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Right now on Expedition Unknown,

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my dark journey into buried Nazi secrets continues.

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You got a lot of landmines left in this country?

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Um, plenty.

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As I prepare to set sail through an unexplored and flooded maze of tunnels.

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Guys, I got something here.

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What the hell is that?

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Then a mysterious diary may hold the key to finding billions in plunder.

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I'm sorry, did you say 100 to 300 tons of gold?

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Finally, in the ruins of an abandoned city, wiped off the map by the Red Army,

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we find an entrance to the buried chambers of the Third Reich.

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Oh my word.

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These were used with enigma machines.

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And decrypt secrets from the final days of World War II.

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Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, it's writing on this.

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Yeah, yeah, stop, stop, stop.

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There is something glinting in here. Come here.

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Back up, back up!

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My name is Josh Gates.

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Hello!

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Explorer.

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Adventurer.

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Amazing.

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Wow!

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And a guy who ends up in some very strange situations.

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Oh, that was exciting.

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With a degree in archeology and a passion for the unexplained,

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I travel to the ends of the earth,

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investigating the greatest legends in history.

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Day, let's push it.

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This is Expedition Unknown.

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September 1, 1939.

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Germany, under the control of Chancellor Adolf Hitler,

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begins its military campaign to conquer Europe

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by invading its neighbor to the east, Poland.

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The next five and a half years see Poland turned into a house of horrors.

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Amidst the incalculable human loss are other crimes.

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The theft and plunder of wealth and cultural treasures

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from across the continent,

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along with the scientific development of so-called Wunderwaffen,

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weapons that were Hitler's last desperate chance

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to turn the tide of the war in his favor.

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These secrets were hidden from Allied eyes in massive tunnel systems

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and subterranean structures

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that the Nazis drilled into the Polish countryside.

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My investigation began in the town of Luban,

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where a group of researchers uncovered a Nazi map

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that revealed a network of tunnels

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carved through the heart of an extinct volcano.

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Are you kidding me?

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We ventured into the darkness.

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What is behind this wall?

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History.

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Where we discovered perfectly preserved World War II-era artifacts.

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All of this looks like they were just in the middle of construction.

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And explored a realm that no one has set foot in for almost 80 years.

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It's like they literally just were here and then just said,

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okay, that's it, we're leaving.

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Then I traveled to the Royal Castle in Warsaw,

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where I met with Robert Edsel of the Monuments Men Foundation.

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When the Monuments Men arrived in Europe, the works of art are missing,

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and that of course led to the greatest treasure hunt in history.

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He revealed to me Nazi documents describing a location

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where underground chambers were used to hide stolen art.

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This is about five hours west of Warsaw on the German border.

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You have to track down every lead, you have to talk to people.

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To see if treasures could still be hidden there,

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I drove east and joined up with local investigators Pavel Piotkiewicz

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and Robert Kubiszewski at a series of battered gun emplacements.

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It's a German heavy machine gun position.

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The MRUs are a defensive network of Nazi tunnels

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along the edge of Germany and Poland

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that span more than 25 miles underground.

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Documents show that the Nazis hid four chambers of stolen art here,

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but when the Soviets arrived, they could only locate two.

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Okay, into the darkness.

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We descend into the long abandoned maize.

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I've never seen anything like this.

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Our target is a series of distant tunnels

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that have been flooded since the war.

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But now, due to construction above, the water is draining.

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Imagine that both tunnels were completely flooded.

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All the way to the roof. Up to the roof.

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This is the edge of known history.

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What lies ahead is a true unknown.

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So how are we exploring this?

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War Jump. My boat.

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The way?

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Okay.

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For sane people, this would be the end of the line,

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but Pavel has been waiting years for this moment.

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Okay, good.

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We inflate our raft and carefully climb aboard.

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Okay, I'm in.

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Okay, guys, here we go.

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We paddle into the void.

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Soon, a sense of trepidation sets in.

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Okay, slow, slow, slow.

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What you're seeing right now,

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no one has seen this in nearly 80 years.

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Everything here is a hazard.

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The walls are covered in rusted and razor sharp metal.

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If our raft so much as touches them, we're sunk.

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We've got all this sharp stuff all over the place.

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Yes, we've got a lot of sharp objects on both sides.

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The water beneath us is both frigid and toxic with chemical runoff

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that seems to glow with a yellow haze.

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Let's just say this is not a good place to take a bath.

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But with no visitors here in decades,

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the sediment is entirely settled on the bottom.

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First of all, the water is crystal clear.

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It's just like Venice.

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Yeah, sort of.

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Can I see that big light?

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Let's see what's going on underwater here.

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Looks like a can of some kind.

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Looks like some wiring, a piece of wire.

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Pavel's ingenuity has gotten us this far,

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but it appears the water may yet win in the end.

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I can't help but notice that we're getting closer to the ceiling.

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Yeah, because the tunnel must be sloping down, as you said.

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It's getting really tight here.

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We're going to run out of head room here.

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What do you think is down there?

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You think there are additional rooms there?

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Nobody knows.

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Nobody knows what's there?

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Yeah.

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The mystery is still in front of us.

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Right in front of us.

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Sometimes you have to back off.

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It's one of the hardest lessons to learn when exploring,

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but sometimes you do have to back off.

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It's a heartbreaker.

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We carefully reverse course to begin moving back to shallower water.

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And then the game abruptly changes.

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Oh, hey guys, I got something here.

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Do you see it?

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Is that a picture frame?

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It certainly looks very old.

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It's covered in silt.

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If it is a picture frame, it would be quite amazing, discovery.

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Should we try to hook it?

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Yeah.

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Okay, here, let me get that pole.

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Whatever this is appears to have been remarkably well preserved

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in the cold water.

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I'm hesitant to touch it and bring it to the surface

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as carefully as possible.

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It's wood.

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Wood?

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It's wood for sure.

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It's a picture frame?

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It's a picture frame.

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Ah, look at this.

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Are you kidding me?

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It's shock.

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Yes.

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Yes.

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Are you damn right?

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I'm in shock too.

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It's period.

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I mean, this looks like it's been down here for 80 years.

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And what would this be doing?

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It's just a shock.

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It's just a shock.

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It's just been down here for 80 years.

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And what would this be doing if not holding a piece of art?

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The possibilities here boggle the imagination.

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If this is World War II period or older,

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it could be connected to a piece of stolen art.

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Any markings at all?

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No.

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No.

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I think this has been down here for a long time, don't you?

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Since the war probably.

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Might be possibility then.

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When the rations were taking the things away,

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they just took the canvas and left the frame here.

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Exactly.

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Yeah.

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The glass could certainly be tested.

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The wood can be analyzed.

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I think we should certainly try to haul this back to the surface,

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don't you?

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And the specialist should have a look at it, definitely.

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If it's original, we've got the third or the fourth chamber.

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Yes.

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Yes.

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There may be more here, for sure.

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Hopefully the water gets even lower in the near future.

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Forget that.

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Let's swim.

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Can we swim?

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Yes.

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Could be a Rembrandt down there.

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Yes.

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That's right.

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Amazing.

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Amazing.

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Amazing.

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Yes.

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With our delicate prize in hand,

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we carefully make the long trek back to the surface.

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The discovery of the picture frame has Pavel and Robert

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now planning a further excavation of the MRU tunnels.

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The frame will be taken to Warsaw,

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so art historians can estimate its age and possible contents.

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And chemical composition testing could tell us even more

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of the frame's story.

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While we wait for results, other researchers here in Poland

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are chasing even more explosive secrets,

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including one that could rewrite history books

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and bank books everywhere.

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To learn more, I drive 170 miles east to a land of misty forests

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and forbidden castles.

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And I am headed to such a place.

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It's known as Izbiko Palace,

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a grand estate where a recently resurfaced document

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may be a game changer in the hunt for Nazi looted treasure.

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Oh, wow.

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Unbelievable.

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The custodians of this mysterious document

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wait for me inside the imposing palace.

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This is Roman Fermanak and Bart Zalaitis

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of the Silesian Bridge Foundation,

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a group dedicated to strengthening the relationship

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between Germany and Poland.

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Can we talk about how amazing this building is?

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Absolutely.

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It's a late 17th century palace

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that has been restored to this beautiful condition you see here and now.

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It's awesome.

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It's nice to have you here.

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And I understand you have something very special in this palace,

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a document of some kind?

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That's correct.

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It's a war diary.

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Okay.

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It has been written at the end of the World War II

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that points 11 locations where Nazi gold has been hidden,

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and we're talking about anywhere between 100 to 300 tons of gold.

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I'm sorry, did you say 100 to 300 tons of gold?

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That's correct.

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Okay.

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I thought a rafting trip through a flooded Nazi tunnel

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would be the wildest story I'd face this week,

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but a war journal that may point to the fact

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that 300 tons of plundered gold

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raises the bar to a new level.

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Any chance it tells you right where it's buried?

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In a way, yes.

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Can I see this document?

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Please.

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Lead on.

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Oh, wow.

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Unbelievable.

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Wow.

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Unbelievable.

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Wow.

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This is amazing.

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This moldering journal from World War II

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may contain the location of hundreds of tons of stolen gold.

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So this whole thing is the diary down here?

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That's correct.

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Yeah.

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Okay.

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I have a million questions.

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To start with, who wrote this?

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So it has been written by a highly ranked officer of Waffen SS

271
00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:30,000
under pseudonym Mihailis.

272
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,000
The Schutstaffel, or SS,

273
00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,000
were the paramilitary wing of the Nazi party

274
00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:37,000
led by Heinrich Himmler,

275
00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:40,000
one of the chief architects of the Holocaust.

276
00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:43,000
The SS was part combat brigade, part state police,

277
00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,000
a cadre of true Nazi believers

278
00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:49,000
who enforced the genocidal policies of Hitler and Himmler

279
00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,000
with religious fervor.

280
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:55,000
If this diary was written by a high-ranking SS officer,

281
00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:58,000
he may well have had intimate knowledge of Nazi secrets

282
00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:01,000
and the fate of plundered treasures.

283
00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,000
He describes a completion of a mission

284
00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:09,000
where they hide Nazi gold, artifacts, archival stuff.

285
00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:13,000
Any doubts about the authenticity of the diary?

286
00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,000
We're 100% certain it's authentic.

287
00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:17,000
According to Roman,

288
00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:21,000
the journal's age has been confirmed as authentic by a German lab.

289
00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,000
However, many notable documents from the era,

290
00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,000
like the announcement of Hitler's diaries in the early 1980s,

291
00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:30,000
have proven to be elaborate forgeries.

292
00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:32,000
As to the contents of the diary,

293
00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,000
which was donated to the Sal Asian Bridge Foundation

294
00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,000
by a German cultural society,

295
00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:39,000
the jury is out.

296
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,000
The only way to be sure is to keep investigating.

297
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,000
So this high-ranking Nazi officer,

298
00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,000
is he writing this diary as a personal diary?

299
00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,000
So this is an official document

300
00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,000
of establishing a new nation.

301
00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,000
Fourth Reich.

302
00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:55,000
Correct.

303
00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,000
So the Nazis know that the walls are closing in on them,

304
00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,000
and this is kind of an emergency measure to say,

305
00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:02,000
we're going to hide all this stuff

306
00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:04,000
so that we can come back for it later.

307
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:05,000
Absolutely.

308
00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:09,000
Bart offers me a translation of a particularly revealing entry.

309
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,000
So the author says,

310
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:16,000
we are grateful that Providence appointed us to safeguard

311
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:19,000
the part of Germany's cultural and national heritage.

312
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:20,000
Correct.

313
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,000
According to Roman,

314
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,000
the diary mentions 11 different places

315
00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:27,000
where the Nazis were, quote,

316
00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,000
safeguarding works of art,

317
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:31,000
plundered from across the continent,

318
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,000
looted religious and occult objects,

319
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,000
and in this area,

320
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:37,000
a huge stockpile of stolen gold.

321
00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:38,000
Okay.

322
00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:39,000
Where?

323
00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:41,000
So for that,

324
00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:42,000
we have to look in a diary.

325
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,000
We can actually look inside of it.

326
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:45,000
Yeah.

327
00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,000
To read firsthand from this dark tome,

328
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,000
Roman and Bart bring the diary

329
00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,000
to the palace's ornate ballroom.

330
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:05,000
Oh, my word.

331
00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:06,000
Look at that.

332
00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:07,000
It is all handwritten.

333
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,000
And all in pencil.

334
00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,000
So it's very fragile.

335
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:12,000
Yeah.

336
00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:13,000
So what do we see on this page?

337
00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,000
This is a English translation.

338
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:16,000
Okay.

339
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:17,000
So it says,

340
00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:20,000
transports to the estates of Von Stein

341
00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:21,000
and Seidlitz.

342
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,000
So who was Seidlitz?

343
00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:26,000
Seidlitz was a 19th century German general

344
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,000
who built a palace estate nearby.

345
00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:30,000
And the village was named after him.

346
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:31,000
And today,

347
00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:33,000
that village is called Minkowski

348
00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,000
and it's 40 kilometers north from here.

349
00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:38,000
And then it also says the estate of Von Stein.

350
00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:39,000
So who's that?

351
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:40,000
Correct.

352
00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,000
He was the last inhabitant of the palace.

353
00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,000
He was also an SS officer.

354
00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,000
Seidlitz or Minkowski today.

355
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,000
Are there many palaces there?

356
00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:50,000
Just one.

357
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:52,000
Von Stein, though,

358
00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:54,000
wasn't living at Minkowski by himself.

359
00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:55,000
According to Roman,

360
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,000
the SS used the palace

361
00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,000
as a kind of brothel away from home.

362
00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,000
Von Stein, it appears,

363
00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,000
got himself a girlfriend.

364
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:05,000
Because we have a letter from Von Stein,

365
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,000
the last inhabitant of the palace,

366
00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:09,000
to Inga, his mistress.

367
00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,000
Long after Von Stein had been erased from history,

368
00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:16,000
his mistress remained at Minkowski Palace.

369
00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,000
And for over 40 years,

370
00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,000
she held on to a remarkable piece of evidence.

371
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,000
And the letter is right here.

372
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,000
So this is the letter and a translation.

373
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,000
This is from Von Stein.

374
00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,000
So he writes,

375
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:31,000
my dear Inga,

376
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,000
some transports were successful.

377
00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:38,000
The remaining 48 heavy Reichsbank chests,

378
00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:42,000
meaning chests of gold from the Reichsbank?

379
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:44,000
Very likely, yes.

380
00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:45,000
48 chests.

381
00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:46,000
Correct.

382
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:49,000
As the war turned increasingly against the Nazis,

383
00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,000
the Reichsbank hid the country's gold reserves

384
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:54,000
in a salt mine inside Germany

385
00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,000
to keep it safe from the Allies.

386
00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:59,000
Roman and Bart don't believe that was all of it,

387
00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:00,000
not nearly.

388
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,000
Only you know where they're located.

389
00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,000
May God help you and help me fulfill my assignment.

390
00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:07,000
Von Stein,

391
00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:09,000
February 1945.

392
00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:13,000
You've got an authentic World War II diary

393
00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,000
written by a high-ranking SS officer.

394
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,000
You've got a real location,

395
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,000
and you've got a corroborative letter.

396
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,000
Well, what else can one want?

397
00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:24,000
Proof that it's all true.

398
00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:26,000
That's exactly what we're going to find.

399
00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:31,000
We pile into the car

400
00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,000
and take the short ride to Minkowski.

401
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:38,000
Take a ride right here.

402
00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:39,000
Okay.

403
00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:42,000
And this is the place.

404
00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:44,000
Oh, hell yeah, it is.

405
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,000
Whoa.

406
00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,000
In contrast to his beat go,

407
00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:52,000
Minkowski Palace appears to be dangerously unrestored.

408
00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:55,000
Yeah, that's a palace.

409
00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:01,000
It's like a ghost.

410
00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:03,000
Absolutely.

411
00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:05,000
I mean, it's really atmospheric.

412
00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:06,000
It's beautiful, though.

413
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,000
Today, Minkowski's empty halls and littered floors

414
00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:13,000
give this place the feeling of a haunted house,

415
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:16,000
as if any place in Poland needed the help.

416
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:17,000
So we're in the right place.

417
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:19,000
The diary puts us here.

418
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,000
But this also looks like a huge estate.

419
00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:24,000
We're talking about 48 chests of material.

420
00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:26,000
Where do you think it's deposited?

421
00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:31,000
The diary suggests it was buried under or near the orangery.

422
00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:34,000
And an orangery? What's an orangery?

423
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,000
It's a fancy greenhouse.

424
00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:41,000
Tropical plants, fountains, benches, walkways.

425
00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,000
It's a very fancy place to hang out.

426
00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:45,000
And tell me this place has an orangery.

427
00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,000
It's not standing anymore.

428
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:48,000
However, we found it.

429
00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:49,000
You did find it?

430
00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:50,000
Yes.

431
00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,000
It's a plush under the orangery.

432
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,000
We walk around to the back of the palace

433
00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:59,000
to find an active excavation site with heavy drilling equipment.

434
00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,000
Oh, is this the foundation?

435
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:02,000
Yes.

436
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:03,000
So the orangery was right here?

437
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:04,000
Exactly, yeah.

438
00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:05,000
Wow.

439
00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:06,000
And all of this was buried?

440
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:07,000
You dug all this up?

441
00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:08,000
That's correct.

442
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:10,000
And there's probably a lot more to be found underneath.

443
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:11,000
This is insane.

444
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:12,000
Wow.

445
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,000
Roman and Bart's group managed to locate and expose

446
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:17,000
the footprint of the orangery.

447
00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,000
So that mission is accomplished.

448
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,000
It leaves one important step to go.

449
00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:23,000
Hey, hey, I'm Josh.

450
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:24,000
Mariusz.

451
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:25,000
Nice to meet you.

452
00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:26,000
What's going on here?

453
00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:27,000
Are we drilling?

454
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:28,000
Yeah.

455
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:29,000
Yeah?

456
00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:30,000
Mariusz is our drilling expert.

457
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:33,000
So how does this work, Mariusz?

458
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:36,000
We've already drilled a hole here down 25 feet

459
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:39,000
and lowered in a metal sleeve to keep it from collapsing.

460
00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:41,000
Now we need to drop the cylinder in.

461
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:44,000
It'll fill up with material from the bottom,

462
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:47,000
and then we can bring it back up to see what we've got.

463
00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:50,000
OK, so what are you hoping ends up inside this cylinder?

464
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,000
We are definitely going to find something,

465
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:54,000
just a matter of time.

466
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,000
It could be a wooden crate.

467
00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:58,000
It could be a jewelry.

468
00:19:58,000 --> 00:19:59,000
It could be a ring.

469
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,000
Just some sign that you've made it into this deposit layer.

470
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:03,000
Absolutely.

471
00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:06,000
So how deep down do you need to drill, do you think?

472
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:07,000
Take a look at the diary.

473
00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:11,000
So this is another translation page from the diary.

474
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:15,000
It says, 48 chests from the Reichsbank in good condition

475
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:18,000
were hidden very well covered with earth

476
00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,000
and greened with still living plants.

477
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,000
So what does very well covered mean?

478
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:24,000
How far down do you think it is?

479
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:25,000
We don't know the exact depth.

480
00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,000
We'll have to do a search for it.

481
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,000
So that's why you're drilling such a big cross section?

482
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:30,000
Yes, exactly.

483
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:32,000
OK, so...

484
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:33,000
Let's go.

485
00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:35,000
Go Dodgers. Here we go.

486
00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:39,000
We may be digging 30 feet or more into the ground,

487
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,000
so we're using a technique usually employed in mining,

488
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,000
which in a way is exactly what we're doing.

489
00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:48,000
The cylinder needs to be carefully lowered into place

490
00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:50,000
so we can extract a sample.

491
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:59,000
Then we simply reel it back in.

492
00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:00,000
It's coming up.

493
00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:06,000
The cylinder comes back to us and we empty it onto our platform

494
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:09,000
to see if there are any diamonds in this rough.

495
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:10,000
Here we go.

496
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:14,000
It's coming up.

497
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:17,000
Here we go.

498
00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:18,000
Go.

499
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,000
Historic Minkowski Palace,

500
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,000
occupied by the Nazis during World War II,

501
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,000
is said to be hiding 300 tons of stolen gold.

502
00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:31,000
And I'm hoping some of it is in this cylinder.

503
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:38,000
Bart, be careful. I don't want to get those pants dirty.

504
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,000
OK.

505
00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,000
So it's kind of really fine grit soil.

506
00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:47,000
I mean, it's almost sand down there.

507
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,000
About how far down are we now?

508
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:50,000
About 27 feet.

509
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:51,000
OK.

510
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,000
There wasn't anything at 27 feet,

511
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:59,000
so we lower the sleeve past 30 and drop in another cylinder.

512
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:02,000
This one able to collect a bigger sample.

513
00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:08,000
Here we go.

514
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:09,000
This is the one.

515
00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:11,000
This is it. I can feel it.

516
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:12,000
Guys, back up.

517
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,000
Some gold bars are going to be coming out of here.

518
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:16,000
OK.

519
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:29,000
OK.

520
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,000
Come on down.

521
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,000
Look, look, look.

522
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:34,000
You got something?

523
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:35,000
Oh, yeah, yeah, look.

524
00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:36,000
Stop, stop, stop.

525
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:37,000
There is something glinting in here.

526
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:38,000
Come here.

527
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:39,000
Wait, is that?

528
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:40,000
Wait a minute.

529
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:41,000
Is this?

530
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:43,000
Roman.

531
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:44,000
Yes, OK.

532
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,000
Get the f*** out of here.

533
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,000
You've all heard of fool's gold.

534
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,000
Well, in this case, I am that fool.

535
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:52,000
Yay.

536
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,000
Who put that in the drill?

537
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:56,000
You guys are jerks.

538
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:57,000
You know that?

539
00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:58,000
You guys are jerks.

540
00:22:58,000 --> 00:22:59,000
Horrible.

541
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:01,000
It's the most exciting moment of my life.

542
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:07,000
All right, for real this time, guys, here we go.

543
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:10,000
Putting Roman's hilarious joke behind us,

544
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:13,000
we lower the sleeve to a depth of 40 feet

545
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:15,000
and drop it in one more time.

546
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,000
Kind of a different layer we're getting into here,

547
00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:33,000
some stones.

548
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,000
While we seem to be in a new layer,

549
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,000
our well is still coming up dry.

550
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,000
So while Roman and the drill team continue the dig,

551
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,000
Bart leads me into the woods behind Minkowski.

552
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:45,000
Since the diary mentions the orangery

553
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,000
and the palace's expansive grounds,

554
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,000
we're metal detecting to find anything

555
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:52,000
that could confirm the diary's story.

556
00:23:58,000 --> 00:23:59,000
Got something here.

557
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:08,000
We put shovel to dirt to see what the detector has found.

558
00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,000
So we get an old nail tied to something.

559
00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:14,000
You got a lot of landmines left in this country?

560
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:15,000
Um, plenty.

561
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,000
Can we leave this nail right here?

562
00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:21,000
You can pull it.

563
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:22,000
I'll be out of here.

564
00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:26,000
Safely out of the blast radius that exists only in my head,

565
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,000
we start to pick up on a worn path through the woods.

566
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,000
So we have this long trail coming through the woods here.

567
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:33,000
And what was this down here, a creek?

568
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,000
There was a creek running creek about a couple of months ago.

569
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:36,000
It's dry now.

570
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,000
And we suspect there was a bridge at some point over the creek.

571
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:40,000
OK, got it.

572
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,000
Well, let's have a look around here on both sides

573
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:43,000
to see if we get anything.

574
00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:59,000
It's a really feras hit.

575
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:01,000
Feels like it could be iron or something.

576
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:06,000
Pull tab.

577
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,000
I'm the best in the business part.

578
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:09,000
I'm not sure if you heard.

579
00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:13,000
But my pull tab was covering something much more interesting.

580
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:14,000
Looks like brick.

581
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:15,000
That's a good sign.

582
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,000
Some piece of construction here.

583
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:20,000
As I dig, we're joined by archaeologist Pavel Razzaud,

584
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:23,000
who's here to help assess anything we find.

585
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:24,000
Oh, look, down here.

586
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:25,000
See that?

587
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:26,000
Oh.

588
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:30,000
We carefully expose the bricks to get a full sense of the structure.

589
00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,000
This is the white.

590
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:34,000
It's pretty remarkable.

591
00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:37,000
There's just a piece of construction sitting right here.

592
00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:39,000
We've got this old road coming through here.

593
00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,000
What do you think, part of a wall or a gatehouse, maybe?

594
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:43,000
Yes.

595
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:44,000
It can be a wall.

596
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,000
Finding it is miraculous.

597
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:47,000
You did a fantastic job.

598
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:48,000
Yeah.

599
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:49,000
Well, a new piece of history.

600
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:50,000
I like that.

601
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:51,000
All right.

602
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:52,000
Let's keep looking.

603
00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,000
We continue scanning the property.

604
00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,000
But as the day latens, neither we nor the drill team

605
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,000
has found anything described in the diary.

606
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:05,000
Bart and I take stock.

607
00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:09,000
This property has just such an incredible past.

608
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,000
In terms of the treasure, you feel confident it's here?

609
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:14,000
Yeah, very confident.

610
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,000
So when Roman starts screaming from that tent,

611
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:17,000
you're going to call me, right?

612
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:18,000
Sure.

613
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:19,000
Yeah.

614
00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:20,000
On a speed dial.

615
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:21,000
On a speed dial.

616
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:22,000
I like that.

617
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:23,000
All right, ma'am.

618
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:24,000
Thanks so much.

619
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:25,000
This was awesome.

620
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:26,000
Thank you for being a part of it.

621
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:31,000
The story of the SS officer's diary, which seemed fantastic to begin with,

622
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:33,000
feels like a long shot.

623
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,000
But hey, you never know.

624
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:39,000
And by excavating Minkowski, Bart and Roman may find something more nourishing

625
00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:45,000
than stolen gold, a renewed history for this crumbling palace.

626
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,000
As for me, it's time to get back on the road.

627
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:52,000
Just north of here is another site where new discoveries are changing

628
00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,000
what we know about the final days of World War II.

629
00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:59,000
My next stop is along the Oder River, which is the modern day border

630
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,000
between Poland and Germany.

631
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:02,000
There's a fortress there.

632
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:06,000
This was a really critical location during World War II,

633
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,000
as the Red Army was advancing on Berlin.

634
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:13,000
Today, investigators there are sifting through the ruins,

635
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:17,000
trying to find secrets that are literally frozen in time.

636
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:23,000
At the ruined relic of Kastrin Fortress,

637
00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:27,000
I rushed to meet the director of the excavation, Jarek Strazniak.

638
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,000
Nice to meet you.

639
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:32,000
Beautiful place. This is a fortress.

640
00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:36,000
Yes, this was a fortress built during the Middle Ages.

641
00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:38,000
Why did they build a fortress here?

642
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:42,000
It was strategically placed next to the Oder and Wurther rivers.

643
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:46,000
It's so strategic that the Third Reich used it to defend Berlin.

644
00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:52,000
As the war becomes increasingly unwinnable, Hitler is in denial.

645
00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:54,000
He can't imagine losing.

646
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:58,000
The Fuhrer even orders a Nazi general to be locked in an insane asylum

647
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,000
for warning him of the advancing Soviet army.

648
00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:06,000
Hitler orders scattered forces to rally at Kastrin Fortress,

649
00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:11,000
a 17th century complex less than 50 miles from the outskirts of Germany's capital.

650
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,000
This was Berlin's last defense.

651
00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:20,000
So before the end of World War II, this fortress is protecting a city of what size?

652
00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:22,000
25,000 people.

653
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,000
Wow. Can we see the city?

654
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,000
Yes, I'll show you.

655
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,000
We walk and walk.

656
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:37,000
And soon I realize we're passing through a grid of empty streets.

657
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:39,000
Jarek, I don't see a city.

658
00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:41,000
Everything is gone.

659
00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:42,000
Everything.

660
00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:43,000
All of it.

661
00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:44,000
Did the Soviets flatten it?

662
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:47,000
Yes, Soviets destroyed the whole city here.

663
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:49,000
They literally destroyed everything.

664
00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,000
I've never seen this before.

665
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:53,000
The place is completely flattened.

666
00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:57,000
This was once a thriving city.

667
00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:00,000
Today, its only residents are empty avenues.

668
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:04,000
Basements without houses, even a church without walls.

669
00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:07,000
There was once a soaring castle here.

670
00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:10,000
Today, it is simply a set of stairs.

671
00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:15,000
The town has been called the Polish Pompeii

672
00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:19,000
because preserved in its ashes is a potential bonanza of artifacts

673
00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:22,000
from the very final days of the war.

674
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:29,000
Every home, shop, and office here was repurposed by the Nazis for the defense of Berlin.

675
00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:34,000
And now, Jarek has gotten exclusive access to excavate in the ruins.

676
00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:39,000
This is the first time anyone has excavated this part of the town.

677
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:42,000
And we, you and I, are here to see it.

678
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:49,000
Also on site is Paweł Piakowicz, fresh from working on the MRU tunnels nearby.

679
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:52,000
He's here to support his friend Jarek in his own excavations.

680
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,000
Good to see you again.

681
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:55,000
How are you?

682
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:56,000
Good, I'm feeling good.

683
00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:57,000
Good.

684
00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,000
So, what are we working on here?

685
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:03,000
There was once a building here, but this was the cellar entrance.

686
00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,000
Where's the entrance? What do you have?

687
00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:06,000
Here.

688
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:09,000
Oh, my word.

689
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:12,000
So, what's down here?

690
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,000
We found a few interesting things.

691
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:16,000
Interesting how?

692
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:19,000
Items that seemed military issued.

693
00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:21,000
This was a command area?

694
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:24,000
We think it was a place for high command officers.

695
00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,000
Can I see the things that you found?

696
00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:28,000
Yes.

697
00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:30,000
Oh, they're still inside?

698
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:31,000
Yes.

699
00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:32,000
Oh.

700
00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:33,000
Meet first?

701
00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:34,000
Yes.

702
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:35,000
Come on.

703
00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,000
There we go.

704
00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:38,000
Come on.

705
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:40,000
Let's do it.

706
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:41,000
Oh, boy.

707
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:44,000
There's a lot of spider webs, which is good.

708
00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,000
Yes, feed first.

709
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:52,000
Very good.

710
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:54,000
I'm going to go to the next one.

711
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:56,000
I'm going to go to the next one.

712
00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:58,000
I'm going to go to the next one.

713
00:30:58,000 --> 00:30:59,000
Excuse me.

714
00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:00,000
Excuse me.

715
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:02,000
Very good.

716
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,000
OK, I'm in.

717
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,000
Where does this go?

718
00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:07,000
No spider.

719
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,000
There's a big spider right there.

720
00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:10,000
Holy.

721
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,000
There's a whole chamber down here.

722
00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:17,000
OK, I'm in.

723
00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:19,000
I don't know what I'm in, but I'm in.

724
00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,000
Beneath the flattened Polish city of Kostron,

725
00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:24,000
I'm searching through long-sealed cellars

726
00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:28,000
that may contain relics from the final days of World War II.

727
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:31,000
Oh, my word.

728
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:32,000
Look at this.

729
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:34,000
Oh, it goes way down.

730
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,000
There's a whole chamber down here.

731
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:37,000
Oh.

732
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:39,000
Look at this place.

733
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:40,000
Hi, Joe.

734
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:42,000
Hi.

735
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:43,000
So it's huge.

736
00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:45,000
How old are these chambers?

737
00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:47,000
This is very old.

738
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,000
This is a medieval cellar.

739
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,000
It would have been used to store food,

740
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:52,000
but when we opened it up,

741
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:55,000
there were items to suggest the military was using it.

742
00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:58,000
And there's one more thing in here I really want to show you.

743
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,000
Yeah, what's here?

744
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,000
Is this electrical?

745
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:08,000
There was no power in Kostrin,

746
00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:11,000
so the Germans would connect their important buildings to generators.

747
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:14,000
We also found things like this with batteries.

748
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,000
Oh.

749
00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:21,000
We see volts here in a warning not to throw it

750
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:23,000
and to keep it away from water.

751
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:25,000
And these are the battery cells here.

752
00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:26,000
Wow.

753
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:28,000
Would this have powered lights,

754
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,000
or is this like an emergency backup, you think?

755
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:32,000
We think it powered a radio.

756
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:35,000
Are there more rooms like this that were used by the Nazis?

757
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,000
There are many, but they've been buried as well.

758
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:40,000
We need to access them from back outside.

759
00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:41,000
Back up top?

760
00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:42,000
Sure, yeah, show me.

761
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:46,000
The ruins of this fortress have only begun to speak.

762
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:50,000
We climbed to the surface and had a few feet away to a sealed chamber

763
00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:52,000
that Jerich wants to investigate next.

764
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:54,000
This is not the same chamber.

765
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:55,000
This is another chamber?

766
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:57,000
This is near the chamber we were in,

767
00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:59,000
but we haven't been able to open it yet.

768
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:01,000
Everything is collapsed.

769
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:03,000
It has been collapsed since 1945.

770
00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:06,000
This looks blocked though, so how do we get in here?

771
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:08,000
You're going to have to dig.

772
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:09,000
Dig with what?

773
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:10,000
A coparka.

774
00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,000
What's a coparka?

775
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:17,000
This is a coparka.

776
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:21,000
Since the Soviets burned this entire town down to rubble,

777
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:23,000
shovels aren't going to cut it.

778
00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,000
This excavator should be our ticket into the new chamber.

779
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,000
Coparka.

780
00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:32,000
And it doesn't take long to open a door into the past.

781
00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:35,000
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hey!

782
00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:36,000
Whoa, whoa, woo-wee!

783
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:37,000
Ha-ha!

784
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:39,000
Look at that!

785
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,000
That's a chamber.

786
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:46,000
This excavator is pulling up dirt that's filled this cellar for decades,

787
00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:50,000
and that dirt may be as valuable as anything inside.

788
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,000
I thought it was a washer, but it looks stamped.

789
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:04,000
You see this?

790
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:05,000
Oh, yeah.

791
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:06,000
10G. It's a weight.

792
00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:08,000
As our hole in the ground gets bigger,

793
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:12,000
Jerick can't wait to start exploring the newly exposed chamber.

794
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:13,000
Moment.

795
00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,000
Got something?

796
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:17,000
What do you see?

797
00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:18,000
A stone.

798
00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:20,000
Ornate.

799
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:23,000
This looks like the remains of a tile stove.

800
00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:26,000
This is how they would heat these places back in the day.

801
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:31,000
This is a fired artillery shell.

802
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:34,000
You can see this end of it's all deformed.

803
00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:35,000
Holy s***.

804
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:41,000
As the hours pass, our one small excavation expands into a massive series of cellars.

805
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:43,000
Oh, what is this?

806
00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:45,000
For switches?

807
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:46,000
Yeah.

808
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:47,000
This is from a radio, yeah?

809
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:49,000
Yes, a radio station.

810
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:50,000
Radio station.

811
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:55,000
The radio part is a good sign that we are in a hub for the Fortress' Nazi command.

812
00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:57,000
But that's not all we find.

813
00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:59,000
It's a military deslam.

814
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:00,000
Part of a lamp.

815
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:01,000
This is great. I love this.

816
00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:02,000
Yes.

817
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:03,000
I love lamp.

818
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:04,000
An increment.

819
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:05,000
No.

820
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:06,000
Great find.

821
00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:11,000
Soon though, the excavator punches through to a whole new level of excitement.

822
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:13,000
Got an opening.

823
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:18,000
It's really strange.

824
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:23,000
It's like, it's framed off like it's a door, but then behind it, it just kind of narrows out.

825
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,000
We're at the top of the arch, so I think we need to go down more, yeah?

826
00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:27,000
Uh-huh.

827
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:32,000
The Kaparka keeps digging for victory while we keep a safe distance away.

828
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,000
Not too safe though.

829
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,000
Back up! Back up!

830
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:45,000
Good eye!

831
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:47,000
Alright.

832
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:48,000
You okay?

833
00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:49,000
Okay.

834
00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:50,000
Okay.

835
00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:52,000
We're weighed down in the hole now.

836
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:55,000
I break out a metal detector to see what it can see.

837
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:08,000
Nail?

838
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:12,000
Oh, hey! Hey, come here! Come here!

839
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:13,000
Look at this! Come here! Come here!

840
00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:14,000
Bubble!

841
00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:16,000
Look! Look! Look here!

842
00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:17,000
Oh, it's us!

843
00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:19,000
Container?

844
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:20,000
Yeah.

845
00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:21,000
How?

846
00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:22,000
How?

847
00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:23,000
Helmet?

848
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:24,000
Yeah.

849
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:25,000
That's a helmet?

850
00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:26,000
Okay.

851
00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:30,000
Oh!

852
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:31,000
Wow!

853
00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:34,000
Unbelievable!

854
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:41,000
The picturesque town of Poznan is home to a unique Polish treat.

855
00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:43,000
Kłoszorogale Szwece Marczynskie?

856
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:44,000
Thank you.

857
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:46,000
All right, here's the deal.

858
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:49,000
This is a Saint Martin's croissant.

859
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:52,000
This is a government regulated pastry.

860
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,000
First of all, it can only be made here in Poznan.

861
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,000
It is protected under law by the European Union.

862
00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:00,000
The recipe must be done to exact specifications.

863
00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:07,000
It has to contain white poppy seeds, orange peel, crushed dates or figs, nuts, sugar icing.

864
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:13,000
It has 81 layers, not 80 layers, 81 layers, and I have never had one until this moment.

865
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:14,000
Here we go.

866
00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:16,000
Oh!

867
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:19,000
It's bright!

868
00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:20,000
Yep!

869
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:37,000
How absolutely chilling is that?

870
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:38,000
German helmet.

871
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:39,000
Yeah.

872
00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:44,000
In a destroyed fortress in Poland, I've just found a relic of the Nazi occupation here

873
00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:47,000
that was abandoned in the final days of World War II.

874
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:48,000
Oh!

875
00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:53,000
This just connects you to this place in such a primal way.

876
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:56,000
You know, it's like a person wore this.

877
00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:58,000
A Nazi soldier wore this helmet.

878
00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:04,000
It's kind of haunting.

879
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:09,000
With the Red Army coming through here, I can't imagine many Germans survived this place.

880
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:12,000
You're holding history in your hands.

881
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:13,000
It's powerful.

882
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:15,000
Powerful stuff.

883
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:18,000
Okay, here, let's keep that safe.

884
00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:20,000
We'll keep looking, see what else is here.

885
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:22,000
Pavel, this is crazy.

886
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:37,000
Holy hell, look at this.

887
00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:39,000
This goes way back.

888
00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:45,000
Okay, so obviously this roof is no guarantees here, guys, so be really, really cautious.

889
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:48,000
We've got an outcove here on the left.

890
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:55,000
Oh my God.

891
00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:57,000
We've got more chambers down here.

892
00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:58,000
Look at this.

893
00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:04,000
Oh my God, we've got bottles, coffee cups, lamps, cooking pots.

894
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:08,000
You could just imagine a soldier right here.

895
00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:12,000
You can see the roof is burned.

896
00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:15,000
Yes, yeah, you can see burn marks in the ceiling.

897
00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:18,000
Oh, look at this bottle.

898
00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:26,000
It sounds like it's a kind of nerve tonic for stress.

899
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:35,000
Fun fact, Brahm Nervisit was a barbiturate syrup prescribed to Hitler himself by his personal physician to counteract his rampant amphetamine use.

900
00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:37,000
Is this still sealed?

901
00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,000
No, no, drink.

902
00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:40,000
I'm not going to drink.

903
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:42,000
How crazy do you think I am?

904
00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:45,000
So far, so amazing.

905
00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:49,000
Oh, wow, yes.

906
00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:51,000
What would run off of this high voltage?

907
00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:56,000
We can't know for sure, but this would have produced a lot of energy.

908
00:39:56,000 --> 00:40:01,000
Not all rooms had power supplies, so this room must have been very important.

909
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:03,000
But wait, there's more.

910
00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:05,000
Wow, look, gas mask.

911
00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:08,000
Oh my God.

912
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:12,000
We've got a gas mask here, and here's the face piece right here.

913
00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:14,000
This is a blue gas mask.

914
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:16,000
It indicates a non-magnetic mask.

915
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:20,000
These were issued to people near radio frequencies as to not interfere.

916
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:21,000
For radio?

917
00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:22,000
Yeah.

918
00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:25,000
So we've got high voltage, we've got this, maybe radio station.

919
00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:29,000
Yes, it looks like this is the fortress' radio room.

920
00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:33,000
This would have been one of the most crucial places in the whole city to the Nazis.

921
00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:39,000
And it isn't until we explore the back of the chamber that we learn exactly how crucial.

922
00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:42,000
Wow, look over here, Josh.

923
00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:43,000
Oh, this?

924
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:44,000
Is it paper?

925
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:46,000
All of this is burned, look at this.

926
00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:51,000
So we've got writing along the top here, different columns and rows that are labeled.

927
00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:53,000
What is this exactly?

928
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:56,000
These look like they've been through decryption.

929
00:40:57,000 --> 00:41:02,000
I'm not 100% sure, but I think these are from an enigma.

930
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:04,000
Enigma?

931
00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:05,000
Yeah.

932
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:08,000
These were used with enigma machines.

933
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:10,000
They look to me like they are.

934
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:12,000
Okay.

935
00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:13,000
Wow.

936
00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:18,000
These papers, many now burned and black, appear to be products of enigma.

937
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:25,000
A complex encryption device used by all branches of the German military to send top secret communications.

938
00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:31,000
From the outside, it resembled a humble typewriter, but looks are deceiving.

939
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:37,000
Enigma could scramble a message into hundreds of millions of possible permutations.

940
00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:47,000
The consequences were catastrophic, allowing German forces across land, sea and air to communicate their movements without fear of compromise.

941
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:58,000
It was only when British mathematician Alan Turing and the team at Bletchley Park, England cracked the enigma code that the tide of the war turned to the side of the Allies.

942
00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:05,000
To find out what these communiques were telling the Nazis, I rush back to the surface to find our translator, Oliver.

943
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:06,000
What does it say, Oliver?

944
00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:07,000
Okay, okay.

945
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:08,000
This writing on this, what does it say?

946
00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:15,000
Also, receiving some devices at a location.

947
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:17,000
So they're receiving some sort of devices here.

948
00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:19,000
Basically, receive some sort of device.

949
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:22,000
There's definitely something here, but it's difficult to make out.

950
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:27,000
We go to a section of the dig shielded from the wind to try to get a closer look.

951
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:28,000
Here you go, this page.

952
00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:31,000
The pages are frighteningly brittle.

953
00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:35,000
The only way to separate them is with the razor sharp edge of a knife.

954
00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:52,000
Meeting, okay, age from 14 something on the fourth of 14th of January was coming here.

955
00:42:52,000 --> 00:43:01,000
It was one of the most important camps in the war, while the second war was under construction.

956
00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:07,000
It was at the same time about prisoners that have been kept here.

957
00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:14,000
I'm reading this on the fly, but it refers to the war-crowded camp Stahlag.

958
00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:15,000
Altrewez.

959
00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:16,000
A prison camp.

960
00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:19,000
Prison camp at Küstrin, which is close to here.

961
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:20,000
And OKH is...

962
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:21,000
Oberkommando.

963
00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:22,000
Oberkommando.

964
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:29,000
So something to do with the high-ranking commander and this field post, which involves a prison camp near here.

965
00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:30,000
Yes.

966
00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:34,000
We'll photograph all the pages we can see, and I think we'll leave the rest aside.

967
00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:37,000
Somebody may be able to carefully separate the pages later.

968
00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:38,000
I don't want to mess them up.

969
00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:45,000
The paperwork, likely a transfer order for prisoners, would have been encrypted, which means Enigma was nearby.

970
00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:55,000
More importantly, it confirms this very spot is where orders from Berlin would be received, decoded, and then relayed to commanders above.

971
00:43:55,000 --> 00:44:01,000
We've made a huge discovery, and Jarek has only scratched the surface, literally.

972
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:06,000
While he continues to dig even deeper, I have a surprise engagement.

973
00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:14,000
I've been summoned to return to the National Museum in Warsaw, and it's a big enough deal that I'm actually putting on a tie.

974
00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:20,000
Inside, I rejoin historian Robert Edsel.

975
00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:21,000
Robert.

976
00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:22,000
Hey, how you doing?

977
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:23,000
Great to see you again.

978
00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:24,000
You too.

979
00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:25,000
You look great.

980
00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:26,000
Hell, you too.

981
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:27,000
Everything OK?

982
00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:28,000
Everything's great.

983
00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:29,000
Come on up.

984
00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:30,000
This is going to be quite an event.

985
00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:31,000
That's just amazing.

986
00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:38,000
I learned that here in Warsaw, art historians have confirmed that the frame we recovered from the MRU tunnels is likely French and from the 19th century.

987
00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:43,000
Its ornate design wasn't carved, but molded from something called composition.

988
00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:47,000
Calcium carbonate mixed with linseed oil and glue.

989
00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:55,000
The glass in the frame indicates that it might have housed a work on paper, a drawing as opposed to an oil painting.

990
00:44:55,000 --> 00:44:59,000
And speaking of drawings, it turns out Robert has an astounding surprise.

991
00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:09,000
The Monuments Men Foundation is repatriating two important works of art that their team recently recovered, and they're about to be given a heroic welcome home.

992
00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:13,000
My friend Josh Gates from the United States, we're really pleased that you're here.

993
00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:22,000
This is an important day for Poland, and it is also an important day for the Monuments Men Foundation for the preservation of art.

994
00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:35,000
Our discovery and return of these two drawings by Adolf Kaczarski to the National Museum in Warsaw, and they define the remarkable work of the Monuments Men and Women of World War II.

995
00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:44,000
To the victors do not belong the spoils of war. They should be returned to the rightful owners.

996
00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:51,000
19th century artist Adolf Kaczarski was known for his portrayal of architecture and landscapes.

997
00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:59,000
The museum in Warsaw houses three of his oil paintings and over a dozen of his drawings, including these, which were looted by the Nazis.

998
00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:11,000
They then transferred these objects and hid them in Fishhorn Castle in Austria, residence of SS General Fiegeland, brother-in-law to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

999
00:46:11,000 --> 00:46:19,000
In August of 1945, Monuments Men Lieutenant Fred Hart reached the castle, but some of the looted objects had gone missing.

1000
00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:27,000
Among them, these two pieces. One in ink and one in graphite, which show the villages of Lipno and Zagorov.

1001
00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:36,000
Irreplaceable depictions of a time that no longer exists. They were located by Robert and his team in private hands in America.

1002
00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:56,000
Today, 77 years after being looted, these two drawings are now home. Art connects us to the past. Art lifts our souls. Art enriches the human spirit.

1003
00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:11,000
During this visit to Poland, I've spent long days and nights digging through the earth to find artifacts, art, and answers about the Nazi occupation here.

1004
00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:17,000
What we've uncovered adds to the ongoing story and remembrance of World War II.

1005
00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:24,000
But even though a destroyed Poland can be rebuilt, the millions of dead remain, deeply felt in their absence.

1006
00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:33,000
As important works of art are repatriated, some frames remain empty, with countless masterpieces still missing or in disputed hands.

1007
00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:43,000
And even though the original Nazis have died or aged into senescence, a bold new generation has risen to embrace their toxic view of the world.

1008
00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:59,000
And so it is essential to continue the fight, to try and restore balance in an unbalanced world, and to never stop unearthing and learning from the past, so that we never walk these dark roads again in the future.