70-Year-Old Family Heirlooms Finally Uncovered
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August 6, 2016Shortly after WWII, Schlattner and his family were forced to flee their home in Czechoslovakia. They were evacuated from the country due to a mass eviction of Germans by the government.
When Schlattner got the chance to return to his childhood home nearly 70 years later, he remembered a secret his father taught him.
AFTER REACHING OUT TO THE CZECH REPUBLIC GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, 80-YEAR-OLD SCHLATTNER WAS ABLE TO ARRANGE A RETURN TO HIS CHILDHOOD HOME WHICH HAS SINCE BEEN CONVERTED INTO A KINDERGARTEN.
WHEN HE WAS A CHILD, SCHLATTNER’S FATHER TOLD HIM ABOUT SOME FAMILY POSSESSIONS HE HAD HIDDEN AWAY BEFORE THEY LEFT THE COUNTRY. THE HIDING PLACE INVOLVED A PIECE OF STRING HANGING FROM ONE OF THE WOODEN PANELS IN THE ATTIC.
AFTER PULLING THE STRING, A SET OF HIDDEN SHELVES WERE REVEALED, CONTAINING FAMILY HEIRLOOMS SCHLATTNER’S FATHER HAD HIDDEN NEARLY 70 YEARS AGO. MOST OF THEM WERE STILL IN GREAT SHAPE!
THE HOUSE HAD UNDERGONE NUMEROUS REPAIRS SINCE ITS CONSTRUCTION IN 1928 — INCLUDING A NEW ROOF — YET SOMEHOW, THIS FAMILY TREASURE HAD REMAINED INTACT AND UNDISCOVERED. NEARLY 70 PACKAGES IN TOTAL WERE DISCOVERED.
THE HOUSE HAD UNDERGONE NUMEROUS REPAIRS SINCE ITS CONSTRUCTION IN 1928 — INCLUDING A NEW ROOF — YET SOMEHOW, THIS FAMILY TREASURE HAD REMAINED INTACT AND UNDISCOVERED.
IT’S INCREDIBLE HOW WELL SCHLATTNER’S FATHER WAS ABLE TO HIDE ALL OF THESE ITEMS. WHAT’S MORE IMPRESSIVE, HOWEVER, IS THE MANNER IN WHICH HE HID THEM. REPORTEDLY, SCHLATTNER WALKED AROUND TAPPING THE WOOD PANELS WITH A SMALL HAMMER, LISTENING FOR A REACTION. WHEN HE HEARD THE CORRECT SOUND, HE FOUND THE STRING, WHICH ACTED AS A TRIGGER FOR THE HIDDEN SHELVES!
SINCE THE GOVERNMENT CAN LEGALLY KEEP ANY ITEMS LEFT BEHIND BY GERMANS IN THE POST-WAR ERA, THE ITEMS WILL BE KEPT AT A MUSEUM. SCHLATTNER IS JUST HAPPY TO GET TO SEE THEM AGAIN.
HE’S ALSO HELPING MUSEUM OFFICIALS IDENTIFY AS MANY OF THE ITEMS AS HE CAN, MANY OF WHICH ARE STILL IN REMARKABLE CONDITION!
H/T DailyMail