Hitler's Atomic Secrets

**Hitler's Atomic Secrets** is the 28th episode in Season 2 of Expedition Unknown.

## Plot Synopsis

The search for Nazi secrets and their stolen gold continues both underground and underwater. Gates dives for relics of Nazi foreign minister Joachim Von Ribbontrop who sank his family's entire fortune in Lake Fuschl in the Austrian Alps. In order to learn if the Nazis were building an atomic bomb, he goes to Hitler's hometown of Linz. Then, he stops at the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp memorial to pay his respects to the thousands who perished here. He also explores 25 miles of tunnel under the Bergkristall complex, the largest secret underground facility ever built. It was designed by SS General Hans Kammler to oversee the Nazis nuclear project.

## Summary

Josh goes diving in Lake Fuschl in Austria with diver Gerhard Kaiser and his team. Gerhard finds a World War II bayonet blade and Josh finds a World War II German grenade. He surfaces and heads to Linz, Austria which was Hitler's hometown and then to St. Georgen au der Gusen. The town was home to both the Gusen and Mauthausen concentration camps and Josh visits the memorial there. He meets author Rudolf Haunschmeid, and they discuss the concentration camps and the large Bergkristall Nazi complex which may also serve as a tomb.

Josh goes to meet Andreas Sultzer, a researcher, and they discuss that there may be up to 25 miles of tunnel below the town - 20 of them unexplored. Sultzer has primary sources that point to huge subterranean facilities near Gusen. Andreas has already dug and found a tunnel entrance but was stopped by police. However, they are still able to go to visit the site and Andreas shows Josh artefacts he has found there including a SS helmet and a truck step.

Andreas and Josh go to search for another entrance to a tunnel that may lead to Bergkristall. They find one in the forest are able to head inside. Inside, they find a staircase and then rappel down a slope. They hear a hollow chamber beneath their feet but our forced to back away because the radiation reaches a dangerous level.

## Final Words

"We are now a full lifetime away from the scourge of Nazi Germany, yet the grave damage they did to Europe lingers. We are still coming to terms with the genocide they committed, the cultural treasures they stole, and the scientific and financial resources they perverted for evil ends."

"To pry open the last locked doors of that era, I've travelled to three countries to examine three very different mysteries. Near the lakeside mansion of one of the Third Reich's most notorious war criminals, we discovered historically significant and potentially deadly artefacts. In Poland, I scoured the remnants of the infamous Project Riese and found, not gold, but miles of uncharted tunnels that shine a spotlight on one of the great untold stories of World War II. And, in the sinister shadow of an Austrian concentration camp, we've witnessed a sensational find by a determined explorer and found possible evidence of an advanced weapons program deep underground. And while it will take time to uncover all the answers to these mysteries, we must continue to look for them. The defeat of the Nazis will only be complete when their last, darkest secrets are exposed to the light of day."

## Notes & Trivia

* *This is where you can put notes and trivia, anything that is interesting or strange can be included here*

## Quotes

* "Gerhard is so overwhelmed with excitement that he puts the blade in his mouth. Gerhard is weird."
* "Here is world-famous Linzer Torte, first made in the 1600s. Actually, I think this one might've been from the original batch. A little dry if I'm being honest."
* "Linz, of course, famous for one thing: its pastries. Well, Hitler grew up here, but mostly the pastries. Let's stick with that."
* "Yep, this is Hitler's hometown. But believe me, it doesn't come up a lot. There not exactly naming high schools after the guy."

## References

1. ↑ https://api.discovery.com/v1/images/5e28cff6f5b0ee0a23258ff8?aspectRatio=16x9&width=1200&key=3020a40c2356a645b4b4