August 4, 1945 - 45 cases of art were found in the Merkers salt mine vault. All of the most valuable pieces from Berlin's museums. 400 tons of art in total. It took 26 10-ton trucks to transfer the art to Frankfurt. Patton wrote about what he saw in the mine, 'A number of suitcases filled with jewelry, such as silver and gold cigarette cases, wrist-watch cases, spoons, forks, vases, gold-filled teeth, false teeth, etc. acquired by bandit methods.' Much from concentration camps.
