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A Salt Lake City man returned from the war in Europe, bringing with him five artifacts believed to have been taken from Adolf Hitler's "Eagles Nest" chalet in the German Alps.
Until 2005, the items were housed in a storage unit near 3900 S. State St. where they were later reported stolen, said Salt Lake County sheriff's Detective Scott Van Wagoner.
On Wednesday, investigators recovered three of the items from an antiquities dealer and are now seeking the rightful owner - as well as the thief.
"They are priceless," Van Wagoner said. "They are unique, one-of-a-kind, they are hand-crafted. Some of them are dated 1933, which was the year Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany. They are very valuable."
Investigators removed one item from a wooden box etched with swastikas along its edges. Inside lay the History of Henry the Lion, a large book containing an elaborate metal strap with a horse on the cover. Pages inside the book bear Hitler's name and is dated April 20, 1938.
A second book, identified as the Ehrenburger Brief, dated March 31, 1933 from Muhlhausen, Germany, was also removed from a wooden box. Investigators also displayed a copper cylinder containing a 12- by 27-inch wax scroll known as the "Saarbrucken Proclamation," dated April 9, 1938.
Police are still attempting to locate two other items reported missing from the break-in: a white vase baring German writing and several swastikas, and a damaged bust of Hitler, badly dented after apparently being slammed with an ax.
Authorities were told that a local antiquities collector received the items, which were reviewed by a professor of German studies at a local university, said sheriff's spokesman Paul Jaroscak. The collector was looking to buy the items.
"We don't believe this particular dealer knew the items were stolen, until they called to have them appraised by the professor," Jaroscak said.
However, investigators have yet to contact their own history expert to speak to the authenticity of the items, Van Wagoner said.
"The antiquities dealer also wishes that [the artifacts] end up in the correct place, whether that be in a museum or in a private collection," the detective said. "The dealer was approached to purchase the items."
Deputies identified a person of interest in the case, but refused to name that person. Van Wagoner said the case is ongoing and they hope to learn how the seller got the items. Investigators also are checking to see if the returning veteran brought the items from Germany legally.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office has instructed the sheriff's office to hold the items until their rightful owner can be traced, Jaroscak said. Deputies may ask for the help of the FBI, which has investigators that research lost and stolen artifacts.