On Friday, police in the German city of Leipzig said construction workers at a prison near the eastern German town of Torgau found the bodies of many people buried together.
The bones are suspected to belong to victims of the Nazi regime who operated a detention facility at the scene.
How was the discovery made?
When builders were working on the walls of the Torgau prison, bones belonging to several German individuals were found. build newspaper reported.
Forensic investigators have confirmed that these bones belong to a number of different people, most likely from the first half of the 20th century.
Prosecutors have launched an investigation into the origin of the body and the cause of death.
Police said they would further excavate the site for bodies that may be buried there.
Where did the bodies come from?
According to German news website Tag 24, the remains may belong to victims of Germany’s Nazi regime.
Torgau was the center of the Wehrmacht penal system and was home to two of Nazi Germany’s eight military prisons. About 60,000 military prisoners of war were held there. Since 1943, it has also been home to German military tribunals.
About 1,400 people were sentenced to death by the courts for crimes such as desertion, “cowardice before the enemy,” undermining the military and treason during the war. About 1,200 executions were carried out in Torgau or elsewhere.
Torgau is also known as the place where American and Soviet soldiers first met
[1945年以降、この施設は、ソ連軍がナチ党に関係する個人を拘留するために使用されました。彼らはまた、ソビエト連邦の強制収容所に強制送還される前に、共産主義政権の政敵を拘束するためにも使用されました。
骨が発見された場所は、1811 年にナポレオンの命令で建設され、以前は Zinna 砦として知られていました。 ナチス政権下で行われた処刑の一部は、古い要塞の堀で行われました。
この刑務所はその後、東ドイツの刑法制度の囚人を収容するために使用され、現在は約 400 人の受刑者の矯正施設となっています。
より一般的には、トルガウは、第二次世界大戦の終わりに米ソ軍が最初に接触した場所としても知られており、米第 1 軍の兵士がソ連の第 1 ウクライナ戦線の兵士と出会いました。 会議の写真は、終戦の象徴的なイメージになりました。
rc/sms (epd、ドイツのメディア)
