Possible mass grave of German WWII civilians found in Poland
Published: 7 Jan, 2009 CET.
Updated: Wed 7 Jan 2009 12:25 CET
Some 1,800 corpses that authorities believe to be German civilians killed during World War II have been discovered in the Polish city of Malbork, daily Bild reported Wednesday.
"They are the remains of women, men and children," public prosecuter Waldemar Zduniak told the paper. "A portion of the corpses display bullet wounds."
The first skeletons were uncovered in October in Malbork, which before World War II was part of Germany and known as Marienburg. But officials didn’t have an official body count until Tuesday.
"It could be that the German civilians were killed during fighting in 1945 between Germans and Russian troops," Bernard Jesionowski of the Marienburg musuem told Polish news agency PAP.
German military leaders ordered civilians to leave the city at the end of 1944, but several thousand remained and their fates remain unknown, Jesionowski told the paper.
Comments
See Also
"They are the remains of women, men and children," public prosecuter Waldemar Zduniak told the paper. "A portion of the corpses display bullet wounds."
The first skeletons were uncovered in October in Malbork, which before World War II was part of Germany and known as Marienburg. But officials didn’t have an official body count until Tuesday.
"It could be that the German civilians were killed during fighting in 1945 between Germans and Russian troops," Bernard Jesionowski of the Marienburg musuem told Polish news agency PAP.
German military leaders ordered civilians to leave the city at the end of 1944, but several thousand remained and their fates remain unknown, Jesionowski told the paper.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.