国际在线专稿:素有“沙漠之狐”称号的隆美尔,是“二战”时期纳粹德国的元帅,因试图推翻希特勒的统治被逼自杀。数十年来,始终有传言称隆美尔有一笔不菲的遗产当年被手下藏在法国,但具体地点不详。日前,英国一名专家宣布,这笔宝藏确实存在,并且他已确定藏宝位置。 ( T! E0 h& j0 V- w# f * j, K7 I% _) a' h! c8 j 6个钢箱共200公斤金块6 |! b3 p% d# \1 i, G
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英国研究员特里·霍奇金森已经研究隆美尔的失踪财产长达15年,日前他接受媒体采访时透露了他的发现。特里介绍说,这笔财产据说是约200公斤的金块,是当年从北非的犹太人人手中掠夺而来,分别由6个钢制箱子装着。当年纳粹党卫军撤离法国科西嘉岛时将隆美尔的财产就地沉在了海边,他们还幻想着有一天回到这里,把宝藏找出来。然而曾多次有德国专家小组前往打捞,均一无所获。 : c& J# w$ }. X& B; Z$ X2 u' a ) F$ U' N$ C. a1 [$ p' g8 ^ ! z* A6 ?: q9 x. O 8 L+ _+ P8 J4 K$ H) t3 F$ U* U$ B) t3 j# Q$ y- d7 r* f. P- `; j
“沙漠之狐”隆美尔 + E: ~% L. u! Q: P% { 1 `! B4 N; c4 u! e2 y7 a 3 M7 E! P! O$ Y2 W; f( q( ^4 B8 V+ q# N+ Q' f+ N4 e
特里是一名电视编剧,受职业的影响,他对隆美尔的身世充满了好奇,并一直研究他遗产的下落。不久前,就在一个德国潜水小组打捞后的几个星期,在获得法国政府的许可后,他与科西嘉岛的几名专家也加入了寻宝的队伍中。这一次,他们有了收获。2 H) ?7 G) [! z, w7 n! F
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. x4 e! ^! v9 d0 [. } 特里肯定,宝藏沉没的地点距离海滨小城巴斯蒂亚只有几海里远。“我们非常确定宝藏的地点,但是要想重新打捞起来必须得借助现今科技手段。那些箱子当年只是简单地焊接而成,如今都散落在了海底的沙子里。”特里说,打捞的唯一手段就是在地点附近海底细细地搜索,这是一项即费时又费钱的工程,需要得到大量资金的支持。; ~5 a5 q0 w, v; X1 F
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财产并非掠夺而来 , @8 b! d+ B5 b2 V# N 7 h8 m! Q. m# V& e% d6 C; ?; w 除了确定财产地点外,特里一行还有了新收获。在奔赴法国之前,特里与专家们在突尼斯考察了数月,他们发现,“隆美尔的财产是从犹太人手中掠夺过来”的说法有误。, B: d( Z$ T- O6 T+ ]
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根据调查,当年真正掠夺犹太人的是纳粹上校沃尔特·劳夫,并非隆美尔。沃尔特曾创造了纳粹臭名昭著的毒气实验室,后在撤离北非战场时,从当地人手中掠夺了大量财产。(鄂儿) ; J, p* z9 v; i! N7 |) M) t( M. O' `$ D2 L+ E: u
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Terry Hodgkinson is on the trail of the loot stolen by the Nazis ) `1 i. ^, B. ?/ Z X( {/ k! B - U/ [) h: v, s& T Q * e8 Y1 O; s5 ~) t1 S4 TRommel's sunken gold 'found' by British expert8 H2 Q& d! y" r) b3 A* ?
; D. S' ^1 b/ E; kA British researcher claims to have located Rommel's elusive sunken treasure just weeks after a team of German divers scouring the Mediterranean failed to find the hoard. U) E0 y$ q& a/ }6 | ( _. G$ ]6 u- B6 T; p7 dThe famed treasure has long been reputed to have been dumped somewhere off the coast of Corsica by fleeing SS men, who planned to recover it after the war. ' h4 v. D4 Z3 s- n0 w7 U8 u+ {1 c' ~) B4 R
However, Terry Hodgkinson, who has been researching the missing gold for 15 years, told The Daily Telegraph that he was now "confident" he knew its exact location in waters less than a nautical mile from the town of Bastia.$ d0 r) ~" E5 M
0 V. C4 k3 W4 a/ d1 s5 iMr Hodgkinson, who is also a television scriptwriter, has teamed up with Corsican experts and won permission from the French authorities to enter the race to find six steel cases said to contain 440lb of gold bullion plus other precious objects pillaged from the Jewish community in Tunisia during the war. 9 u2 z1 o# F5 B% B1 z1 h+ p8 N* O8 N5 M* a, C
"We are confident of the location, but it will require the latest techniques to retrieve it, as the cases, which were once soldered, have no doubt separated and sunk deep into the sand," he said. * l; `! i0 h5 k, e- \2 }: T& G* ? 4 O2 V# V7 j5 N3 Q1 k: b7 m" t4 YThe only way to reach the loot would be to "hoover" up the seabed - a costly and time-consuming method. Now the main obstacle is funding.* N6 D4 n4 K/ }! Z
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After months of research in Tunisia, he believes he has uncovered the truth not just about the treasure spot, but also previously unknown aspects of the story behind its arrival in Corsican waters.; O& I! a% f$ I. ?7 @$ W# e
" O: P/ \& U- `0 p" U. {Accounts suggest that it was not Field Marshal Erwin Rommel but the ruthless SS colonel Walter Rauff who stripped Tunisian Jews of their wealth. $ x8 a. u& `0 h) J* z $ h" l' b6 a x7 ?# DRauff, who created the Nazis' notorious "gas vans" - mobile gas chambers - commanded a special Middle East extermination unit called in a month after Rommel's victory against the British at Tobruk in June 1942. 6 }& J$ k4 r; Y! J+ A9 N ' y) e' y6 m1 uThe Nazis left North Africa and are believed to have deliberately sunk the treasure as they later fled Corsica under heavy British and American bombardment. $ X& c9 o& d$ j2 w4 x8 W . d9 d2 a7 K# m C* c0 n3 qThere have since been several attempts to find it, inspiring films and even a Goon Show episode.. Y I3 i, H1 x O
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In February, French maritime police came across a German television crew hunting the treasure without authorisation. ; V5 q4 q8 P0 E, U! g# l 9 I2 `! Z1 W0 X4 {+ RThey were fined but later resumed their search after receiving the go-ahead to shoot a "cultural film".& C3 y9 Y! O' ]/ ?) @8 Z8 O/ b
9 ?2 ?8 z! l6 B: xUnder French law, the proceeds from the treasure would be split between the state and those who found it. However, in this case, the state would seemingly also try to find any surviving relatives of those stripped of their gold.