After digging through the earth, discoveries of human skeleton emerges which were piled on top of still more bones. No one knows who these poor creatures were, if they were soldiers of if they were prisoners, or just plain citizens.
But what is known and discovered is that the man who died in one of numerous stalags, which were German prisoner-of-war camps where the Red Army and Allied troops as well as those Italians (after Italy switched sides from the fascist camp) remained. Their fate remained unknown as they were treated as traitors by the Nazis after Rome surrendered. Hundreds or even thousands of them were killed in the camps either by gunfire, starvation or slavery.
Currently, 70 years following the end of the most gruesome World War II, these soldiers who were previously unknown were given a proper burial that they deserve, all thanks to the excavations in eastern Poland.
The crew were wearing white flu masks and jumpsuits as they sort the remains of the demised soldiers: shinbones to one side; vertebrae, ribs and small bones to the other. On the other hand, the skulls were packed in individual plastic bags.
According to archaeologist Przemyslaw Kolosowski who told AFP, "It's the only way to count the exact number of victims." The archaeologist was in charge of the dig near former stalag number 327 of Przemysl-Pikulice which was also near the southeastern Polish city of Przemysl.
The bones of the demised have already ossified over the years which make it very difficult to unearth the bones of the victimes one by one. However, in only a matter of six weeks, the crew has done a great job of digging up the remains of around 3,000 Italian and Soviet prisoners from eight mass graves in the area.
The dug-up remains were moved to nearby Nehrybka afterwards, which was the site of a new military cemetery which will be open next year. Currently, bodies of the 1,500 victims unearthed were already buries there. They were the victims of the Polish branch of the Red Cross in 1963.
Thank you for finishing what should have been done a long time ago.
