Unexpected Treasure Cache Find From Hidden Bunker

by Mike Morris, Texas Collectors Gun Shows

The underground passageway from the hole where the back hoe fell. This led to Göring’s swimming pool.

It all started in the summer of 1989. I received a call from a contractor friend in Switzerland. He had been hired to clean off the rubble of Hermann Göring’s Karinhall estate which had been bombed during the war. It had been in the Russian sector since 1945, and the swimming pool had never been discovered due to the departing German’s clever concealment.

These are some of the items found, including Görings desk writing set.

The contractor had accidentally discovered it when he was driving a piece of machinery across a grassy area, and it fell into the ceiling of the pool. When he looked in and saw what was inside, he quickly covered the hole and called me.

Over a period of several weeks, the pool area was carefully emptied. What was found included all kinds of memorabilia.

Germanicus (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19), formally Germanicus Julius Caesar, was heir-designate of the Roman Empire under Tiberius and a prominent general known for his campaigns in Germany. This bust of Germanicus was found during the recovery of items from Göring’s pool.

The photos shown here (there are more than 100 documenting the recovery) were taken at the time, showing step-by-step, the discovery and removal of the items — such great pieces of Third Reich history.

An ornate silver candy bowl was recovered from the pool area. A magazine from the year shows a photo of Göring and his wife Emmy, with this exact piece.