he had located a tunnel with the so-called golden train inside.’
In the closing months of WWII, Nazi officials in the city of Wroclaw in southwest Poland – then called Breslau and part of Greater Germany – loaded train wagons with looted treasures to escape the advancing Red Army.
The treasures were rumoured to have included treasures from the fabled Amber Room of the Czars might be aboard the train.
The room composed of panels of amber was looted by Nazi troops in 1941 from a palace outside Leningrad and has never been seen since.
Missing treasure: Since the end of WWII, hunters have risked their lives to uncover the £20billion-worth of Nazi treasure left behind. The Amber Room of the Czars (pictured in 1917) is the most sought-after of them all
In 2015, two men sparked gold fever after claiming to have found the train buried inside a tunnel.
The men, Piotr Koper and Andreas Richter, said they used ground-penetrating radar to find the train.
Fortune-hunters as far away as Japan descended on the area, but despite extensive searches the train was never found.
Officials in Wałbrzych say that the man who made the most recent claims has not applied for a permit to search for the train.
According to local media, the authorities are now considering whether to investigate the claims further.
