Wednesday, May 13, 2015

The Nibelungen Hoard: Treasure of legend and Cold War spies

Sometimes the treasures of legend lend themselves to appear in real life. The Nibelungen Hoard by Edwin M. Todd is a mystery surrounding a treasure which disappeared in the final months of World War II as certain German officials realized that the war was ending and they were on the losing side.


The story opens with the legend of the Nibelungen Hoard with King Siegfried of the Netherlands as he attacked and conquered the land of Nibelung. There he accumulated a great treasure which he gave to his new bride, Kreimhilde of Burgundy and the king is killed and the treasure goes missing. It is said that “Whoever possesses the Nibelungen hoard shall be called the Nibelungers and that the cursed treasure waits patiently to reappear.” Fast forward to Beelitz, East Germany, November 4, 1989 where an old woman waits for her grandson, Christopher. She must give him an important task, a task that she wasn’t able to fulfill. Her last words as she hands him the family Bible, are “Find. Give.” Rewind a little bit to March 1945, as Lena Mueller, a nurse at a field hospital takes care of a young soldier who mysteriously appears. The soldier’s name is Johann von Ritter, who was tasked by Himmler to hide treasure as Himmler sees the signs that Germany is losing the war and intends to run as the Allies are closing in. However, von Ritter does not do as Himmler instructs and he hides the treasure and leaves clues to its whereabouts in two letters: one to his sister and another he entrusts with Lena. Fast forward again to 1989, Christopher must decipher his grandmother’s wishes as the cold war spies from Germany, Russia and America are searching for the letters and to discover the location of the treasure. Who can he trust? And will the treasure be found?


I enjoyed this thrilling mystery of the end of the Cold War with its twists and turns. While I can’t say if the treasure is found, I will say the ending left me wondering what other mysteries this story will bring. I hope the author intends to write a sequel (if he hasn’t already) and give more to this great mystery. If you enjoy mystery thrillers, I highly recommend The Nibelungen Hoard.

The Nibelungen Hoard is available on
Amazon on the Kindle Unlimited for free and

on paperback for $13

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