1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:14,000 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:17,120 Speaker 1: I'm Katie Lambert and I'm Sarah Dowdy. And one thing 4 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: you should know about us is that we have a 5 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 1: deep and abiding love for American girl dolls. I had 6 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 1: Kirsten and Sarah had Felicity. And the only non felicity 7 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: accessory that I think Sarah wanted was Kirsten's amber necklace. Yeah. 8 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:34,880 Speaker 1: I also liked ADDIE's Coweri shell necklace, but I really 9 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:39,920 Speaker 1: loved Kirsten's little heart shaped amber necklace, as did I. UM. 10 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,200 Speaker 1: You might also know amber because of Jurassic Park, probably 11 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: also around the same time here, the early mid nineties. Um, 12 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:49,919 Speaker 1: a glob of it contains a mosquito when they take 13 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:53,599 Speaker 1: the DNA from it and recreate the dinosaurs. But we 14 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: are not going to be talking about Amber in either 15 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: of those senses today. No no American girl dolls and 16 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: no dinosaurs. Instead, we're going to talk about something more 17 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: impressive and less fictional. It's the Amber Room of Russia, 18 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 1: called by some the eighth wonder of the world. There 19 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,399 Speaker 1: are lots of many things, lots of eighth wonders. Nothing 20 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 1: is ever the eleventh wonder of the world. So it's 21 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: this magnificent room, though made out of precious amber and gold. 22 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:25,480 Speaker 1: It's an ornate Baroque masterpiece, and being inside of it 23 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:28,320 Speaker 1: is often described as being like being inside of a 24 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: jewelry box. But I kind of imagine it like Scrooge 25 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: mcdock wallowing in his chamber of golden treasure. But the 26 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,959 Speaker 1: other cool thing about the Amber Room is that it's missing. 27 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:42,479 Speaker 1: So what happened to it? And that's what we're going 28 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 1: to answer today. But before we get to that, we're 29 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 1: going to go back to the history of the Amber Room. 30 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: It's not actually from Russia. It's from Prussia and construction 31 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: began in seventeen o one. It was originally installed at 32 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: the Charlottenburg Palace, which was the home of Frederick the First, 33 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: who was the King of Prussia. It was designed by 34 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: a German Baroque sculptor, Andreas Schluter, and constructed by a 35 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: Danish amber craftsman, Gotfrid Wolfram. So it's truly this international effort. 36 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: From the start. Peter the Great of Russia managed to 37 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: come around see the Amber Room, and he liked what 38 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:24,640 Speaker 1: he saw and by this point Frederick William the First 39 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: had inherited the throne from his father, and he was 40 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: much more interested in his army than an art, especially 41 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:32,639 Speaker 1: in completing the Amber Room, which wasn't quite finished yet. 42 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: So he saw a good opportunity for diplomacy and gave 43 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: the Amber Room to Peter as a gift in seventeen sixteen. 44 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,880 Speaker 1: And this cements the Russian Prussian alliance against Sweden, and 45 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 1: I think Russian Prussian alliances my new favorite hyphenated combo. 46 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: The Amber Room is shipped off to Russia in eighteen boxes, 47 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 1: where Russian craftsmen finish it along with German supervisors, and 48 00:02:57,480 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: it's installed in the winter House in St. Peter's Burg 49 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:03,959 Speaker 1: as part of a European art collection. And the room 50 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,239 Speaker 1: isn't really a room. It's a series of wall panels 51 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:12,279 Speaker 1: inlaid with carved amber wall mirrors and four Florentine mosaics 52 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:16,399 Speaker 1: with onyx courts and jade, and the mosaics were allegories 53 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: of the senses and their parquet floors as well and 54 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:23,920 Speaker 1: Baroque gilded wood carvings, and the amber itself is carved 55 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:28,119 Speaker 1: into garlands and cherubs, and it's all extremely intricate, and 56 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: a lot of it is backed in gold leaf so 57 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 1: that it sparkles if you if you see a picture 58 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: of the amber room, it's just this golden hued um 59 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: Baroque masterpiece, I guess you'd call it. In seventeen fifty five, 60 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 1: Zarina Elizabeth said, let's move it to the Catherine Palace 61 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: and pushkins ours village. But this is a bigger room. 62 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:56,600 Speaker 1: So an Italian named Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli redesigns it to 63 00:03:56,680 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: fit and add some new amber from Berlin, and according 64 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: to the Smithsonian, Zarina Elizabeth used the amber room as 65 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: her private meditation chamber, which I just I think that's 66 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 1: so funny, imagining trying to get all zen in the amber. 67 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: Scrooge McDuck's dig. Catherine the Great used it as a 68 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: gathering space, show it off to all your friends, and 69 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:22,039 Speaker 1: Alexander the Second used it as a trophy space. He 70 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 1: was really into collecting amber and filled it with a 71 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: lot of interesting amber objects. But after plenty of eighteenth 72 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:34,359 Speaker 1: century Russian renovations, the room eventually is a hundred and 73 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: eighties square feet with six tons of amber and semi 74 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:42,360 Speaker 1: precious stones. It was worth one hundred and forty two 75 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:46,720 Speaker 1: million dollars in today's US dollars. So this is quite 76 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 1: a room. It's certainly nothing like my apartment and the 77 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: amber rooms value was sure to get it some attention 78 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:56,120 Speaker 1: during World War Two from guess who? The Nazis. So 79 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:00,479 Speaker 1: we know all about the nazis genocidal ambition, but it's 80 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:05,160 Speaker 1: coupled with something else, and that's looting, looting from nations 81 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: and individuals, looting money and cultural artifacts. And the Germans 82 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 1: were majorly underfinanced at the start of the war, so 83 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: to make up for that they had to steal and 84 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:19,799 Speaker 1: UM The U. S State Department estimates that they stole 85 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:23,520 Speaker 1: four hundred million dollars in gold from the occupied nations 86 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: and one hundred and forty million in gold from individuals, 87 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:29,599 Speaker 1: and this is mostly from individuals who are sent to 88 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: concentration camps. The UM Nazis would steal not only their 89 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: personal wealth, but their jewelry, even go gold fillings. And 90 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,120 Speaker 1: along with this, Hitler wanted to build the best museum 91 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:45,800 Speaker 1: that ever existed in his hometown. That way, Germany would 92 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: also be the center of world art and he had 93 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:51,680 Speaker 1: a wish list of works that he desired to have 94 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: and managed to seize quite a bit of it. So 95 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: skipping ahead just a tiny bit again, on June twenty two, 96 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:02,279 Speaker 1: ninety one, Operation bar Barrosa begins and that's when three 97 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,479 Speaker 1: million German soldiers are sent to the Soviet Union. And okay, 98 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 1: so it goes without saying that your art and treasure 99 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:12,719 Speaker 1: obsessed Nazis are gonna know about the Amber Room and 100 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,159 Speaker 1: they're gonna know where it is, and it's the perfect 101 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:18,279 Speaker 1: treasure for them. It's worth a ton of money, and 102 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:22,719 Speaker 1: it's representative of another goal, which is to bring German 103 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,600 Speaker 1: works of art back to Germany. Um So the curators 104 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: that Katherine Palace try to hide the Amber Room, knowing 105 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 1: that the Nazis will likely take it if they find it. 106 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 1: And uh. They try to take down the paneling, but 107 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 1: because it's dried out and in need of restoration, it 108 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 1: starts to crumble, so instead they paper it over, hoping 109 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: that the Nazis won't notice. But that doesn't fool the 110 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:49,600 Speaker 1: German soldiers. They find it, disassemble the paneling and pack 111 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: it in twenty seven crates to ship to Kunangsberg, Germany, 112 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 1: which today is clean and Grad Russia and interestingly enough, 113 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:59,120 Speaker 1: this happens to be the center of the amber industry 114 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:02,159 Speaker 1: for the past three hundred years. So the Amber Room 115 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 1: is reassembled in the castle museum at Kunnigsberg, and Alfred 116 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: Rhoda is in charge of the museum and he is 117 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 1: really interested in amber, and he studies the panels that 118 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: make up the room and he puts it on display, 119 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:21,000 Speaker 1: and it's on display there for two years. In nineteen 120 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: forty three, the Germans are in the same position Russia 121 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:27,000 Speaker 1: had been in two years earlier. Someone is coming, in 122 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 1: this case the Allies, who might want the Amber Room. 123 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 1: So what are they going to do with it? Can 124 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 1: they hide it? And Rhoda is told to pack it up. 125 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 1: This is where it's last scene in Crates. So August four, 126 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: the Allies bomb the city and the museum castle and 127 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: uh it's destroyed. About a year later, April nine, Stalin's 128 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: Red Army enters the city, burns everything and annex as 129 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:59,280 Speaker 1: Kunnigsberg as Klein and Grod. So here's our question, what 130 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,320 Speaker 1: happened into the Amber Room? Where did it go? Does 131 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: it still exist? In what condition would it be in? 132 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:09,240 Speaker 1: Since then, the majority of the Amber Room has been 133 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:13,120 Speaker 1: missing and everyone from the KGB two amateur amber room 134 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: hunters have tried to find it, and there are a 135 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:17,520 Speaker 1: lot of theories about what happened to it. They get 136 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:19,240 Speaker 1: weirder and weirder, so Sarah and I are going to 137 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 1: name a few. One the crates were destroyed when the 138 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:25,280 Speaker 1: Allied bombs hit the building. Another is that the crates 139 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 1: survived the bombing but were destroyed in the Red Army fire. 140 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 1: Dissenters about this theory say that if the amber had 141 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: been burned, the whole city would have smelled of it, 142 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 1: because after all, it is tree resin. And interestingly, the 143 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 1: way you test the authenticity of amber is by warming 144 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 1: a pin, and if you can smell the scent, it's real, 145 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:50,760 Speaker 1: although I think counterfeiters can get around that by coding 146 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:54,439 Speaker 1: it in a real in a real layer. Another idea 147 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: is that the amber is still in cullin and grads 148 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: still hidden in. Another is that the room was spirit 149 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:03,600 Speaker 1: it away and hidden somewhere else in Europe. Um ferries 150 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,600 Speaker 1: range from the Czech Republic to Germany, or perhaps it 151 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:10,000 Speaker 1: wound up on a ship and is now sunken in 152 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:12,719 Speaker 1: the Baltic And then here some are of our kind 153 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 1: of strange theories. Stalin had a second amber room and 154 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: the Germans actually stole a decoy or Hitler's body wasn't burned, 155 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: it was actually buried with the amber, which doesn't really 156 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:29,079 Speaker 1: explain where the amber room is. But we're going to 157 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:31,560 Speaker 1: go into a little more detail on some of the 158 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: recent theories about the amber room. In two thousand four, 159 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:40,400 Speaker 1: British investigative journalists concluded that it had probably been destroyed 160 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 1: in the Koenigsberg Castle fire. Um Stalin, however, wouldn't have 161 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:48,200 Speaker 1: bought this idea. He believed that the amber was shipped 162 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 1: out before the bombings, and consequently in forty seven ordered 163 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:56,679 Speaker 1: that the castle ruins be searched for any trace of amber. 164 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 1: None was found, and so the KGB and the ASSIE, 165 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:04,240 Speaker 1: the German secret police tried to find it. Instead, they 166 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:07,720 Speaker 1: gotta go at it. The search actually became important to 167 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:10,880 Speaker 1: the Soviets as cold war propaganda. It's still a patriotic 168 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:14,760 Speaker 1: point for many Russians, but there's more to it than that. 169 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:18,360 Speaker 1: In two thousand eight, two men Heinz, Peter Haustein and 170 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:22,520 Speaker 1: Christian Hannish insisted that Nazi gold and maybe even the 171 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:26,120 Speaker 1: amber room were in Deutsche Kata Randenburg, Germany, and it 172 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: was slow going because they believed there might be booby 173 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:32,560 Speaker 1: traps guarding it. But Holstein later redacted his claim that 174 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: they may have found the amber room and said it 175 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:36,680 Speaker 1: was just going to be gold. And we actually have 176 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 1: a great um Julia Layton article on this, which is 177 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: could treasure hunters have discovered Nazi gold? And I think 178 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:47,680 Speaker 1: there's an earlier podcast on it too, and in breaking news, 179 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:52,720 Speaker 1: this story is happening right now, um Fairgate Trofonov thinks 180 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:56,200 Speaker 1: that he's found the amber room under a bunker, or 181 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 1: thinks that it might be located under a bunker in 182 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,480 Speaker 1: Kalin and Gras add and even if this hunt comes 183 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:06,200 Speaker 1: to nothing, the museum in Kleinograd is benefiting because, um, 184 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 1: this guy's actually pumping out water from the old bunker, 185 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 1: so you know, any maintenance is good, I guess. But 186 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:15,440 Speaker 1: they're they're looking right now. So maybe by the time 187 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:18,640 Speaker 1: we publish will have another thing to add to them, 188 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:20,760 Speaker 1: and if not, maybe we'll be able to put it 189 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:23,600 Speaker 1: on our Twitter, where we put some really cool history stories. 190 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:26,840 Speaker 1: You should find us right missed in history, so huge 191 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:32,200 Speaker 1: discoveries of Nazi gold and other artworks and loot have 192 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:36,960 Speaker 1: been made, though, and probably the biggest one was right 193 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:41,400 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty five when Patton's army discovered the Murkers mine. 194 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 1: The Nazi gold we were talking about earlier was largely 195 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 1: kept in the Reich's bank, but after nineteen five much 196 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:53,040 Speaker 1: of it was transferred to minds that were far outside 197 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:56,160 Speaker 1: of Berlin because it would be safer there. When the 198 00:11:56,200 --> 00:12:00,200 Speaker 1: Allies get wind of the mine, they check it out 199 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:03,720 Speaker 1: and find an enormous room stacked high with gold and 200 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:07,720 Speaker 1: off of silver and cash and masterpieces of art from 201 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:12,400 Speaker 1: Rembrandt and Renoir and raphael Um. But if the Amber 202 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: room is buried in some deep mind like this, would 203 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,640 Speaker 1: it even be okay? Amber is not like gold or silver, 204 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:24,000 Speaker 1: and the answer is probably not, according to amber expert 205 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:27,600 Speaker 1: Alexander Shadrinsky, if it's hidden in a mine, it's probably 206 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:30,400 Speaker 1: ruined and it needed to be restored even before it 207 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:33,000 Speaker 1: was stolen, so it would only have deteriorated more. Yeah. 208 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:35,480 Speaker 1: I mean, we mentioned that the Russians were unable to 209 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:37,280 Speaker 1: take it down because it was crumbling, so you can 210 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,720 Speaker 1: only imagine what a state it was in after being 211 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:45,160 Speaker 1: packed and created all these times, and potentially buried somewhere. 212 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 1: By the late nineteen seventies, the Russians gave up on 213 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:52,319 Speaker 1: seriously searching for the original amber room and instead commissioned 214 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:55,640 Speaker 1: a replica. Work began in nineteen eighty two, and it 215 00:12:55,679 --> 00:12:59,440 Speaker 1: was a really daunting task. The craftsman working on it 216 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:03,040 Speaker 1: had to learn the skills of the amber guilds, like cutting, carving, 217 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,280 Speaker 1: and dying amber, which isn't something we really do anymore. 218 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:09,640 Speaker 1: These were long dead skills, at least on this scale, 219 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:13,480 Speaker 1: and funding for the project stopped in the mid nineties, 220 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:15,760 Speaker 1: but it was saved by a three point five million 221 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:19,240 Speaker 1: dollar donation from ror Gas, which is a German natural 222 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:23,280 Speaker 1: gas company. So it was this rekindling of a of 223 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:26,360 Speaker 1: the old alliance from the German Russian point of view. Yeah, 224 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:30,280 Speaker 1: the Russian pression um and another special ten thousand dollars 225 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:34,400 Speaker 1: came from a woman in Manhattan to purchase great pieces 226 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:36,400 Speaker 1: of amber that had just come on the market. And 227 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:38,080 Speaker 1: this is according to the New York Times, And that 228 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:41,319 Speaker 1: was significant, not so much because of um the amount 229 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:45,400 Speaker 1: obviously ten thousand versus three point five million, but because 230 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:48,760 Speaker 1: these pieces of amber had been held in private collections 231 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,320 Speaker 1: for so long. They had to be bought as soon 232 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:55,040 Speaker 1: as they appeared, and the recreation of the Amber Room 233 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:58,560 Speaker 1: was entirely based on old black and white photos and 234 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:04,040 Speaker 1: the memories of museum curators. But then in craftsmen finally 235 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:06,480 Speaker 1: got to compare their work to the original when German 236 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,080 Speaker 1: art detectives heard someone was trying to sell part of 237 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 1: the Amber Room. So they go to the sellar's lawyer's 238 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 1: office and um, they end up finding an original mosaic 239 00:14:16,679 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 1: panel in Bremen, which I think a uh, German art 240 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:24,360 Speaker 1: detective sounds like a pretty fun job. Our next job. 241 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:28,720 Speaker 1: So objects from the Amber Room had managed to survive, though, 242 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:31,880 Speaker 1: and we we knew where they were. Russians were able 243 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:35,240 Speaker 1: to hide things like tables and jewelry boxes and chest 244 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 1: that's made up amber in Siberia. Um And in two 245 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:44,400 Speaker 1: thousand three the new eleven million dollar Amber Room opened. 246 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 1: Vladimir Putin and Gerhard Schroeder dedicated it at the three 247 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:53,080 Speaker 1: hundred year anniversary of St. Petersburg. But there's still the 248 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 1: question if the original Amber Room does show up, somebody 249 00:14:56,640 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 1: manages to find it, who owns it? And towards the 250 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 1: end of the twentieth century, countries got a little more 251 00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:07,680 Speaker 1: serious about making efforts to return stolen Nazi gold and 252 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 1: Nazi items to individuals in two countries, and if the 253 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:16,120 Speaker 1: individuals weren't around to receive them, um to donate them 254 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:20,880 Speaker 1: to humanitarian groups, especially those that benefit Holocaust survivors. But 255 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 1: the Geneva Conventions dictate that items of cultural significance, so 256 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,360 Speaker 1: like your Rembrandt or your amber room, be returned to 257 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:32,840 Speaker 1: the country that they came from. So if you're an 258 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 1: amber room hunter, it's not like you're going to be 259 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:38,640 Speaker 1: able to keep it for yourself. It's it assuredly would 260 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 1: go back to Russia. And another note for would be 261 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:45,640 Speaker 1: amber room hunters, there is a so called amber room curse. 262 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:49,840 Speaker 1: Alfred Rhoda, the director at the Koenigsberg Castle Museum and 263 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:53,680 Speaker 1: his wife died of typhus while the KGB was investigating 264 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:56,880 Speaker 1: the room, and George Stein, an amber room hunter and 265 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,640 Speaker 1: former German soldier, was murdered in nine the Forest in 266 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:04,400 Speaker 1: your Munich. So maybe not quite the King Tut's Tomb curse, 267 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:07,200 Speaker 1: but still something to think about. And we'd like to 268 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:10,360 Speaker 1: mention that this was also a listener request from Gavin, 269 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:14,240 Speaker 1: and Gavin actually got to visit the recreated Amber Room 270 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:18,200 Speaker 1: and noted that you're not allowed to take photographs in it, 271 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 1: which I think is interesting. I wonder if the flash 272 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:24,640 Speaker 1: would just bounce everywhere and blind everyone. And some people 273 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:27,280 Speaker 1: say that in the Amber Room you can feel heat 274 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: rising off the walls like there's some sort of bizarre 275 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:32,880 Speaker 1: energy field, which you know, is something that the czars 276 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:35,720 Speaker 1: would report to that there was an energy field. But 277 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:37,680 Speaker 1: the heat in the Amber Room might just be because 278 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:41,320 Speaker 1: there are five hundred candles to make it extra glittery. 279 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:44,240 Speaker 1: So if you've had an experience at the Amber Room, 280 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 1: send us an email and let us know History podcast 281 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:49,840 Speaker 1: at how staff works dot com. And that brings us 282 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:55,640 Speaker 1: to listener Mail. Today's listener mail is actual mail, which 283 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:57,680 Speaker 1: is our favorite kind of mail, and we got a 284 00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:01,760 Speaker 1: postcard of the Devil's Postpile National Monument from a listener 285 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,520 Speaker 1: who said, Happy New Year's ladies. I really enjoy the 286 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:07,440 Speaker 1: show and I heard you ask for postcards, so here's 287 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:10,320 Speaker 1: another one to add to your hopefully growing collection. Keep 288 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:13,879 Speaker 1: up your wonderful work, So thank you, t KA. And 289 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:17,240 Speaker 1: we also got a really fabulous card from a listener 290 00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:20,840 Speaker 1: named Rachel that she designed herself. Car Yes, it's really 291 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:23,960 Speaker 1: gorgeous um, she said, love your podcast. I'm a freelance 292 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:26,600 Speaker 1: illustrator and listen a lot while working. I was putting 293 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:29,680 Speaker 1: Valentine's together over the weekend and your podcast on great 294 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:31,919 Speaker 1: battle Horses came on while I was drawing the horse 295 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,360 Speaker 1: on this card. I don't know how well he would 296 00:17:34,359 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 1: do in battle though, looks a bit skittish and it's 297 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:40,119 Speaker 1: really gorgeous and it has morrissy lyrics on the front. 298 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:42,240 Speaker 1: And if you'd like to check out her website, it's 299 00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:46,480 Speaker 1: Rachel dash Harris dot com. But back to the Nazi gold, 300 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:49,040 Speaker 1: We've got a great article on it. It's called could 301 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:52,520 Speaker 1: Treasure Hunters have Discovered Nazi Gold? Mentioned it earlier? You'll 302 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:56,240 Speaker 1: find it on our website at www dot how stuff 303 00:17:56,240 --> 00:18:00,439 Speaker 1: works dot com. For more on this and thousands of 304 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:03,159 Speaker 1: other topics, visit how stuff works dot com and be 305 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:05,080 Speaker 1: sure to check out the stuff you missed in History 306 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:16,600 Speaker 1: Class blog on the how staff works dot com home page.