A hoard of Nazi artefacts - including the only known copy of a memo announcing the death of Adolf Hitler - have been uncovered from a U-boat on Merseyside.
Hundreds of items have now been uncovered from U-boat 534, including the incredible enigma decoded message which informs the crew of their new führer. The U-boat forms part of Birkenhead's U-Boat Story.
The items uncovered include secret dispatches from Nazi higher-ups, a rare enigma machine and even condoms. The hoard has been under wraps for almost 80 years since U-boat 534 was sunk by the RAF off the coast of a Danish island on Saturday, May 5 1945- the same day Hitler's successor ordered the partial surrender of German forces.
READ MORE: Suspect named after boy, 12, stabbed in 'birthday bouncy castle' attack
The sub was raised from the seabed in 1993 and its contents were conserved, though left untouched and under wraps - until now. The artefacts only tell a partial story and the team at Big Heritage, which owns the U-Boat Story, told the ECHO about the mystery of U-boat 534, which, though based in the Baltic Sea was found filled with tropical gear such as lightweight uniforms and guides to South America.
The mystery is deepened by the fact U-boat 534 didn't surrender when the sub came under attack, leading the team to think it was trying to escape the clutches of the Allied forces in Europe.
Founder of Big Heritage, Dean Paton, told the ECHO: "The things we've found go from secret documents to personal letters. One was complaining about the cows in their farm not giving them enough milk.
"We're finding photographs and cards with peoples' names on them which we can trace. It's really interesting. When they raised the U-boat in the early Nineties the Danish team rapidly conserved and saved anything they could without then going through box by box to see what it was. They just kept it safe and stabilised.
"Those boxes have been passed on and they've not been looked at, not been opened. Things we've found include what was once considered tens of thousands of reams of paper that was first assumed to be blank but is actually just very faded and with a certain light [can be seen].
"So there's all sorts of new documents now just being seen for the first time since the 40s - from some quite mundane shopping lists and letters to some quite serious stuff like enigma decoded messages informing the crew of their new führer - which, between the lines, means Hitler's dead and they've now got a new boss.
"It's the only known paper copy of that dispatch in the world.
"We have got some quite interesting technology on U 534. It was one of the later boats [made], and it didn't surrender. We think that there was probably an intention to take some of this brand new, high tech military equipment somewhere else.
"That could've been to Argentina. It had the range to get to Argentina and that is where a lot of senior Nazis disappeared to after the war, or it could've even been intended to go to America - which offered some sort of safe harbour if you brought technology that they could take, or even Japan.
"The interesting thing will be to piece this together over the next few years as more information comes to light. It's not just about the artefacts its about the story behind it that we're really piecing together for the first time."
Many of the artefacts will be on display at Liverpool's popular Western Approaches - which is also owner by Big Heritage - later this year. You can find out more at bigheritage.co.uk/
Receive our three MyWirral newsletters and breaking news email alerts by signing up here.
READ NEXT:
- Schoolgirls raped and abducted by vile gang
- Ex-BBC radio presenter sexually assaulted boy being held down in car
- DVLA asks older drivers to renew their licence immediately
- Full list of bus routes to be changed and cut across the Liverpool City Region
- Love Island's Gemma Owen greeted by family at airport as she returns home from villa
