The remains of an unknown railway and a pair of train wagon wheels were discovered in June at the former Nazi Germany bunkers located in Mamerki, north-east Poland (Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship). The find has electrified history buffs and researchers as it raises hopes the legendary Amber Room could still be located. Works with the use of excavator have begun on Tuesday (July 4). So far, the team have managed to dig out pieces of broken Third Reich-era plates.
During WWII, Mamerki was home to the Supreme Command of the Land Forces (OKH). Today, the facility is the best-preserved Nazi German command center in the Masuria region. The Germans abandoned this place without a fight and did not blow up the bunkers.
It was in this very area - next to one of the bunkers - where members of the Jaćwież History and Exploration Association (Stowarzyszenie Historyczno-Eksploracyjne Jaćwież - Ełk, Augustów) have made a remarkable discovery. They came across the remains of an unknown railway and a pair of wheels - most likely a train wagon wheelset.
Surprising narrow-gauge railway
Bartłomiej Plebańczyk, director of World War II Museum in Mamerki, did not hide his amazement as not a single mention of a narrow-gauge railway inside the complex had been preserved.
The local preservation authority on Tuesday (July 4) allowed the research team to use an excavator.
"We are curious where these tracks lead to. So far, we have managed to dig out, among other things, hundreds of broken plates. Some of them marked with swastikas," Plebańczyk told tvn24.pl.
Digging around the trees
The museum director added the works had to be paused due to a large number of trees that could have been damaged.
"We have uncovered approx. 3 meters of the railway. We are now going to designate a rough geodesic - assuming the tracks run straight, and we will dig only in points where there are no trees. This way we want to explore approx. 200 meters of the railway," he added.
Chance to locate the Amber Room
Bartłomiej Plebańczyk has been searching the Mamerki complex in hope to find the legendary Amber Room, which was looted during World War II by the Army Group North of Nazi Germany.
The Amber Room was a chamber decorated in amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors, located in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg. It is considered the most valuable treasure lost in WWII.
"Anything is possible in Mamerki. Erich Koch (the last Gauleiter of East Prussia - edit.) buried a treasure here, which - by the way - was searched after in the 1970s by (Polish - edit.) security services, Plebańczyk said.
In line with the preservation authority permission, the works at the railway are to be carried out by the end of July. "The ground may still be hiding loads of interesting artifacts," said the chairman of the Jaćwież History and Exploration Association, Mariusz Jarząbek.
Some 1,500 soldiers resided here
The Mamerki complex was built between 1940 and 1944, in a forest at the west shore of Lake Mamry. The facility included 30 massive shelters and more than 200 other buildings - both bricked and wooden. The place not only had living quarters, strongholds and anti-aircraft defence stations, but also casinos, kitchens, a post office, a cinema, a hospital, a sauna, and stables. The base was home to 40 German generals and 1,500 soldiers.
Today, Mamerki are a unique tourist attaction, although for many years they did not use to be as popular as Adolf Hitler's former main headquarters - the Wolf's Lair - located 18 kilometers away in Gierłoża. The complex has become more popular ever since Bartłomiej Plebańczyk began to search for the Amber Room there.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, tvn24.pl, PAP
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: Mamerki Bunkry "Miasto Brygidy"