Indiana Jones in Israel? The Mysteries of the German Gold Treasure

In 1964, a Holocaust survivor told Yedioth Ahronoth that he possessed a map to a German gold treasure hidden in the Land of Israel at the end of World War I. Shimon Peres came to see the documents, but the negotiations did not materialize. The article reveals additional versions of the treasure hunt, including the story of a resident of Yafia who claims the gold was already found in 1918.

In 1964, Moshe Skashidlak, a Holocaust survivor from Nes Ziona, told Yedioth Ahronoth that he possessed a map to a German gold treasure hidden in the Land of Israel at the end of World War I. According to his story, a German reparations officer he met in Germany gave him two pages: a hand-drawn map and printed instructions. The treasure, four crates containing gold coins worth 20,000 Turkish liras and weighing 200 kilograms, was intended as a bribe for local tribes. The officer buried the crates 60 centimeters deep near the Israel-Syria border, inside a fake grave. Shimon Peres, then Director General of the Ministry of Defense, came to Nes Ziona to see the documents, but the negotiations did not bear fruit. The article reveals additional versions: researcher Habil Kanaan documented a different map located near Jenin, and previous searches by a Nazi baron, a French adventuress, and IDF officers with metal detectors. A resident of Yafia, Michel Shahada, claims the gold was already found in 1918 by villagers who stole it from the German wagon. The headline uses the image of Indiana Jones to attract readers, but the body focuses on a detailed historical story.