Rudi Schlattner and his family were forced to leave the Czech Republic under horrific circumstances after WWII was over. Rudi's father was a carpenter and an eccentric. Years later, his father revealed that he had something of major importance hidden up in the attic.
It took Rudi over 70 years, but he was finally able to get into the home again, and he was moved to tears at what he found...
Czechoslovakia in WWII
World War II was a difficult time in history. It was a time loaded with death and despair as well as xenophobia that blighted the country and culture. After the war was over, citizens thought that they could move on. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, especially for Rudi Schlattner's family...
Rudi Schlattner
Rudi Schlattner and his family were forced to flee Czechoslovakia after WWII. They left all of their belongings and memorabilia in their home, never expecting that they could return home. Rudi and everyone else had to go back to Germany because the Czech Republic ordered all citizens of German descent to return back to their "homeland." This was a horrific time for those people, especially since they thought that the hard times were over...
They Had To Leave Everything Behind
The Schlattner family had been in their home since his father built it. Due to their heritage, they were forced to leave their life behind. Rudi spent the rest of his life in Germany, until one day, he decided that he needed to go back. He was well into his 80s, and a lot of his family had passed away, but there was something that was lingering in the attic that was bugging him...
The House Today
Rudi's home was turned into a kindergarten after years and years of different owners. Rudi wasn't trying to go back for nostalgic purposes. He knew that there was something of immense value inside, and he needed to make sure that it was still there. So, he gathered his closest relatives and traveled to the Czech Republic.
Building the Family Home
Rudi and his family were the first ones to live in it. Rudi's father built it himself with the help of some neighborhood friends. It was a special family home since it was built just for them. It broke the Schlattner's hearts to have to leave this, but his father wasn't set on giving up on it completely...
Rudi's Father
After they fled the country, Rudi's father told him later on that there was something important hidden in the home. He said that there was a hidden string hidden in the attic... If Rudi pulled it, he would find a crazy stash. His father never went into detail about what the stash was, so Rudi needed to find out...
Finding the String
The string wasn't obvious to find. His father had hidden it quite well... There were tons of wooden boards to sift through, and Rudi couldn't imagine that his father made it super obvious. His worst fear was that someone else had already gotten to it... After all, it had been over 70 years since he was living in the home. The government had their hands on it after that.
Knocking Around
Just as things were looking solemn, Rudi struck gold. They were ready to give up and assume that the items had been destroyed over the years after construction until Rudi heard what he was looking for. Museum director Tomas Okurka said, "Mr. Schlattner was tapping the roof boards with a small hammer. All of them had the same sound. Then he tried to find a string which was supposed to detach the boards which was a system set up by his father."
Was This It?
It took a little bit, and a lot of pairs of eyes, for the group to find the tiny string. Rudi was shocked to find it sticking out just as he thought it would. He pulled on the string and the plank of wood that it was attached to it moved. He looked at his relatives and smiled, "This is probably it!" Was the time finally coming?
Doing It Himself
Even though Rudi was well into his 80s and sometimes needed help walking, he was determined to get into this crawl space by himself. His family let him do it himself (with some assistance) so that he could be the first one to get an eye on the treasures... It was well worth the wait.
Everybody In!
This bizarre hole in the wall was way bigger than anyone thought... Rudi was able to climb in and even invited some others inside with him! Everyone just assumed it would be a tight space with some small treasures. Instead, they were welcomed with an entire room!
Jam-Packed With Treasures
Sure enough, all of the promised family heirlooms were hidden away. Somehow, his father managed to pack up the most important things and hide them for years and years. His father admitted years ago that he hoped they could go back to the home, which is why he hid them. Now, Rudi was fulfilling his father's wish.
More Than They Thought
Rudi and his famiily began to pull the items out and load them up. The more they dug, the more they found. They were all shocked to see this everything laid out before them. They held off on opening things up and seeing what was inside for a grand reveal...
Hiring an Appraiser
Before they went too crazy, Rudi hired a trusted appraiser. He had no idea what his father had hidden, but he needed to have all of his bases covered in case they find something of value. Rudi admitted that he didn't think anything super incredible was inside, but he was wrong...
Historic Dolls
One of the first packages were of vintage 1920s dolls. They were dirty due to age, but in decent condition. Rudi remembered that this was a part of his mother's collection... Something that she held near and dear to her heart. He knew that his mother would be so happy to see these again...
Memorbilia and History
His father ended up saving tons of different colognes and perfumes... Most of which had lost their smell. It was still incredible to see the branding and design. Rudi was becoming extremely nostalgic while sifting through all of the memories.
His Mother's Sewing Kit
Rudi was amazed to see his mother's sewing kit still intact! It had all of her buttons, needles, thread, and other gadgets that she would use to fix their clothes and blankets. So far, everything they found was extremely nostalgic and memorable to Rudi... These were things he was happy to have.
Regular, Every Day Things
"We were surprised that so many ordinary things were hidden there in the attic," said museum employee Tomas Okura in an interview. "Thanks to these circumstances, these recovered objects have a very high historical value." Even though they're just socks, it's incredible that they lasted this long and give an insight to how people dressed back in the day!
Government Hopping In
Naturally, news spread about Rudi's incredible findings. The government eventually heard and arrived to stake a claim on some items. After his family left, the government took hold of the home. It was used as a hospital and then eventually a home for certain families. Technically, they did have ownership of these items...
Government Property
As a rule, the Czech government dictates that all German property is now owned by the state. Manager of the museum Vaclav Houfek said, "Such a complete finding of objects hidden by German citizens after the war is very rare in this region." It's sad, but is Rudi upset by it?
No Bitterness, Just Happiness
Many people felt that the Czech government, who kicked out his family in the first place, was unfair in taking the items, but Rudi didn't mind. He's said that he understood the reason and didn't want to stand in the way of the law. He even offered his services of helping identify some of the objects! Even though his health is faltering, his memory is quite good still.
Other Artifacts
In the packages, they found umbrellas, hats, badges, paperweights, paintings, pens, school tables, unpacked cigarettes, socks, books, sewing kits and even more mundane, everyday things. All of these objects are interesting to historians, especially because a lot of history in the country had been destroyed during the war. The fact that all of it was so well preserved was astounding and exciting!
Thoughtful Items
Museum manager Tomas Okurka said, "The packages were very skilfully hidden in the vault of a skylight. It was incredible how many things fitted in such a small space. It took more than one hour until we put everything out." His father knew exactly what he was doing... His main goal was to come back to the home, but he probably knew that could never happen...
The Lopez Family
Just like Rudi, the Lopez family had treasures to be found. Their grandfather, who was a wonderful storyteller, had been talking about stories of treasure for his grandkid's entire lives. It wasn't until he passed away that the kids tried to make sense of those stories...
The Treasure of a Spanish Pirate
Their grandfather's tallest tale was that he found and stole the treasure of an infamous Spanish pirate. The pirate in question, Jose Gaspard, is best known as the "Last of the Buccaneers" who plundered the land from the Gulf of Mexico to the Spanish Main.
Searching for the Treasure
His grandkids that he told the stories to decided to go ahead and check out the attic. If he was going to hide a treasure, that was probably the place to find it. They didn't really think that they were going to find anything... They should have known to not underestimate Grandpa Lopez!
Historic Coins
They came across a few pretty cool things in the attic. First, they found a map of Tampa Bay back in the 1930s. It was cool to see how the area changed! Then, in a small box hidden underneath the map were several Portuguese and Spanish coins from the 1700s. Maybe he was telling the truth? They weren't ready for the other thing they found. It was pretty nasty...
A Pirate Hand
Not only did they find the incredible coins and cool map, but they found an actual severed hand... with a ring on it. Needless to say, they were pretty horrified to find that their grandfather was hoarding a human hand in his attic. Grandpa Lopez was a bit more eccentric than they imagined...
Don't Doubt Grandpa
"Either my great-grandfather made the best, most elaborate pirate hoax ever and never shared it with anyone or he really did find some treasure on the Hillsborough River," Maria Lopez said. "There's really no way to know which is the case." In a weird twist, this really could have been a big joke. Grandpa Lopez seemed like the kind of guy to try and have the last laugh, even after death... So, was it real?
Oh, It's Real
In a horrifying twist, this hand is very much a real human hand. A local antique store appraised the object as, "gruesome and authentic." Luckily, the family was able to keep the creepy item. "Maybe my great-grandparents were pirates," Lopez said. "We are not sure what we're going to do with it. Possibly keep it forever, it's part of our family now."