World War II map sparks hunt for Nazi treasure in the Netherlands

The National Archives of the Netherlands recently released an 80-year-old map that reportedly pinpoints the location of a Nazi loot.

The revelation sent treasure hunters into a frenzy, and they have been flocking to its location in the hope of finding the Nazi loot. It is said to be buried just outside the village of Ommeren in the Dutch municipality of Buren.

The municipal officials in Buren had to warn treasure hunters not to look for it since the area may also be littered with ammunition from WWII.

"Searching there is dangerous because of possible unexploded bombs, landmines or grenades. We, therefore, advise against searching for the Nazi treasure," read a statement from the municipality of Buren.

The map was one of the hundreds of historical documents released by the Dutch National Archives last week. The multi-million-dollar treasure was stashed away by four German soldiers as they retreated from the Netherlands in 1945.

It reportedly contains coins, jewellery, gems, and other valuables estimated to be worth about $19 million today. Four German soldiers stole the items from a bank in Arnhem in the last year of the war and buried them under the roots of a poplar tree.

Out of the four soldiers, only one named Helmut S. managed to survive the war and was enlisted to help find the treasure. According to a report in The Guardian, two of the soldiers died in the war, and one simply vanished.

Helmut S. was the one who provided the Dutch government with the map of the treasure. Dutch officials tried to locate it in 1946 and 1947, but to no avail.

The Beheersinstituut, the Dutch Institute of Asset and Property Management, carried out three searches but failed to find anything. The authorities now believe the treasure could have been ransacked by a local, the missing German soldier, or Allied troops.