Has A Long-Lost Nazi Train Packed With Gold Been Found In Poland?

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

This next story sounds like the next installment of the "Indiana Jones" franchise. Polish authorities are trying to confirm reports of the discovery of a train from Nazi Germany packed with gold and left inside in old coal mine. This train is rumored to have been lost in 1945.

HARRIET ALEXANDER: The story goes that a German miner was leaving the area and he said to a local Polish man that there was a train which the Nazis had filled with gold, and that it was buried somewhere in the region.

INSKEEP: That is Harriet Alexander, who is a reporter for the British news site The Telegraph. Last week, two men claimed to have found this train. Their lawyer claims it is, quote, "a find on par with the Titanic."

ALEXANDER: And they said that they would reveal the location of this legendary Nazi gold train if the authorities agreed to give them a 10 percent finder's fee.

INSKEEP: Finder's fee? Some Polish officials are taking this claim seriously. The deputy culture minister is warning would-be treasure hunters to be cautious, because the train could be booby-trapped. Reporter Alexander says if the train is real, it could be carrying distressing artifacts.

ALEXANDER: Such as wedding rings and even the gold from tooth fillings, which were taken from people who they killed in the concentration camps.

INSKEEP: Troubling symbolism along with Nazi gold. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.