Theft of the Hesse crown jewels

In 1945, four members of the United States Army—Captain Kathleen Nash (later Durant), Colonel Jack Durant, Major David Watson, and Technician Fifth Grade Roy Carlton—stole valuables worth an estimated $36 million (2021 value) from Schloss Friedrichshof, a 19th-century castle in Hesse, Germany. The stolen items, which included jewellery, ornate tableware, family bibles, and snuff boxes belonging to the House of Hesse, had been hidden in the castle during World War II to protect them from bombing raids.

The valuables were inventoried, individually wrapped, and stored in a zinc-lined waterproof wooden box, which was buried beneath concrete and concealed by a false wall in the basement of the castle on October 31, 1944. American forces reached the castle on March 29, 1945, and requisitioned it for use as an officers' club in April. Captain Nash was placed in charge of the mess section and the safekeeping of the castle’s contents. Despite heightened security, multiple thefts occurred prior to November. Durant was assigned to Germany in August, with Watson later appointed as his quartermaster.

In November, the box was discovered—either by Carlton or Nash’s assistant—and moved to Nash’s room, where she opened it and removed the contents. She informed Durant, who then asked Watson to research regulations on abandoned German property. Watson was fully involved by November 8, and the three met to decide the fate of the valuables. Initially planning to keep only a few items, they ultimately chose to take everything.

The discovery was reported to the Hesse family the following day. On November 10, Heinrich Lange, manager of the Schloss Friedrichshof estate, requested Nash to formalize the discovery and arrange its return, but no action was taken. By January 1946, the family reported the suspected theft to the US Army office responsible for protecting German artifacts. A direct appeal to the Army's Criminal Investigation Division in mid-April led to an investigation that lasted until June, resulting in the arrests of Nash and Durant in Chicago and Watson in Frankfurt. Carlton avoided trial by agreeing to testify.

All except Carlton were sentenced to hard labor: Nash received five years, Watson three, and Durant fifteen years as the ringleader. Nash briefly won an appeal but was re-imprisoned after the government successfully challenged it. Watson was paroled in 1947 and received a presidential pardon from Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957. Durant’s appeals failed, and he served his full sentence. Over half of the stolen jewels and most of the precious metals were never recovered, and many of the returned items had significantly depreciated in value.