An old map believed to reveal the location of a hidden Nazi hoard has sparked a frenzied search – and annoyed locals – in a Netherlands village where amateur treasure-hunters have arrived in droves.
The map was made public by the Dutch National Archive last week and published online after being kept secret for 75 years.
It was among several documents declassified on 3 January as the archive celebrated its annual open access day.
The map points to the supposed location of ammunition boxes full of looted diamonds, rubies, gold and silver believed to have been looted after an explosion at a bank in August 1944 during the Second World War. It is near the hamlet of Ommeren, in Buren municipality.
In a press statement announcing the documents, the archive said that there had been failed attempts in the past to find the “treasure”.
“A real treasure map this time, from the archive of the Nederlands Beheersinstituut, contains the clues to a never-found Nazi treasure that is said to be buried near Ommeren,” the statement said.
“It has been searched for several times in vain.”
Archives adviser Annet Waalkens said the map includes red crosses that show where four boxes of treasure worth millions of dollars were believed to be buried.
“There are brooches, necklaces, silver and gold coins, rubies, diamonds, lots of valuables,” she told CBS News.
With treasure hunters descending upon Ommeren, the municipality of Buren has been forced to issue public updates to notify residents if officials are taking crowd control measures.
On Monday, 15 people were given a warning by the police. Up to 100 people including some coming from the UK have been spotted hunting, mostly at night, armed with shovels.
Petra van Dee, 42, an Ommeren resident, sid the map should not have been released as it has left her family feeling vulnerable.
“I cannot sleep. One of the holes they dug in my garden came up to here,” she told the BBC, gesturing to her chest.
Another resident named Sander said: “I moved here for the peace and tranquility. Now the whole world knows about us.”
Klaas Tammes, a former mayor of Ommeren, said: “I have already seen people from all over the Netherlands. Yesterday somebody from Drenthe [Dutch province] with a divining stick said he had found the spot, but it was under the asphalt, so that was inconvenient,” he told CBS News.
