Riese Tunnels Claimed to be Found

Mr. Szpakowski speaking at a news conference for Polish tv.

After remaining somewhat peacefully undisturbed for the past 70 years, Polish soil is once again in store for major disturbances caused by World War II.

A Polish "explorer" named Krzysztof Szpakowski claims to have found part of the German "Giant" (Riese) complex near where the supposed Breslau gold train is presumably buried. Apparently, the tunnels are near the Gross-Rosen concentration camp. They remain buried.

Mr. Szpakowski claims that he has been aware of the location for years, but the claims by the Breslau gold train treasure hunters forced his hand. What he was waiting for before disclosing it in his own good time remains a mystery. Szpakowski is well-known locally, being president of the Association Riese. He also is the creator museum and tourist complex "Włodarz," which is visited by many. Thus, he is a bit of a public figure in Poland.

Among his sources of proof are eye-witness statements, old documents, ground-penetrating radar, and that Old Faithful of true explorers, dowsing. Yes, with the forked stick. Szpakowski claims to have had discussions with John Latańskiem, the only surviving prisoner Molke armaments factory, located in Ludwikowice Klodzkie, who apparently has some personal knowledge of the tunnels. A geologist, Adam Szynkiewicz, confirmed that research had been carried out using GPR KS-700 ground-penetrating radar.

The way that patch on the sleeve is set, it reminds me of something else related to World War II.

Unlike the other adventurers, Mr. Szpakowski does not claim that there is any buried treasure in the tunnels that he has found. Instead, he figures they probably only contain items of historical interest. That would make it roughly similar to other German tunnels that have been found over the years, as the Germans were not likely to leaving treasure chests and the like lying around for future fortune-hunters to find. Most German tunnels may have a few old mining carts and maybe Wehrmacht helmets scattered about, and that is it.

However, and with what proof or evidence is not clear, Mr. Szpakowski claims that it was another "Fuhrer Bunker" like the one under the Chancellory in Berlin. This one, he claims, was intended for Adolf Hitler's personal use in the event of a nuclear attack. Of course, Hitler (supposedly) died before the Americans even had a working nuclear device, which was top secret all the way anyway and not something that the Americans were sharing with the Germans at that time, but let's not let that stand in the way of a good story.

The location is somewhere in the mountains around the city of Walbrzych - just like the gold train. Although nobody knows what Riese was for or how big it actually was, scholars speculate that the overwhelming majority remains buried and has never been seen since the end of the war. We shall keep an eye on events to see if anything interesting turns up.


2019