After World War II ended in 1945, the Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia) ordered all citizens of German descent to return to Germany. Rudi Schlattner, who is now in his 80’s, was just a boy when this happened, but he still remembered what his father told him when they had to leave. There was a string in the attic of their house and if he pulled it he would reveal a stash of their belongings. Rudi’s father built their house in the late 1920’s, but it became property of the Czech government when they were forced to leave and is now being used as a care home for the elderly. It’s unclear why Rudi waited as long as he did, but he recently asked to return to his old home to look for the secret treasures. It took him a while to find the hidden panel, and Rudi was concerned that the treasures had already been removed as work had been done to the roof in the intervening years. However, he eventually found the string, gave it a tug and revealed a whole host of old goodies! The hidden possessions were mostly everyday items, but are still of significant historical value. Let’s take a look!
These old items are going to reside in a local museum, where others will be able to view these fascinating relics. Although Rudi says he’s happy to see them donated, he would not have been able to take them away even if he wanted to as Czech law still dictates any possessions left behind by German ex-residents belong to the state.
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