Decades-Old Family Treasure Rediscovered Through a Father’s Hand-Drawn Map and Metal Detector

In 2019, Jan Glazewski, a retired academic from South Africa, found himself in a dense Ukrainian forest holding a 1989 map sketched by his father. This hand-drawn guide, made years after their family fled Poland amid the Soviet invasion, led Jan to uncover a hidden family treasure buried during World War II. The trove included invaluable heirlooms passed down through generations.

Back in 1939, as Soviet troops approached their estate near Lviv, the Glazewskis fled, secretly burying silverware and hunting rifles to safeguard their valuables. The exact spot of this hidden stash remained a secret kept only by Gustaw, who reconstructed the location from memory decades later.

A Family Forced to Flee

As highlighted in a University of Cape Town press release, the Glazewski family's escape started on September 17, 1939, when Nazi forces attacked from the West and Soviet troops invaded from the East. They were in the midst of lunch on their estate when global conflict rapidly altered their lives.

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With enemy lines closing in and the border only kilometers away, Gustaw and his siblings chose to flee toward Romania. Before their departure, they buried the family’s silver collection and hunting firearms deep in the forest near their home, hopeful of one day reclaiming them.

Their father remained behind in Soviet-controlled Lviv, living out his final days isolated in a basement away from his family. Meanwhile, his sons scattered across continents, and the hidden valuables stayed untouched for decades.

A vintage hand-drawn map. Credit: wecb.fm

Preserving the Past Through a Map

Jan was raised in South Africa, where his father recounted tales of their Polish escape. Yet, the treasure’s exact whereabouts remained elusive. Over time, Jan persistently urged his father to pinpoint the location, and in 1989, Gustaw finally produced a detailed map from memory.

“My father was getting old, and I kept asking. He drew everything from memory, half a century after he left,” he said.

Meticulously typed using an old typewriter, the map instructed that “at the edge of the forest, you must dig for our silver,” as cited by Futura Sciences. Despite fading recollections and decades passed, Jan guarded the map, hopeful it would one day unlock their lost history.

Family silver artifacts recovered. Credit: Jan Glazewski

The Long-Awaited Discovery

Once retired in 2019, Jan had the opportunity to follow the clues left by his father. Equipped with a metal detector and aided by local Ukrainian volunteers, he returned to the forest to search for the hidden treasure. Though the search required patience, Jan’s determination bore fruit. He finally revealed a jewelry box, a baptism spoon, and several pieces of family silver.

“My father didn’t give me an indication about what was buried. My big regret was that I didn’t ask him more. I just imagined that it would be the same family silver we’ve got on the mantlepiece. But what I found, firstly, the volume was huge, and secondly, it went back generations. I was happy to find just a teaspoon, but I found a lot more than that,” recalled the retired professor of environmental law at the University of Cape Town.

Jan shares that holding these items, packed by his mother more than eight decades ago, provided a poignant sense of closure and reconnected him with a past he lost at only seven years old.