By Tim Binnall
An intriguing treasure map said to lead to a horde of riches pilfered by the Nazis has been released to the public by the National Archives of the Netherlands. The tantalizing document was reportedly part of a massive swath of previously classified or highly restricted materials shared earlier this week as part of an annual exercise known as Open Access Day. According to the archive, the map features "clues to a never-found Nazi treasure that is said to be buried near Ommeren." The riches had been stolen from a bank in the city of Arnhem in August 1944 when an explosion ripped open the building and German soldiers subsequently snatched an array of jewelry, diamonds, and expensive watches.
It is believed that the riches, said to be worth millions of dollars, were stuffed into ammunition boxes that were then buried in the village of Ommeren. In the ensuing years, there were multiple attempts to locate the lost treasure, including one instance wherein the Dutch government actually enlisted a Nazi officer to help in the search, but no trace of the stolen good were ever found. Given the considerable amount of time that has passed since the riches were buried, some suspect that the materials may have already been secretly found, though one assumes that the release of the map will inspire amateur treasure hunters to embark on their own search now that the document has been made available to the public.