It probably goes without saying that opening the tomb didn't actually activate a Mummy's curse that prompted Nazi Germany to invade the Soviet Union, but the little details are often repeated for the purposes of sensationalism, particularly the idea that the archaeologists opened the tomb just days before the invasion began, that the local people warned them against messing with such things for fear of superstitions like this, that when they opened the tomb they found an inscription stating
“When I rise from the dead, the world shall tremble”
“Whosoever disturbs my tomb will unleash an invader more terrible than I am”
and that the archeologists decided to close the tomb back up and return the remains with full honors buried in Islamic tradition just before the Battle of Stalingrad decisely turned against the Germans. Can any of this stuff be verified at all, such as the supposed curse written on the grave or the Soviets returning the remains just in time for a major victory?
The idea that the archaeologists opened the tomb just days before the invasion began
Excavations of the tomb of Tamerlane began on June 16, 1941, the opening of the sealed coffin of Tamerlane occurred on June 19, 1941, and Operation Barbarossa began three days later on June 22, so this part is correct.
That when they opened the tomb they found an inscription stating
“When I rise from the dead, the world shall tremble”
“Whosoever disturbs my tomb will unleash an invader more terrible than I am”
There are no such inscriptions in the photographs and they are not mentioned in the expedition journal. Here is the inscription on the marble slab covering the grave of Timur:
This is the grave of the greatest sultan, the noblest Khakan who extends security and protection, Amir Timur "Guregan", son of Amir Taragay, son of Amir Bargul, son of Amir Ayrlangyr, son of Amir Yajil, son of Amir Karajar Nara Amira Sugujjijia, son of Amir Irdamchi-Barlas, son of Amir Kachulai, son of Amir Tumanaya. And his noble father was not known, only his mother Alan Kuva. And as it is told, this was not adultery on her part, but a consequence of pure light emanating from one of the descendants of Leo of Allah - Ali, the son of Abu Talib - may Allah revere his face!
Also there is a series of prayers accompanied by the Surahs of the Quran.
That the archeologists decided to close the tomb back up and return the remains with full honors buried in Islamic tradition just before the Battle of Stalingrad decisely turned against the Germans.
At the end of the study of the bones in December 1942, all bones were carefully preserved by deep impregnation with wax and rosin. A special commission buried the remains of Timurids in their graves in the same position as they were discovered. The acts of opening the ashes, sealed in glass ampoules, were laid into each sarcophagus. They were written in three languages: Russian, ancient Uzbek and English. The Soviet counter-offensive began on November 19, 1942. On February 2, 1943, the remnants of the German 6th Army, led by Field Marshal Paulus, surrendered in Stalingrad.
Sources: O vosstanovlenii vneshnego oblika istoricheskikh lits [On the restoration of the appearance of historical persons], M.M. Gerasimov, K.M. Gerasimova, 2007; Nadpisi na nadgrobiyakh Timura i yego potomkov v Gur-Emire [Inscriptions on the tombstones of Timur and his descendants in Gur Amir.], A. A. Semenov, 1948.