#20. A Mysterious Safe
A woman in Germany, upon inheriting the home of her great aunt, happened to find something quite unusual and mysterious. In her own house, she found a rusty-looking safe that definitely didn’t seem to belong to our decade. The safe itself looked like it contained something extremely important; otherwise, why keep it locked down under heavy locks?
Like any of us would, the German woman was a bit nervous about what the safe contained. Why would her great aunt keep something locked under such seriousness? The amount of rust that the safe was covered in made her even more wary about the state in which whatever was hidden inside would be.
#19. A Key Is Found
The German woman’s great aunt had an interesting story. She had fled Russia in the 1940s and decided to start a new life in Hamburg. It was a time when persecution was very common and people in Europe were desperate to move around and emigrate to other countries.
Unfortunately for the great aunt, it seemed that she had gone from a dangerous place, into an even more dangerous one. Considering her great aunt’s past, the German woman thought that there was no way she’d ever find out what was hidden inside the safe. Surprisingly though, she had a key.
#18. The Safe Is Open
The niece had been left with a key that would allegedly open the safe. But she was quite skeptical about the key being able to work at all, especially because the box was in such rough condition. In fact, the safe’s hinges were bolted, which meant that it probably would be even harder to get the safe to crack.
However, like they always say, it is better to give it a try than simply assume the key doesn’t work. So the German lady took the key and gave it a chance and, surprise surprise, it worked! The safe was open with no complications and the insides were revealed.
#17. Books, Letters, Photographs
When the woman first opened the box, the first thing she saw was a shallow tray that contained nothing. Her first thought was that it was a trick and that the discovery of the safe didn’t have any meaning at all. But then she realized that underneath the tray there were several compartments, each containing something worth exploring!
After removing that first layer that was completely empty, the other layers revealed various objects, one more curious than the other. Within the nooks and crannies of the bottom layers, the woman took out so many things that her whole floor was covered with her discoveries, predominantly books, letters, and photographs.
#16. Mein Kampf
It was very surprising for the German woman to find so many things that had once belonged to her great aunt. They were all part of what her life had been and each was significant enough to be placed in such a tightly shut safe. The niece didn’t quite recognize the people she saw in the photographs, but they all seemed to be somewhat related to her.
However, it wasn’t the photographs the caught her attention at first, but rather, a copy of Mein Kampf, written by no other than Adolf Hitler. Mein Kampf translated in English is My Struggle or My Fight, and in essence, the book is an autobiographical manifesto written in 1925 by Hitler, the Nazi party leader.
#15. A Copy From 1943
The copy that was safely stored in the safe belonged to the year of 1943. Finding one of Hitler’s books that had been written while he was in prison wasn’t all that shocking, but what did make the woman very uneasy was the fact that this copy had been published during Hitler’s reign of terror.
The book itself described that process and development which eventually lead Hitler to become antisemitic. Mein Kampf discusses that political ideologies and the future that Hitler saw for Germany. The copy that she had found was probably worth $350; however, the idea of selling a book containing such violence and fear was too chilling to contemplate.
#14. Rob Roy
Another book that the woman found hidden in the mysterious safe was Rob Roy, which was written by Sir Walter Scott. A much less terrifying book, Rob Roy is a historical fiction novel set in Scotland around 1715. The book is part of the Waverley novels, all of which focus on Scottish history.
The particular copy that the German woman found seemed to belong to somebody that loved the book dearly. The moment she inspected the book’s condition, she could feel as if she knew the original owner and had momentarily traveled back in time to the period where the book was brand new.
#13. Leipzig
Yet another book that the woman found was Leipzig. This book was also of German origin but its contents were not as terrifying as those found in the book written by Adolf Hitler. Leipzig was published by Christian Bernhard von Tauchnitz. The Tauchnitz publishers were from a Germany family but they would also publish English literature around Europe.
The copy that the German woman found for this book dated back to 1846, that was a lot earlier than the copy she found from Hitler’s book; almost 100 years earlier, in fact. Having had such an old published date, the woman felt touched when she thought about all the travels that her great aunt had probably done alongside this novel.
#12. Lady And The Tramp
Yet another book that the woman found was one that most of us are probably familiar with, and that is Lady and the Tramp. Holding such an old copy of a classic and a favorite, the woman realized that this copy must have been tied to the release of the film, judging from the cover image.
While many of us recognize Lady and the Tramp as a Disney film, this book reminds us that it was actually a novella written for children before being adapted to film. This copy was written in German and it was published in 1953. The woman held the book in her hands and fantasized about which family member had held on so dearly to this copy enough for it to end in the safe.
#11. A Family Photograph
Besides the books, the woman discovered a few photographs, several of them containing family members. She suspected that the girl below was her grandmother. Thus, she figured that the two adults standing next to the little her were her grandmother’s parents.
However, given how the war had affected families and torn them apart, with no digital records that could provide proof of who exactly was present in the photograph, the lady couldn’t be sure whether the little girl indeed was her grandmother. Piecing together information that belonged to a tumultuous time was no easy task.
#10. An Adventurous Grandfather
But while some photographs were harder to piece together in terms of who the people in it were, there was a picture of a man that the German woman could say with certainty was indeed her grandfather. In this picture, he was riding a motorcycle in the year 1950.
Seeing this photograph wasn’t only heart-warming but also amusing. The contrast between the motorcycle and the background, that being a field with cows in what looks like a rural area, was very striking for the grand-daughter. Thanks to this picture, she was able to gather a better understanding of who he was.
#9. The Hitler Youth Movement
After finding Adolf Hitler’s autobiography, it wasn’t much of a surprise when the German woman came upon photographs that resembled those boys that had been part of the Hitler Youth movement. With the information that has been brought to light after these past few decades, we can only imagine what type of things these young boys had to see.
While some of us might be horrified at the thought of kids joining such a terrifying movement, we should all remember that back in the days of Nazi Germany, it was mandatory for children to be part of the Hitler Youth movement. So these kids likely didn’t share the political ideologies of the Führer, or they had been taught in school to do so.
#8. A Sweet Postcard
Something a little less terrifying than little children being forced into the Hitler Youth Movement, the woman found other objects that were a lot more heart-warming. For instance, take this postcard that dates back to 1916. On it, we see the washed-out image of a young soldier kissing what we could imagine was his wife.
The picture seems to depict the moment in which the soldier was departed to travel off to serve his country during a war. This postcard is also tied to a dark period in history, but at least the tender kissing scene lets us think that there were a few nicer memories.
#7. A Nazi Stamp
Back to another image that sends shivers down our spines, we see this postcard with a Nazi government stamp dating back to 1941. While you might not think too much about what this stamp meant, you’d be surprised by what the meaning and intention behind it was.
As you probably know, people living under the Nazi regime didn’t have much freedom. This meant that the citizens were constantly under surveillance and the Nazi party wanted to make sure that the people were reminded of this. Therefore, the stamp wasn’t just part of a regular mail process but rather, it was a symbol for the recipients to know that everything was being monitored.
#6. Another Postcard
Yet another postcard but depicting a more common event, this one had the image of a young nurse looking over a young soldier. This postcard dates back to 1916 and in fact, it wasn’t a candid photograph taken spontaneously of a loving couple but rather, it was used as some sort of propaganda.
Being at war meant you needed to recruit as many motivated soldiers and determined nurses as possible. This postcard was designed and printed to inspire these two groups of people to be part of the First World War. At a quick glance and without much understanding of history, this postcard definitely looks like a cute picture of an old movie rather than a photograph meant to push people towards joining the war.
#5. A Destroyed House
Being in a country that is at war means that finding a photograph of a destroyed house is of no surprise. Written in tiny print at the bottom of the image says “A house destroyed by the enemy”, as if it were a reminder of what the opponents were capable of.
This photograph was actually taken during a time when the only thing people had access to was newspapers and the occasional access to the radio. In terms of getting information, there wasn’t that much more, which is why pictures showing the damage war had done were frequently distributed.
#4. An Ordinary Object
Another item that stood out amongst the others was this very ordinary object: a little container of Nivea cream. If you are somebody that is into skincare, maybe this blue container rings a bell. It looks like Nivea cream existed back in the day and the design of the container didn’t really change that much!
While the outside of the creams definitely look like they survived the test of time given the great condition they are seen in, it probably isn’t the best idea to open them up and use their contents. Who knows what kind of chemical reaction the cream underwent after all these years locked up?
#2. Another Box From WWII
Apparently, the German woman wasn’t the only one to have inherited a mysterious box that had items related to WWII. All the way in Maryland, another person discovered a box filled with WWII objects hidden in their attic. Upon its discovery, the authorities went on the search to find the people to whom this box belonged to.
Judging from the contents of the box, professionals were able to narrow it down to Armando Custotido. They believe that this man, born in 1908, was the original owner of the found suitcase. Armando had immigrated to the United States from his home country and had served the U.S Navy during the War.
#3. The Kaiser’s Heir
Another photograph, this one depicts the Kaiser’s heir shaking hands with an official during WWI. While some might think that this was a very treasured possession belonging to the great aunt, it probably was far from the most treasured one.
Pictures with this type of imagery were actually very common back in the day, especially during the period of war. You would find this kind of photographs in most houses of German families. The safe acted like a time capsule, containing simple objects reminding us of a terrible period that stained history.
#1. A Box Of Memories
The investigators that were able to track down the original owner of the suitcase tried to locate any living relative of the former U.S Navy sailor. Surely they would like to have this suitcase within their possessions given all the meaning and histories contained within it.
Much like the mysterious safe that the German woman found, this suitcase is a box of memories. Opening such boxes are like opening up windows of other time periods; periods where things were drastically different. It is quite fascinating to know that an object hidden in your attic could hold items that hold such meaning!