Polish archaeologists have discovered a mass grave that the Nazis tried to destroy at the end of World War II, according to a new study.
The mass grave, filled with the remains of around 500 people, is linked to the terrible “Pomeranian Crime” that occurred in the Polish prewar province of Pomerania in 1939 when the Nazis occupied Poland. The Nazis killed up to 35,000 people in Pomerania. At the beginning of the war, they returned after 1945 to kill more people and hide evidence of previous slaughter by digging up and burning the bodies of the victims.
Despite this elaborate Nazi concealment, archaeologists examined the archives, interviewed locals, conducted extensive archaeological research, and then provided a wealth of evidence for one of these mass graves. The researchers said they found it.
Related: Photo: Escape tunnel of the Holocaust death site
The Pomeranian Crime of 1939 was the first major atrocity of World War II in Poland. These include 12,000 people killed in the forest around the village of Piasinica in 1939 and 7,000 people buried in the forest near the village of Spengavsk in 1939. Some historians say the slaughter was a precursor to later Nazi atrocities. holocaustsaid the researcher.
In 1939 and 1945, many people were killed in an area of Pomerania near the town of Chojnice popularly known as Death Valley. A witness who testified after the war said: “Under the escort of the Gestapo at the end of January 1945, a number of around 600 Polish prisoners from Bidogosz, Torun, Grudziadz and neighboring villages were brought to Death Valley. “Researchers wrote in this study,” They were executed there, and witnesses speculated that the victims’ bodies were cremated to hide evidence. “
After the war, in 1945, the bodies of 168 people were uncovered during excavations at this location in Death Valley. However, excavation reports and testimony indicated that more burials were found, the researchers said.
Dawid Kobiałka, archaeologist and cultural anthropologist at the Polish Academy of Sciences, said: “Not all mass graves in 1939 were found and excavated, and the graves of those killed in 1945 were also excavated. It was common knowledge that it wasn’t there. “In the statement.
Kobiałka and his colleagues used non-invasive techniques to map the ground terrain using lasers fired from aircraft flying on the ground, including LIDAR (photodetection and ranging). I’ve examined the area. LIDAR work revealed a trench that the Polish Army dug in 1939 in anticipation of a war with the Third Reich. But just a few months later, the researchers said the Nazis used these trenches to hide the bodies of the victims.
“The executions were carried out in trenches,” they wrote in the study. “The victims either fell into trenches or their bodies were thrown there by the perpetrators, after which the trenches were filled with earth.”
At the trench location, we examined the subsurface with ground penetrating radar, electromagnetic field analysis and electrical resistance and found that many anomalies were hidden in the subsurface. A metal detector investigation also revealed many artifacts, and the researchers uncovered eight trenches. Since then, they have discovered over 4,250 artifacts between 1939 and 1945. These artifacts included bullets, shell casings, and charred wood that could have been used to burn the corpses.
The team also found cremated bones and precious stones, including a gold wedding ring. This suggests that the victim was not robbed when he was murdered. Researchers have identified the owner of the ring as Irena Szydłowska, a courier for the Polish Home Army. “Your family has been notified of the discovery and there are plans to return the ring to them,” Kobiauka said.
Their historical investigation revealed that some of the prisoners killed were part of the Polish resistance.
“A number of professional analyzes of the results are currently underway,” said Kobiauka. “It is believed that the victims killed in Death Valley will soon be identified and their families informed of what actually happened to their loved ones.”
The team also wants to identify some of the victims DNA Analysis. “The ruins will be re-buried in Death Valley and the site will become an official war grave,” they wrote in the study after the researchers completed their investigation of the site.
This study was published online in the journal on Wednesday (August 18). Old..
Originally published in Live Science.
Mass grave discovered after Nazi atrocities in Poland’s “Death Valley” Quellenlink Mass grave discovered after Nazi atrocities in Poland’s “Death Valley”
