The executioner robbed the treasure and killed people.
During World War II, the port city of Dassaloniki in northern Greece was a settlement of Jewish Greeks and was called "Little Jerusalem". At that time, there were 80 thousand Greek Jews living here. After Germany invaded Greece, a senior Nazi Gestapo official named Max Merton was responsible for the massacre of Jewish Greeks.
Merton has mastered the power of life and death, and naturally he will not miss the opportunity to make a fortune by using this power. Therefore, Merton threatened the Jewish Greeks in Dassaloniki that only by handing over his own money could he avoid being executed or sent to a concentration camp. The Jewish Greeks, who had just been destroyed by their country and family, were still in shock. When they suddenly encounter such a life-saving straw, they can't tell whether it is true or not. They took out their property and treasure. In this way, all priceless property and jewels fell into Merton's pocket.
Merton, whose greed was satisfied, failed to keep his promise. The executioner still raised his butcher's knife at the Jewish residents of Dassaloniki. Of the 80,000 Jewish Greeks, 75,000 died in Nazi concentration camps, and many others were slaughtered on the spot. Only 3% of Jewish residents survived. Today, there are only 5,000 descendants of Jews living in Da Salonica.
"Ghost X" appeared in Greece
1943, the Germans began to show weakness in the war, and Greece was about to be liberated by the allies. Merton saw that the tide had run out and decided to flee to Germany. Before fleeing, Merten loaded the looted gold, silver and jewels into a small fishing boat, and ordered his men to escort several boatmen to drive the fishing boat from the Peloponnesian coast of Greece to the Gulf of Calamai in south-central Greece. In fact, Merten tampered with the fishing boat, and it sank after it sailed to Calamai Bay, and the people on board sank to the bottom of the sea with the treasure. Merten's wishful thinking is to wait until after the war to salvage these treasures and live comfortably for the rest of his life.
1957, World War II ended. 12 years, Merton thought that no one remembered himself, so he sneaked back to Greece to look for the treasure that sank to the bottom of the sea. Who knows that "the justice of the earth is long, but it does not leak", and the Jewish Greeks have not forgotten this executioner with blood on his hands. When Merton appeared on Greek soil, he was recognized by a surviving Jewish Greek. The Greek government immediately arrested Merton and sentenced him to 25 years in prison by the Greek military court. However, in 1959, Merton was strangely released early, and he was taken back to Germany by a special plane sent by the German government. Merton died in Germany on 1976, and the whereabouts of Merton's underwater treasure became a mystery. Whether Merton's early release is related to this treasure is unknown at present.
The "Ghost X" who took the initiative to come to the door said that he himself committed a felony in 1957 and was sentenced to jail. At that time, he happened to live in a cell with Merten, and they "shared joys and sorrows" and spent two years behind bars together. The "Ghost X" claimed that he quickly gained Merton's trust and obtained the place where Jewish Greek property was buried. This time, "Ghost X" appeared in Greece and found Constantine, chairman of the Council of Jewish Greek Association. He not only told the whole story, but even personally sponsored the salvage work. The serious appearance of Ghost X really touched Constantine's heart.
The Greeks decided to salvage it.
1In June, 1999, the Greek newspaper El Pais first disclosed this matter and made an exclusive interview with Constantine.
But Constantine refused to reveal the true identity of "Ghost X" to the media, and was unwilling to estimate the value of the treasure. Soon, a good reporter found the answers to these two questions. The original name of "Ghost X" is costas Vretos. He is 67 years old and used to be a mechanical engineer. He did share a cell with Merten from 1957 to 1959. However, after he provided information about the treasure to Constantine, he was imprisoned again for other illegal acts, and now he is serving his sentence in Da Salonica prison. However, there are different opinions about the value of the treasure announced by the media. Some people say the treasure is worth $2.4 million, while others say it is worth more than $1 billion. Most media, including the Greek newspaper El Pais, said that there were 50 boxes of gold and silver jewelry in the treasure, worth an astonishing $2.5 billion.
After the salvage work was put on the agenda, it immediately attracted the attention of all parties. The Jewish Greek group in Greater Thessalonica proposed to send representatives to supervise the whole salvage process, and a French film company also proposed to buy out the exclusive right to film the whole salvage.
There was nothing in the first three days.
On August 1 1, 2000, the salvage work officially started.
According to the permit issued by the Greek government, the time limit for salvage is five days, ranging from Pailos to Calamai Bay between Calamata. 1 1 In the morning, Constantine and Heinz Kugnaud, a representative of Jewish Greeks from Dassaloniki, as well as experts from all over the world and 10 divers set off from Calamata harbor on the seagoing vessel "Kapteyn Babis" to the salvage site. The "X Ghost" who is still serving his sentence in prison sits in his cell and commands the rear commander through satellite communication equipment, which adds to the legend of treasure hunting.
In the first three days of salvage, divers didn't find any clues about the sunken ship. From the next day, the fishermen even used the advanced sonar positioning system, but they still found nothing.
Constantine also said that if the salvage operation is successful, 50% of the salvage treasure will be owned by the Greek government, and the rest will be divided equally between Jewish Greek groups and the "X Ghost". It is reported that the descendants of German soldiers and boat people's families who sank with the treasure also asked to share the treasure, but they have not received a reply so far.