Louis Biagioni

The Mystery of the Missing Looted Gold: Lake Toplitz Revisited Louis Biagioni

During World War II, German soldiers invaded a number of countries across Europe. In these countries, the German troops plundered the gold reserves from the financial institutions as well as gold jewelry from the holocaust victims that were melted into gold bars. All the gold bars were stamped with the mark of the German central bank, the 'Reichsbank'. This story deals with two young men who had a passion for skiing. They traveled to the Alps of Europe to pursue their passion. Their journey brings them into a nest of mystery dealing with Nazi gold plundered by the German military during World War II. It deals with only a portion of the gold looted by the Germans, not all of it. It spotlights a documented story about Ida Weisenbacher, an Austrian farm girl who was ordered by a German military officer to use her farm wagon to transport several sealed crates to Lake Toplitz where the crates were sunk to the bottom of this lake. This story over time became a legend. Several attempts were made to recover the sunken crates. However, no looted gold was recovered by these attempts. During their journey, the two young men experience a taste of monastic life when they seek refuge in a Franciscan monastery during a heavy snowstorm. This monastery contains a mystery that was concealed within its walls for several decades after the end of WWII. The mystery climaxes around a race between the two American skiers and a group of Neo-Nazis who are also seeking to solve the mystery of the missing looted gold bars. Who will resolve the mystery first? Will it be two innocent American skiers enjoying a holiday in Europe? On the other hand, will it be the group of Neo Nazis?Louis F. BiagioniAugust 2005