Poles find mass graves of Nazi victims

Graves with the remains of 8 000 people were found by investigators in Poland near the site of the Soldau concentration camp. The Germans wanted to hide the burial pits. They burned the bodies, buried them and planted trees. The victims included members of the Polish elite, soldiers, resistance fighters and Jews.

Tomasz Jankowski, an investigator, commented on the discovery. He revealed that 17.5 tons of human remains were discovered in the mass grave. "This means that 8,000 people were buried in the grave. We are basing it on the weight of one human body. The victims were probably members of the Polish elite," Jankowski claims. The experts based their estimate on the fact that the ashes from one person weighed two kilograms.

The Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) reported the discovery of the mass grave. "In March 1944, the Nazis secretly buried the bodies in the forest. They crushed and burned them to leave as little evidence as possible. They did not want this horrible crime to be known. They refused to take responsibility," said Karol Nawrocki, head of Poland's Institute of National Remembrance.

Investigators discovered two burial pits that were about three metres deep. The victims were mostly prisoners from the Nazi prison camp Soldau. The executions took place between 1940 and 1944.

The Germans set up a concentration camp in the town of Działdowo. According to experts, the Nazis imprisoned approximately 30 000 people there. Most of them did not survive. It was known that the Nazis buried the murdered prisoners in the forest near the concentration camp. However, the exact location of the mass graves was unknown.

The concentration camp was located in the former barracks of the Polish army. It was set up by SS-Brigadeführer Otto Rasch with the approval of Reinhard Heydrich. The first prisoners were brought there at the end of September 1939. They were soldiers defending the Modlin fortress at the confluence of the Vistula and Narew rivers. However, they had to surrender due to a lack of ammunition and food. In addition to the prisoners already mentioned, 1558 patients from all the psychiatric hospitals in the local district were deported to the camp.

As the end of the war approached, the Nazis destroyed the evidence of their heinous acts. They ordered a group of Jews to help with "cover-up" work. Digging holes, burying bodies... Then the Nazis murdered them too.

A few weeks ago, the institute held a memorial service to commemorate the victims found in the mass graves. The Institute investigates Nazi and Communist crimes against Poles. It has the power to bring charges against suspects if they are still alive.

Sources: www.9news.com.au, www.cbsnews.com, https://wblog.wiki/