A mug that has been in Auschwitz for the past 70 years has held a secret that has just recently been discovered. The mug was originally brought in by a Jew arriving at Auschwitz, but it has been sitting in the museum since the camp has closed. The mug was found to have a false bottom which contained a gold ring with stones and a gold necklace.
The director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Dr. Piotr M.A. Cywinski, said that when the Jews were constantly lied to by the Nazis. They were being told lies about being resettled for work and to live in new locations.
They would have to pack lightly, so naturally the Jews would pack things that would be most valuable to them. When they would arrive at Auschwitz, the Nazis would go through their belongings and loot the valuables. Jews knew that their valuables had a chance of being looted and that they would need to go through measures to hide them, hence the false bottom in the mug.
In a statement released by the museum, they said that the false bottom in the mug was very well hidden but that time had eventually degraded the materials and the bottom began to separate showing the false bottom which led to the discovery.
The find will be carefully documented but unlikely to be traced back to an individual due to the lack of any characteristics that would identify an owner. The ring and necklace will be displayed in the Collections of the Museum along with the mug.