This Week In History News, July 16 – July 27

Published July 21, 2017

French castle up for sale, 1940s couple found in glacier, Nazi cult case reopened, U.S. WWII remains located, 250-year-old wine uncovered.

Stunning Thousand-Year-Old French Castle On Sale For $17 Million

French Castle On Sale

Chateau de la Barben

The Château de la Barben has only been on sale once in the last 500 years. So, if you’re in the market for a 1,000-year-old French castle, you should probably scoop it up now.

For a mere 15 million euros ($17 million), you can buy the Southern France abode, which comes with some nice fortresses, a renaissance palace and a 19th-century mansion.

The castle’s history dates back to 1064, when it was home to the Abbey of Saint Victor de Marseille. At the time, it’s position atop giant rocks made it a safe haven against any potential intruders.

For more on the castle’s history since then, and what it looks like now, step inside here.

Couple Gone Missing In 1942 Found In Melting Swiss Glacier

Glacier Bodies Couple

public domainFrancine and Marcelin Dumoulin disappeared in 1942.

One day in 1942, Francine and Marcelin Dumoulin left their mountain home to milk their cows. Neither would ever see their home — or their seven children — again.

75 years later, authorities suspect two “perfectly preserved” bodies uncovered on a melting Swiss ski resort likely belong to the long-missing couple.

“The bodies were lying near each other,” the Les Diablerets resort director Bernhard Tschannen told Swiss media outlet Le Matin. “It was a man and a woman wearing clothing dating from the period of World War II.”

Dig deeper here.

Extent Of Secret Nazi Cult’s Crimes To Be Investigated By New Commission

Nazi Cult Memorial

Zazil-Ha Troncoso 2/Wikimedia Commons

Germany and Chile have set up a joint government commission to investigate the crimes committed in a Nazi cult in Chile, Reuters reports.

The cult, called Colonia Dignidad, was established by Paul Schäfer, a Wehrmacht medic during World War Two who amassed a religious following while working as a YMCA youth counselor and Baptist preacher in post-war West Germany. The ex-Nazi followed the teachings of American post-war preacher William M. Branham, one of the leaders of the healing-revival movement and a major influence on well-known cult leader Jim Jones.

After many claims that Schäfer sexually abused the boys in his care, a German court eventually charged him with sexual abuse in 1961. But before he could be tried, Schäfer airlifted himself and around 150 of the young boys from his group home — many of whom were to be witnesses or defendants in the case — to a remote region of Chile.

Keep reading here.

author
All That's Interesting
author
A New York-based publisher established in 2010, All That's Interesting brings together subject-level experts in history, true crime, and science to share stories that illuminate our world.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.