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For the past few days, rumors of a Nazi gold train have been circulating across the Internet. A pair of hunters (one Polish, one German) contacted the Polish government officially and informed them that they possessed information on the final location of a Nazi train, secreted during the waning days of World War II. The train is believed to be located near the town of Walbrzych (then Waldenburg) after departing from Wroclaw (then Breslau). Today, Poland’s head of national heritage, Piotr Zuchowski, held a press conference in which he confirmed that he’s seen a purported image of the train and is 99% certain it actually exists.

An armored Nazi gold train, hidden for decades, and possibly booby-trapped with explosives may sound like the stuff of Hollywood, but there’s plenty of historical precedent. Let’s take a look at the evidence.

Of armored trains and Nazi gold

The phrase “armored train” probably doesn’t just mean that the engine had a few gun placements or protected alcoves. Armored trains were first deployed during the American Civil War, but saw increasing use throughout the rest of the 19th century and throughout World War I. While they were obviously limited to operating in areas where railroad tracks had been laid and maintained, trains could project a significant amount of force in a short period of time. Early tanks, for example, were often barely maneuverable and limited to near-walking speeds by primitive gearing, weak engines, and their own enormous bulk. A train, in contrast, could tow fixed artillery for mobile shelling, launch raiding parties, transport troops quickly, or even include a field hospital.

The WW1-era armored train Zammurets, detailed in a stellar Medium report

World War I saw the greatest deployment of armored trains, but many were still in use in Poland during World War II. Poland made extensive use of armored trains during its initial resistance to German occupation, and the Germans themselves developed and deployed some trains for use along the Eastern Front. Given that Poland had its own armored trains to start with, it’s easy to imagine the Nazis still having access to one in the waning days of the war.

What about the rumors of Nazi gold? Again, it may sound like Hollywood, but it’s rooted in fact. As the Nazis rose to power in the 1930s, they systemically plundered their own Jewish population of valuables and resources. Collections of art and cultural artifacts held in museums or at universities were seized on behalf of the state, and books were burned en masse. By the late 1930s, Germany’s gold reserves had fallen to dangerous levels; the country is believed to have looted the gold reserves of Austria, occupied Czechoslovakia, and the city of Danzig to replenish its own coffers.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Once WW2 began, of course, these policies kicked into overdrive. As Hitler’s Final Solution took shape and Germany seized much of Europe, the gold and valuables of both targeted minorities and entire nations was seized and liquidated. The jewelry, rings, and valuables of millions of Jews was melted down into bullion, while an estimated $550 million in gold (in 1940s prices) was stolen from foreign governments. This gold was stored in mines and stockpiles across the country, including the Merkers Mine, as shown above. Nearly 250 tons of gold were found at the Merkers Mine, not including the many valises filled with gold fillings, eyeglass frames, small precious stones, and other personal items taken from victims of the Holocaust.

Wedding rings, seized from Buchenwald. Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Nazi Germany is believed to have looted 20% of all of the art in Europe. To this day, no complete record exists of how much gold, jewelry, art, cultural artifacts, and items of value were stolen or destroyed. The idea that a train of gold could’ve remained hidden all this time? Not so difficult.

The real Hungarian gold train. Image courtesy of Wikipedia

The idea of a Nazi “gold train” has a real historical analog as well. On December 15, 1944, a train left Hungary carrying an estimated $570 million to $1.7 billion (in 2007 values) worth of treasure. The gold and treasure, which left Hungary to escape the advancing Soviet army, made a number of stops to transfer its valuables to various trucks as it meandered through Hungary and into Austria. It was eventually seized by the advancing Allies in May of that year.

What do we know about this particular ‘gold train?’

According to local legend, the Nazis loaded the train with stolen valuables and hid it near Ksiaz Castle. The two treasure hunters claim to have found it in a buried tunnel in the Sowa Mountains. This would track with the legend — Ksiaz Castle is three miles away from the general area, and served as the Nazi’s base of operations in the area. The train was reportedly measured using ground penetrating radar (which can be used to provide the necessary resolution and imaging capability) and is reportedly 100 meters long. There’s no word on what its cargo might contain, and the actual image has not been released. According to Zuchowski, the two men were put on the trail by a deathbed confession of one of the men who worked on it, who also warned them that the train is protected by explosives.

It’s possible that the entire report is fake, or that the train is real but has no significant cargo. In this case, however, even papers and documents related to the war could have enormous value to historians and researchers. The individuals in question are asking for 10% of the value of the cargo in exchange for its location; it is not clear if Poland will agree to this request.

We should know soon, one way or the other, whether the train actually exists or not. Hopefully we’ve put a bit of context around a far-fetched rumor, and illustrated how even the craziest of ideas isn’t always that nuts when viewed in the proper perspective.