The British journalist furrowed his brow. “Sir, if this discovery has already been made and your findings documented, why are we here today?”
Captain Toby took a deep breath. There was always one troublesome student in every class. “The exploration team studying this rare light region was focused on the newly discovered species. However, while the ROV was at depth, they undertook a mapping exercise of the Milwaukee Deep for the purposes of educating some students on board. Using a drop cam, they searched the ocean floor for underwater geologic formations and large mineral deposits created by black smokers, vents in sandy bottom that contain precious metals like gold, platinum, nickel and cobalt. Instead, what they found was remarkable.” He paused for dramatic effect before continuing.
He turned to his aide and nodded. She brought him a two-foot-by-three-foot photograph, which he taped to the whiteboard. He stood back from the wall and folded his arms, viewing the image as if it were the Mona Lisa hanging in the Louvre in Paris.
The BBC Future reporter was the first to recognize the shape. “Is that what I think it is?”
Captain Toby smiled as he realized he’d now piqued the curiosity of the biggest skeptic in the room. “We believe so.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
December 1944
Wewelsburg Castle
Büren, Germany
Hitler and his top military advisors had met in Berlin for one final time before what would become the last great siege of the war. Berlin was being bombed almost nightly. The German Army had retreated from the Russian front. The Nazi leadership placed all of their confidence in their infantry and panzer divisions as they prepared to fight the Battle of the Bulge.
The Führer spent more time in his bunker than he did with his military advisors. Soon, he would isolate himself fifty-five feet under the chancellery and only occasionally see Himmler or other top officials of the Nazi Party.
As December dragged on, Hitler restricted his planning sessions to Himmler, General Hermann Goering, one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, and Germany’s foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop.
Of course, Hitler’s girlfriend and constant companion, Eva Braun, was by his side. She was credited by many with helping the Führer maintain sanity, avoiding the delusional paranoia that had crept into his mind as the war turned for the worse.
Himmler spent the latter half of December at Wewelsburg Castle. He’d accumulated even more antiquities and priceless artifacts as his underlings began to flee for South America and the Middle East. He was also bestowed with vast amounts of gold. Through a closely guarded and clandestine vetting process, he’d assembled a loyal group of dedicated couriers—bankers, lawyers, and accountants. All would be rewarded for their efforts in the post-war reconstitution of the Reich.
Many of the individuals he brought within his inner circle were nonmilitary and had limited Nazi Party affiliation. This was by design. Himmler had become increasingly concerned about the Allies’ ability to persuade the Swiss to open up their vaults to reveal the wealth amassed by the Nazis. These professionals traveled continuously to Zurich, Geneva, and Bern, utilizing a variety of banks in many different locations.
The amounts held in Nazi accounts were staggering. Easily hundreds of millions of dollars in currency and gold had been stolen from Europeans of all nationalities and deposited into the numbered accounts. In current-day dollars, the figures would easily stretch into the billions.
Himmler was dejected by the apparent failure of U-1226. The submarine should’ve been in the Gulf of Mexico by late November, and Claussen’s instructions were to strike immediately. By mid-December, America should’ve been brought to its knees by the deadly poison—sarin.
Yet he’d heard nothing. By the time December 15 came, Himmler was beginning to sense the war was truly lost. The incessant bombing was taking a psychological toll on the political and military leaders of the Reich. Defections within the infantry were commonplace. Officers continued their duties out of fear the SS would harm their families if they quit their posts.
There were many Himmler loyalists, however, who mysteriously perished in battle or were reported missing in action. Interestingly, their closest family members, namely spouses and children, suffered the same fate. They didn’t die, nor were they captured. They utilized a series of escape cells known as ratlines.
Himmler had created a vast network of escape routes through Germany and Europe into safe places for the fleeing Nazis—Switzerland, Rome, ports in Spain and Portugal. Even Monaco, the tiny nation on the southeast coast of Spain that had remained neutral during the war, was hungry for Nazi gold demanded in exchange for granting citizenship to the refugees.
Safe houses were located every fifty to a hundred miles along these ratlines, guarded by Nazi officers loyal to Himmler. Each team of three to five soldiers protected those who were in their charge, and they only knew the exact whereabouts of two other shelters: the one the refugees came from and the next shelter along the ratline out of Germany. This ensured that the discovery of one escape cell along the ratline wouldn’t bring down the entire network.
The Catholic Church and Swiss humanitarian efforts played a huge role in enabling the escaping Nazis. Many departed for the Middle East, using Italy or General Franco of Spain’s assistance to make their way off the European continent.
Grand Mufti al-Husaini was one of the masterminds of the Odessa ratlines network. With Himmler’s financing, al-Husaini was able to successfully assist thousands of Nazi Party officials and military officers into the Middle East. From there, using false identification and passports, they were able to travel throughout North Africa and even to points beyond like South America and the United States.
The Nazis did not leave their prized possessions behind. The stolen artwork and antiquities were carefully crated and transported by rail to Madrid. There, Carlos Fuldner, the
