Poland treasure hunters 'expelled from local history society'

The two treasure hunters claim to have found the armoured German train in a secret tunnel near the Polish town of Walbrzych, which was part of Germany until the war's end. Photo / Getty Images

Two men who claim to have found lost Nazi train filled with gold have been expelled from their local history society.

Two men claiming to have found a Nazi gold train in southern Poland have been expelled from a local history society because the group was "outraged" the men had claimed the train for themselves.

The Lower Silesian Study Group took action against Piotr Koper, who was the society's vice president, and Andreas Richter amid a welter of debate and rumour surrounding the two men's claim to have found a legendary Nazi train that disappeared in May 1945 with cargo of gold.

One of the leading history societies in south-west Poland, the study group and its members have been at the forefront of research into the area's wartime past and archaeology.

The two treasure hunters claim to have found the armoured German train in a secret tunnel near the Polish town of Walbrzych, which was part of Germany until the war's end.

Although the contents of the train are unknown they have claimed a finder's fee of 10 per cent of the value of the find.

"We are outraged that all the rights to the find have been claimed by these two men," the society said in a statement. The society said it not been informed of the train's apparent discovery until August 31.

In response Mr Koper and Mr Richter issued a statement expressing their "regret" they had not been informed about the meeting on their expulsion and claimed that "personal interests had got in the way of common sense".

Their expulsion came as the Polish Army concluded an initial inspection of the site, and a report on its findings is due to be presented to the country's Defence Ministry.

"We will act professionally and calmly," said Tomasz Siemoniak, the Polish Defence Minister when questioned about the train by journalists. "We will also keep the public informed.

"At the moment it is too early to say what steps will be taken next," he continued, adding "I don't know if there is a train there."