Himmler's efforts to turn sand into gold

SS chief Heinrich Himmler set up a secret unit in the Dachau concentration camp after becoming convinced he could turn sand into gold, a book has claimed.

By Allan Hall in Berlin
Published: 12:27AM BST 20 Jul 2010

His personal alchemist was a man named Karl Malchus who convinced Himmler he could make the metal.

Gold was vital for the Nazi regime in Germany to use to buy armaments and technology from abroad. When Himmler was approached by the scientist in 1937, after the regime had been in power for four years.

The book, Hilter's Alchemists – The Secret Attempts to manufacture gold in Dachau, by academic Helmut Werner, is the first account of this extraordinary confidence trick pulled on one of the most murderous individuals who ever lived.

Mr Werner, who has written previous works on the history of alchemy, said it was possible that Malchus himself may have been working for British intelligence when he received the go-ahead to begin his bizarre quest in a barracks at Dachau in 1938.

"He was living in England up until the first months of that year and on his return made contact with Himmler about his unique talents – but of course, it was all a huge swindle," he said.

Himmler was enthused about the project after minute nuggets of gold had been found in the rivers and streams of Bavaria. He was introduced to Mr Malchus through the office of Oswald Pohl, the SS administrator of the concentration camps.

Himmler met with Malchus who told him that a process involving paraffin, stones and the soil from the bed of the Isar River in Munich "will allow me to produce gold in abundance for the future and security of the Third Reich".

Malchus was the second charlatan who spellbound Himmler with tales of turning base metal into riches. The first was Heinrich Kurschildgen, a charlatan who also claimed to be able to make petrol from water.

Himmler eventually had him imprisoned in a concentration camp for fear he would turn him into a laughing stock. But this bruising encounter with alchemy did not put him off financing Malchus when he came his way in 1937.

"Malchus got whatever he wanted and Himmler installed him in Dachau, not as a prisoner but as a technician whose work could be carried out in secret," said Mr Werner.

As part of the experiments all participants were searched to make sure that no gold was smuggled in that could be claimed later to have been manufactured from dirt.

But Malchus hid gold nuggets in his cigarettes, allowing him to claim they were the result of his experiments.

His scheme was eventually rumbled and Mr Malchus remained in Dachau for several months as a prisoner before being released on pain of death if he ever spoke of his relationship with the SS chief.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/7899595/Himmlers-efforts-to-turn-sand-into-gold.html