Here is the truth about the fate of the original amber room, according to the research of the Russian historian Vladimir Lapskii, published in 1995.
In 1939, after the signing of the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact, Stalin ordered a copy of the Amber Room to be made as a present for Hitler. This was at the time when plans were being made for Hitler to visit the Soviet Union, meet Stalin, and also make a special visit to the Volga German ASSR (Swastika flags were handed out to the Volga Germans in preparation for the planned visit; after the German invasion in 1941, the flags were discovered by the NKVD and used as "proof" that the Volga Germans were traitors).
The copy was made by the most famous Russian amber craftsman Anatolii Baranowskii, and a second copy was made by his apprentices. The copies were completed in May 1941.
After the German invasion, the Amber Room was dismantled and takne away for safe-keeping. In November 1941, it was shipped out to the United States by the pro-Soviet American billionaire, Armand Hammer. Presumably it is still in the United States somewhere.
In the meantime, the second copy was left in the vicinity of Leningrad. It was captured by German forces in October 1941; they thought it was the original, and shipped it back to Königsberg, where it is presumed to have been destroyed during the battle for that city in early 1945.
According to Lapskii, the first copy, intended as a present for Hitler, was preserved in a secret walled-up cellar in the Catherine Palace in Tsar'skoe Selo.
Amber room
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michael mills
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Of course, I cannot vouch for the accuracy of Lapskii's account. But he appears to have done a lot of research in Russian archival sources, and provides a wealth of detail, such as the name of the craftsman who made the copy, and the dates when it was done.The truth?
Sounds more like a new theory...
Regards
And the details seem to add up, more so than other theories. For example, the Soviet authorities would certainly have had time to dismantle the original Amber Room before the German armies arrived at the gates of Leningrad. Leaving the copy for the Germans to find would also have made sense, as a diversionary tactic.
Shipping the original to the United States in the care of Armand Hammer also makes sense. Hammer was involved in all sorts of capitalistic wheeling and dealing on behalf of the Soviet Government ever since the Revolution, and it may well be that he was carrying out some sort of business deal. Could the original Amber Room have been payment for something? Perhaps some sort of collateral given to the United States, or elements there, for future payments by the Soviet Union.
In any case, none of the theories will be proved until the original Amber Room is found, if it still exists.
Although Lapskii's article did not go into the details of the recently opened reconstruction, it may well be that what is now attached to the walls is the copy that was not found by the Germans, simply taken out of storage and remounted, with the tales about years of patient reconstruction on the basis of memory and photographs simply a cover story.
Re: Amber room
The new theory, and one discussed on a recent History Channel program was entirely plausible: The Amber was flown to an SS fortress in what is now the Czech Republic shortly before Konigsberg fell. They interview witnesses who were alive and present there and the story goes like this:
300 French and Soviet POW's were ordered to bury the Amber in deep tunnels, apparently many of these tunnels were very cleverly sealed, and proof of that exists as one tunnel was only recently discovered under the floor of this castle a few years ago, and only found because plumbers excavated under the floor. The theory is that these 300 inmates were all ordered to carefully seal the Amber in these various tunnels, and were all then machine gunned by 11 SS members.
The story goes somewhat off the rails here, as apparently the commanding General of the fortress and his driver then fooled these 11 SS into a formation where they were then machine gunned. But regardless, it was clear watching this program this Amber could be hidden deep underground and not be found.
Also, one of the witnesses has thermal imaging of a large field showing a vast tunnel network deep underground and the Czech govt. has forbid any excavation of it. It's his belief the Amber could be found there in these tunnels. This guy gained intelligence from German POW's after the war, including the commander of the SS fortress.
300 French and Soviet POW's were ordered to bury the Amber in deep tunnels, apparently many of these tunnels were very cleverly sealed, and proof of that exists as one tunnel was only recently discovered under the floor of this castle a few years ago, and only found because plumbers excavated under the floor. The theory is that these 300 inmates were all ordered to carefully seal the Amber in these various tunnels, and were all then machine gunned by 11 SS members.
The story goes somewhat off the rails here, as apparently the commanding General of the fortress and his driver then fooled these 11 SS into a formation where they were then machine gunned. But regardless, it was clear watching this program this Amber could be hidden deep underground and not be found.
Also, one of the witnesses has thermal imaging of a large field showing a vast tunnel network deep underground and the Czech govt. has forbid any excavation of it. It's his belief the Amber could be found there in these tunnels. This guy gained intelligence from German POW's after the war, including the commander of the SS fortress.
Re: Amber room
One can get really frustrated reading some of the new theories. New theories are ok if they are based on new knowledge, but rediculous theories do not bring us forward. We are working on the Amber Room Mystery since 25 years now and we have collected a huge amount of circumstancial evidence. The "truth" leads us to a mountain range south of the city of Weimar in Thuringia, a mining area with miles of tunnels under ground. This is where the Amber Room was hidden and this is exactly the reason why it was never seen again.
It was hidden in a slate mine which was supposed to be used by the "Geilenberg-Program".
If you are interested in our impressive chain of circumstancial evidence, please contact us:
www.amberroom.org
regards
Mike
It was hidden in a slate mine which was supposed to be used by the "Geilenberg-Program".
If you are interested in our impressive chain of circumstancial evidence, please contact us:
www.amberroom.org
regards
Mike
Re: Amber room
Another Amber Room Reconstruction:
http://www.thenews.pl/1/11/Artykul/1785 ... in-crowds-
http://www.thenews.pl/1/11/Artykul/1785 ... in-crowds-
Amber Room replica reels in crowds
PR dla Zagranicy Nick Hodge 11.08.2014 09:47
A replica of the legendary Amber Room that was removed from Russia during WWII, never to be seen again, was the highlight of the 8th European Amber Festival over the weekend in Wielun, central Poland.
Visitors explore a replica of the Amber Room, Wielun. Photo: PAP/ Grzegorz Michalowski
The fabled chamber, sometimes referred to as 'the eighth wonder of the world', stood for three centuries in the imperial Catherine Palace near St Petersburg, but was dismantled by the Germans during the WWII Nazi occupation.
Photo: PAP/ Grzegorz Michalowski
In 1941, the Amber Room was placed in storage in the then East Prussian city of Konigsberg (now Kaliningrad), but no trace of the treasure has been found since the end of the war. The replica shown in Wielun over the weekend was constructed by Austrian craftsmen.
The purpose of the European Amber Festival is to promote regions along the ancient Amber Road that ran from the Baltic across Europe to the Mediterranean. The amber trade was already thriving during the time of the Roman Empire and chariot races inspired by classic Hollywood movie Ben Hur were staged at the Wielun festival. Workshops demonstrating how craftsmen fashioned amber and other materials were also part of the festival's programme.
A chariot race at the 8th Europran Festival of Amber. Photo: PAP/ Grzegorz Michalowski
Source: PAP -