Nazi looted art: from the Amber Room to Raphael's Portrait of a Young Man

From The Telegraph: Nazi looted art: from the Amber Room to Raphael's Portrait of a Young Man
As Nazi Germany conquered most of continental Europe its forces went on a monumental looting spree, taking an estimated 20 per cent of all European art. Some of the work taken was never seen again.

The Amber Room. Once dubbed the "eighth wonder of the world" the room was a chamber clad entirely with gold-backed amber panels. Dismantled by the Germans from a palace near St Petersburg the priceless amber vanished in the chaos of war. Its possible whereabouts is still the subject of widespread speculation and investigation.

Raphael's Portrait of a Young Man was discovered by German forces found hidden in the Polish city of Kraków for safekeeping. Kept by Hans Frank, the governor-general of Nazi occupied Poland, the painting disappeared in 1945. Art experts say if the work resurfaced today it could fetch over £60 million at auction.

Painter on the Road to Tarascon. A self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh the painting is believed to have been destroyed by allied bombing during the war while stashed in a museum for stolen art although its exact fate was never confirmed.

British POWs 'murdered after being forced to hide Nazi artwork down coal mine'

Documents indicate that in December 1944 under orders from Hans Frank, the infamous governor-general of occupied Poland, POWs from a camp near Auschwitz carried the mysterious crated cargo 300 metres below ground at a mine near the southern town of Bytom, and were then shot.

"We have information and documents which say that at least a thousand prisoners of different nationalities, including British, French, Belgians and others were involved," said Dariusz Psiuch, from the Institute of National Remembrance, the Polish body charged with investigating wartime and communist era crimes.

"They were forced labourers," he added. "We are not dealing with the treasure. We are looking for evidence of a war crime which probably took place."

Researchers believe the bodies were dumped at the bottom of the mine shaft after being killed to ensure they took whatever they knew about the cargo to their graves. They hope any bones, skeletons or clothing fragments found will help identify victims.

But the investigation has been hampered by possibility that the Germans might have rigged booby traps, and by the perilous condition of the mine, which has lain abandoned since the end of the war.

"It's very dangerous because water is pouring down like a waterfall," said local climber Michal Maksalon, who made one decent. "I went down 170 metres, and after that the rock turns to concrete and I can't see any way through."

Exactly what the Germans may have taken such great pains to hide down the mine remains subject to speculation. Historians suggest that with the Red Army grinding Hitler's forces backwards, top Nazis may have constructed a type of safety deposit box underground to stash works of art and gold plundered from museums and private homes across central and eastern Europe.