US soldiers broke into a secret Nazi vault – "Row upon row" of gold bars, coins and looted jewelry were inside: news
17-10-2026
U.S. Soldiers Uncover Secret Nazi Gold Vault: The Historic Merkers Salt Mine Discovery
In April 1945, as Allied forces advanced deep into central Germany during the final weeks of World War II, troops of the U.S. Army’s 90th Infantry Division made one of the greatest treasure discoveries in recorded history. Hidden roughly 2,000 feet underground within the Kaiseroda salt mine near the village of Merkers was the primary reserve of the Nazi regime: hundreds of tons of gold bullion, foreign currencies, priceless European artwork, and vast quantities of looted valuables stolen from concentration camp victims.
The Breakthrough at Merkers
The discovery began when U.S. military police encountered two local French women escorted by German civilians. During routine questioning about military movements in the area, the civilians inadvertently revealed that the nearby potassium and salt mine held gold and valuables hidden by the German Reichsbank.
Engineers blasted through a reinforced brick wall sealed deep inside the subterranean caverns. Behind it lay a massive room stretching over 75 feet wide and 150 feet long, illuminated by temporary lighting to reveal:
Gold Bullion: More than 8,100 individually stacked bars of gold neatly cataloged in canvas bags and wooden crates.
Currency Reserves: Hundreds of millions of German Reichsmarks, along with British pounds, French francs, and U.S. dollars.
Looted Personal Valuables: Dozens of luggage cases, chests, and sacks containing gold rings, silver tableware, pocket watches, gemstones, and even dental gold seized directly by the SS from victims murdered across Nazi concentration camps.
National Museum Treasures: Thousands of masterworks evacuated from the Kaiser Friedrich Museum and other Berlin cultural institutions, including paintings by Rembrandt, Titian, and Dürer.
High Command Inspection
The scale of the discovery prompted immediate visits by top Allied commanders, including Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower, General George S. Patton, and General Omar Bradley. A special detail of the “Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives” sectionpopularly known as the Monuments Menwas deployed immediately to inventory, preserve, and safeguard the historic artifacts.
Securing the Treasure
Because Merkers was located inside the designated Soviet occupation zone agreed upon at the Yalta Conference, the U.S. Third Army mounted a rapid, high-security logistical operation to evacuate the entire cache before Soviet forces arrived. Under heavy armored escort, the bullion and artworks were transferred to the Reichsbank facility in Frankfurt for documentation, eventual restitution, and postwar allocation through the Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold.