Treasure hunters ordered to stay away from Dutch village after Nazi treasure map discovered

British treasure hunters have been warned to stay away from a village in the Netherlands where they have searched gardens and public lands for riches looted by the Nazis.

Fifteen people were cautioned by police and 100, including Britons, were found with a shovel while searching for WWII treasure in Ommeren, a village in the province of Gelderland.

Treasure hunters began searching after the Dutch National Archives made hundreds of documents public after 75 years of official secrecy.

They contained a government file on Nazi treasures and a hand-drawn map with an X marked between Ommeren and Lienden.

Maps leading to a possible Nazi treasure in Ommeren are seen during the National Archives’ annual Open Access Day in The Hague, the Netherlands, January 3, 2023

Pictured: General view of a street in the Dutch village of Ommeren, The Netherlands

Pictured: Sheep in the Dutch village of Ommeren, The Netherlands

According to Dutch media, the card was designed by Helmut Sonder, a furniture manufacturer from Baden-Baden. During Operation Market Garden in September 1944 he was in a German parachute regiment close to the front.

He said his brigade buried necklaces, watches, precious jewels and money stolen from a poplar next to the road during the 1944 Battle of Arnhem in the Netherlands.

Such items were looted by the German occupying forces during the war and inspired several films including Raiders of the Lost Ark.

“It’s like a children’s book,” Annet Waalkens, freedom of information adviser at the National Archives, told The Telegraph.

“They heard a rumor from a German soldier in Germany that there was treasure hidden, they decided to investigate and this is the file we have from 1946 to 1947,” she said.

“When we found this record and the treasure map, we were amazed. The Dutch wondered if they could trust the map and his story and seem to believe him.’

Map showing where the treasure hunters are looking

Pictured: Maps of a possible Nazi treasure in Ommeren at the National Archives during the annual Open Access Day

A map leading to a possible Nazi treasure in Ommeren is photographed during the annual Open Access Day of the National Archives in The Hague

After 75 years, the Dutch National Archives have published a number of documents within the framework of official secrecy. They contained a government file on Nazi treasures, a witness statement, and a hand-drawn map with an X marked between Ommeren and Lienden

The post-war Dutch Institute for Wealth and Real Estate Management found the German soldier’s story plausible as he may have cooperated to reduce a prison sentence.

Authorities have said using metal detectors or digging without a permit is not allowed and discoveries must be reported.

The Dutch police have spoken of the possibility of uncovering duds, grenades and land mines.

The loot has been searched for several times over the years, but nothing has been found.

In one attempt, the Dutch state even brought a Nazi officer back into the country to help with the search.

Last year there was a dispute between enthusiasts prospecting for Nazi gold and historians who said they were looking in the wrong place.

A general view of a street in the Dutch village of Ommeren, The Netherlands

Fifteen people were cautioned by police and 100, including Britons, were found with a shovel digging for WWII treasure in the village of Ommeren (pictured).

Pictured: Ommeren in the Netherlands. According to Dutch media, the map published by the Dutch National Archives with an X between Ommeren and Lienden was designed by Helmut Sonder, a furniture manufacturer from Baden-Baden

The Silesian Bridge Foundation had excavated the site of an 18th-century palace in the Polish village of Minkowskie where it believed £200million of Nazi gold and other valuables stolen by Himmler’s SS were hidden.

The foundation said the site was revealed in a war diary written by an SS officer at the end of World War II.

But historians whom the foundation “invited” to verify the diary said their analysis was “not entirely positive.”

The historians of a group called the Discoverer Magazine Exploration Group posted on Facebook: “Our main takeaway is that the village of Minkowskie is NOT mentioned in the war diary.

They added: “This could be difficult for the foundation as this is the only place where their excavation work is currently being carried out.”