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HistoryNetherlands

Hunt for Nazi loot in Dutch village ditched

May 2, 2023

Local authorities believe the hoard was buried at the location in 1945 by the Nazis, but had since been removed. The emergence of a hand-drawn map with a red "X" attracted officials and amateur treasure hunters alike.

https://p.dw.com/p/4QnnG
A cameraman holds a mobile phone showing the map of the buried Nazi loot on the location of the former dirt road in Ommeren, near Arnhem
A hand-drawn map with a red letter X purportedly showing the location of a buried Nazi hoard sparked a modern-day treasure hunt in the Dutch hamletImage: Peter Dejong/AP/picture alliance

The hunt for alleged World War II Nazi loot in central Netherlands has been called off after nothing was found.

"We have concluded that there is no Nazi treasure in Ommeren," Birgit van Aken-Quint, spokeswoman for the nearby Buren municipality, told AFP news agency. 

"We do assume that the treasure was once buried in Ommeren, but that it has been removed at some stage," she said.

Treasure hunters flocked to the small hamlet after the Dutch National archive made sketches of a hand-drawn map and other documents public in January this year.

A man with a shovel digs at a possible location
A local historical society conducted the search for the msising Nazi loot after a treasure map of the location was released by the National Archives in JanuaryImage: Marcel Krijgsman/ANP/picture alliance

Loot removed after war

Documents which accompanied the map supported claims that the Nazis had buried four ammunition crates filled with jewellery, gold coins and precious stones believed to be worth roughly €11 million (roughly $12 million) at today's value.

In August 1944, a bank in Arnhem was struck by a bomb, which scattered a number of valuables being stored.

German soldiers allegedly gathered the jewels, watches and other items and buried them in ammunition crates in Ommeren after the Allied "Operation Market Garden" near the village.

In 1946 German soldier Helmut Sonder testified that he had found the jewels along with fellow soldiers and buried them in the spring of 1945 in ammunition boxes. 

A detailed view of the collection of information including photos, letters, statements and the map accompanied by a photo of a German soldier
The release of a cache of documents including a World War II-era map of the Dutch village of Ommeren sparked the treasure huntImage: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Ban on treasure hunting

Local authorities were forced to ban private treasure hunters and the use of metal detectors in the area.

"We've warned off at least 15 people since the start of January who were using metal detectors," van Aken-Quint said.

One final attempt to find the hoard was made by archaeologists on Monday at two possible locations, however the searched turned up an old bullet, a car wheel rim and an old fruit tree, van Aken-Quint said.

"These have been handed over to the municipality," she said.

kb/msh (AFP, dpa)