A mysterious chest found buried underneath a castle has confirmed a legend about the fate of 10,000 soldiers.
The box, believed to have been hidden underground during WWII, has surfaced almost eight decades later.
It is thought to have ended up at the castle after members of the Hungarian army, one of Germany’s allies, stayed there.
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At the time, they were threatened with capture by the Soviets and potential imprisonment in Siberia.
According to a military legend, an old friendship saved the 10,000 soldiers from being taken.
American tank general George S. Patton made contact with Hungarian Colonel Lajos Malanotti in a desperate situation at the end of the war.
Together, they managed to successfully help so that the men could be released.
The above events have now been confirmed by a 77-year-old letter found by István Szebenyi, a Hungarian military historian, as reported by Need To Know.
A letter led István to the area of Haag, Austria, where the castle one sat.
With a metal detector, the researcher set off on a treasure hunt and came across a wooden box in the ground.
The box, found yesterday (27 May), contained written orders, situation reports, and maps.
Since the discovery, Lukas Michlmayr, the mayor of Haag, shared details about the find online.
“The discovery was made by Hungarian military historian István Szebenyi almost exactly 80 years after the end of the war and confirms a long-standing legend.
“The box contained diaries, orders and situation reports from the last days of the war, when around 10,000 Hungarian soldiers were stationed in the vicinity of the castle.
“Thanks to the friendship between Hungarian Colonel Malanotti and US General Patton, the division was allowed to surrender to the Americans in May 1945 via the power plant in Ernsthofen – thus escaping Soviet captivity.
“The documents will now be restored, digitized and handed over to the State Archives.”
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