World War II Treasure Was Found When A Man Opened His Father’s Secret Attic
IDuring World War II, Germans were forcefully expelled from their homes in Czechoslovakia and many a man were killed during the process. With nothing but essentials, Schlattner and his family were exiled to an American-occupied zone in Germany, while approximately 1.6 million Germans were relocated to Allied-controlled West Germany and about 800,000 individuals were sent to Soviet East Germany. Before being exiled Schlattner’s father hid the family possessions in the attic of the villa they had built and wished to someday return to claim their belongings. Schlattner was just 13 years old when he and his family were forced to leave their lives behind.
Seven decades later a man named Schlattner decided to do what his father couldn’t – to bring back what belonged to them – he had to go back to Czechoslovakia and face bitter memories of being thrown out of their own house. He contacted officials in Libouch, which is now the Czech Republic, and scheduled a visit to his old house with a local museum employee called Tomas Okurka, the local mayor, the kindergarten manager and an archaeologist. Wait, a kindergarten manager? Things had changed because Schlattner’s house was no longer a villa, it was converted into a kindergarten years ago. But the attic was still intact. It was time for Schlattner to unlock and reveal what his father had hidden during World War II.
Schlattner’s father had told him how to access their belongings in the attic – no, it wasn’t as simple as climbing up a ladder and opening a loft door – it was rather complicated. Schlattner had to tap the boards on the attic ceiling in search for a thread that he had to pull down in order to loosen a few boards. Everyone in the attic was excited and nervous at the same time, all wondering what Schlattner’s father hid for so many years. So when Schlattner pulled the string and a few boards came loose, just as his father had said, they were shocked to see incredible historical artifacts, all in mint condition.
Schlattner’s father hid a set of skis, hats, books, clothes, hangers, dolls, paintings by Josef Stegl, cigarettes in their original packing, newspapers, stationery, briefcases, suitcases, files, plastic containers, sewing kits and many other things wrapped in brown paper. While his family’s belongings aren’t worth a fortune, they represent an invaluable insight into how people lived in the 1940s. Schlattner took his family belongings to a museum in Usti nad Labem where they were unpacked, inspected and cataloged. So why didn’t he take them home with him?
Unfortunately, German properties were seized by authorities after expulsion and so everything Schlattner had found in the attic legally belonged to the Czech government. An emotional Schlattner has come to terms with not being able to claim his family’s belongings and despite his poor health, he has promised to help the museum identify everything his father hid 70 years ago.
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