The Largest Nazi Treasure Hoard Ever Found

At the end of World War II, the Americans discovered over 100 tons of gold in the abandoned mine

Hitler’s Germany direly needed gold (Image of Hitler: Wikimedia Commons and photo of gold by Jingming Pan on Unsplash)

Treasures fascinate our imagination. We love to watch movies about treasure hunters such as Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider. We enjoy taking part in scavenger hunts. As small children, we read stories about a pirate treasure buried on an isolated island.

Modern legends claim that there are Nazi treasures hidden in remote mountain lakes or secret tunnels. Most of these legends were never proven to be true.

However, there is one case where enormous Nazi treasure was actually found. At the end of World War II, the American army discovered a huge hoard of gold in the abandoned mine near Merkers in Germany.

The discovery of the largest treasure hoard of World War II

The treasure room full of gold, silver, and artworks (Image:widdershausen.de)

On 4 April 1945, the American army advanced north of Frankfurt towards Merkers, a small town of less than 3,000. In Merkers, the slave laborers tipped them off about the Nazi treasure, hidden in the abandoned salt mine.