The Dutch treasure hunt is inspired by an old Nazi map

This week, amateur treasure hunters in the Netherlands were inspired by an old map that is thought to indicate the location where German soldiers stashed riches worth millions of euros during World War Two.

After the map was made public by the Dutch National Archive on Tuesday, groups walked into the fields surrounding rural Ommeren in the country’s east armed with metal detectors and shovels.

According to the collection, the map is said to show where Nazi soldiers who plundered jewelry after an explosion at a bank in August 1944 concealed four sizable boxes laden with diamonds, rubies, gold, silver, and other precious stones.

The Dutch institute, entrusted with locating the German capital in the Netherlands after the country was liberated from Nazi rule in 1945, acquired the map from a German soldier immediately after the war.

This week, the study file containing the map was made public because the allotted 75-year window for keeping it secret had passed.

The institute made several unsuccessful attempts to recover the wealth in 1947, according to National Archive spokesperson Anne-Marieke Samson, who told reporters that although the existence of the gold could never be conclusively established.

“The existence of the riches is uncertain. But after extensive investigation, the institute concluded that the story was credible “said Samson.

However, they never discovered it, and if it had, the wealth may very well have already been discovered.

However, the slim possibility of discovering anything worthwhile did not deter the novice gold seekers.

As he took a break from his own hunt, 57-year-old Jan Henzen told reporters, “I see groups of people with metal detectors everywhere.”

“Like many other individuals, I went in search of the treasure after hearing about it. I believe there is a very slim possibility the treasure will still be around in 70 years, but I want to try.”

Former Ommeren mayor Klaas Tammes, who currently oversees the organization that owns the properties where the wealth may be hidden, claimed to have run into tourists from all over the nation.

“Imagination is sparked by a map with a row of three trees and a red cross designating a location where a treasure should be hidden,” he said.

“We’ll see. Anyone who finds anything is required to report it to us. But I wouldn’t anticipate it being easy.”