Mass grave found in Moravia

A mass grave has been uncovered in south Moravia that police believe may contain the remains of ethnic Germans allegedly killed by locals just days after the end of World War II.

The find was made at Budínka, near the village of Dobronín, Aug. 16, where bones and parts of clothing have been revealed.

Detectives and archaeologists were to continue digging at the site until Aug. 20, before anthropological experts from a Brno-based institute were to start examining the remains uncovered, starting Aug. 23.

It is not yet known how many people were buried at the site or how they died, but police said they were conducting a murder investigation. They opened the case last fall after reports by journalist Miroslav Mareš based on research from German archives.

"Detecting the truth in a 65-year-old case is rather difficult given the complex situation," chief investigator Michal Laška said. "However, we have assembled a wide range of written and photographic materials of the potential victims."

It is known that a number of ethnic Germans lived in Dobronín and surrounding areas in the 1940s, but local archives do not record any violent incident in the area in May 1945.

However, German author Herma Kennel alleged in her book, Bergersdorf, that locals massacred as many as 15 Germans in the area between May 12 and May 19 that year.

Dana Čírtková, spokeswoman for the Vysočina Region Police Department, said police hoped to identify the victims by comparing DNA samples from the remains with those of their possible relatives, most of whom now live in Germany.

In a statement, the spokeswoman said it was too soon to say if any charges would be brought in the case, citing the Beneš Decrees, which were in force at the time and the fact that any crime committed may be outside the statute of limitations.

Under the now infamous Beneš Decrees of Czechoslovak President Edvard Beneš, ethnic Germans were forced out of the country by having their citizenship revoked and their property confiscated. Most moved to either Bavaria or Austria.

- Klára Jiřičná contributed to this report.

Bill Lehane can be reached at
blehane@praguepost.com