Pole claims to have discovered 2 'Nazi' tunnels

A treasure-hunter on Friday claimed to have located two more Nazi built railway tunnels in southwestern Poland, adding to the global buzz around a possible World War II 'gold train' in the area.

Polish national Krzysztof Szpakowski said the tunnels and a subterranean complex were part of a known network of secret underground passages code-named Riese (Giant).

The Nazis ordered them built and according to local lore used them to stash valuables.

The Polish city of Walbrzych has been in the global spotlight for weeks after two men -- Piotr Koper from Poland and German Andreas Richter -- claimed to have found an armoured railway carriage there from World War II that is allegedly filled with treasures.

The train's existence has yet to be proven, though a deputy culture minister said last month he was "more than 99 percent sure" it was true, adding that he had seen a ground-penetrating radar image of the carriage.

"The Nazis built a whole underground city in this region with an area of 200 hectares (500 acres)... that was supposed to allow Hitler's inner circle to survive for a couple of years in case of an atomic attack," Szpakowski told reporters.

He said his discovery had been "the work of several years" notably involving witness statements and archival documents and that news of the Nazi gold train "had sped up my decision to inform the Walbrzych authorities".  

To back up his claim Szpakowski showed reporters ground-penetrating images of the two tunnels and subterranean complex.

"There could be anything there, but especially military equipment and construction material," he said, adding that it would be "irresponsible" to suggest the contents include treasure.
Source: AFP