The bell

Having just finished Black Order by James Rollins, a fun Quantum-Nazis-in-the-Himalayans thrill ride, I got a bit interested in his main plot device, a purported secret Nazi superweapon called "Die Glocke" (The Bell). In the book, The Bell not only functions as a quantum weapon with great destruction capability, but also has some more practical side-effects, such as prolonging life, enhancing muscle strength, etc. Those superman Nazi fighters have to come from somewhere, after all.

So what's fact and what is fiction? No one knows, but much speculation is based on the fact that the alleged development lab was completely destroyed by the Nazis as the end of the war drew near, and all personnel murdered.

“(1) The Bell was reportedly a metallic object, approximately 9 feet in diameter and 12 - 15 feet tall. (2) It looked like a bell; hence, its codename to the Germans, die Glocke. (3) It was comprised of two counter-rotating cylinders, rotating a purplish, liquid-metallic-looking substance at high speeds that was code-named ‘Xerum 525’ by the Germans. [...] (7) All the scientists and witnesses who saw or worked on the Bell were allegedly murdered by the SS as the war neared its end. [...] (9) A strange Stonehenge-like structure was constructed by the Germans out of reinforced concrete near the facility where the Bell was located and tested. This structure might have been used to test extremely powerful propulsion devices.”

Earthfiles.com: Where Is the Nazi “Die Glocke?”