Hunt for Nazi loot in Dutch village ditched

The hunt for alleged World War II Nazi loot in central Netherlands has been called off after nothing was found.

“We have concluded that there is no Nazi treasure in Ommeren,” Birgit van Aken-Quint, spokeswoman for the nearby Buren municipality, told AFP news agency.

“We do assume that the treasure was once buried in Ommeren, but that it has been removed at some stage,” she said.

Treasure hunters flocked to the small hamlet after the Dutch National archive made sketches of a hand-drawn map and other documents public in January this year.

Loot removed after war

Documents which accompanied the map supported claims that the Nazis had buried four ammunition crates filled with jewellery, gold coins and precious stones believed to be worth roughly €11 million (roughly $12 million) at today’s value.

In August 1944, a bank in Arnhem was struck by a bomb, which scattered a number of valuables being stored.

German soldiers allegedly gathered the jewels, watches and other items and buried them in ammunition crates in Ommeren after the Allied “Operation Market Garden” near the village.

In 1946 German soldier Helmut Sonder testified that he had found the jewels along with fellow soldiers and buried them in the spring of 1945 in ammunition boxes.

Ban on treasure hunting

Local authorities were forced to ban private treasure hunters and the use of metal detectors in the area.

“We’ve warned off at least 15 people since the start of January who were using metal detectors,” van Aken-Quint said.

One final attempt to find the hoard was made by archaeologists on Monday at two possible locations, however the searched turned up an old bullet, a car wheel rim and an old fruit tree, van Aken-Quint said.

“These have been handed over to the municipality,” she said.