Trillions of dollars worth of jewelry, gold, and fine art were reported missing or stolen after World War II ended. Is some of the loot buried in a secret Nazi gold train? Dark5tv presents five of WWII’s most mysterious missing treasures and the conspiracies to hide them from the world.
1. Nazi Gold Train
In December 2015, a press conference denounced the claims of a Nazi Gold Train, by Piotr Koper and Andreas Richter. The famed treasure hunters still claim it is there, and say that the only way to find out once and for all if the train is there, is to dig.
The treasure hunter team that has been looking for the train for over three years claim they have found the tunnel that will lead them to the treasure train, which was supposed to be hidden at the end of WWII by the Nazis.
The digging started but then was stopped when nothing was found. Will they ever find it?
2. The Amber Room
The Amber Room is a world-famous chamber decorated in amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors, which was at one time located in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near St. Petersburg. It was originally constructed in the 18th century in Prussia, however, the Amber Room disappeared during World War II. Before the room was lost, it was considered an “Eighth Wonder of the World.”
Rumors have it that it is still hidden somewhere in Poland.
3. Yamashita’s Gold
Yamashita’s gold or treasure is the name given to the alleged war loot stolen in Southeast Asia by the Japanese military during the second world war and then hidden in caves, tunnels and underground complexes in the Philippines. The treasure is named after the Japanese general Tomoyuki Yamashita, who has the infamous nickname “The Tiger of Malaya.”
Treasure hunters from around the old have been lured to the Philippines for over 50 years, the existence of the treasure is dismissed by most experts.
The reported gold has been the subject of a complicated lawsuit that was filed in a Hawaiian state court in 1988 involving the former Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos and a Filipino treasure hunter, Rogelio Roxas.
4. Alpine Fortress
The Alpine Fortress was the national redoubt planned by SS Chief Heinrich Himmler in November and December of 1943 for Germany’s government and armed forces to retreat to. It was located “from southern Bavaria across western Austria to northern Italy.” The plan was never fully supported by Adolf Hitler, and no serious attempt was made to put it into operation. Though the Allies were convinced that the Nazis would retreat to the Alpine Fortress to continue the fight and diverted significant forces there at the end of WWII.
It is rumored that in the preparation of setting up the redoubt, vast treasures were moved to the region and hidden.
5. Awa Maru
The Awa Maru was a Japanese ocean liner which was built between 1941-1943 in Nagasaki, Japan. The ship was designed for passenger service, but at the outbreak of war she was taken over by the Japanese Navy.
Several hundred stranded merchant marine officers, military personnel, diplomats, and civilians were taken on the Awa Maru in Singapore. There were also stories that the ship carried treasure which was worth approximately US$5 billion: platinum. Diamonds, gold and other strategic materials.
The ship left Singapore on March 28, 1945 but on late at night on April 1st she was intercepted in the Taiwan Strait by the American submarine USS Queenfish (SS-393). The torpedoes fired from the Queenfish sank the ship and only one of the 2,004 passengers and crew, survived.
The treasure, if there was any, went to the bottom of the sea.