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Wichita Businessmen’s Salt Mine Document Fortress Initiative
When World War II ended, the Monuments Men found a strange sight. Nazi-stolen art sat safe in German salt mines, kept perfect by cool, dry air.
This gave some Wichita men an idea. In 1959, they started Underground Vaults and Storage in Kansas salt mines, 650 feet below ground.
Soon, the Federal Reserve Bank stored vital records there, safe from Cold War threats. The vaults now hold millions of items, from “Gone with the Wind” film reels to top-secret papers…