Digging up the past in Russia - NSFW
- Thread starter drache
- Start date
At what point does grave robbing cross over into the legitimate and become archaeology?
I would expect the remains are removed, identified if possible, families notified, and then reburied in military graveyards.
There is a group of Canadians that do this in the battle fields from WWI.
No matter what country you fought for, I believe all soldiers deserve proper burials with military honors.
I am lost as to what the purpose of this is ? Are the returning the remains to the county of origin ?
In the one picture where they have randomly stacked all the bones seems more like treasure hunters.
Make it look official and then sell off the items. Start watching ebay...
(edit..new posts before I finished mine)
In the one picture where they have randomly stacked all the bones seems more like treasure hunters.
Make it look official and then sell off the items. Start watching ebay...
(edit..new posts before I finished mine)
This is what I hope.
There are still people wondering what happened to their relatives over there.
You see family gravestones all over Germany with someone who died 1941-1945 and all that is written is "Fallen in the East."
Maybe they were officially notified of when and where, maybe not.
I went to Poland once with my wife to visit the ancestral village her German born father had originated from and we were able to talk to the one German speaking woman there.
She was an ethnic German married to a Pole so when the Germans were run out of Poland after WWII she was permitted to stay. Her husband had gone off to war at the beginning of WWII and never returned and she did not know anything of what had happened to him.
As far as tracking down any ancestors of my wife's in the cemetery, that was impossible because a big part of the cemetery had been dug up in 1945 to bury German soldiers who'd surrendered to the Russians.
Were their families notified? Who knows?
You see family gravestones all over Germany with someone who died 1941-1945 and all that is written is "Fallen in the East."
Maybe they were officially notified of when and where, maybe not.
I went to Poland once with my wife to visit the ancestral village her German born father had originated from and we were able to talk to the one German speaking woman there.
She was an ethnic German married to a Pole so when the Germans were run out of Poland after WWII she was permitted to stay. Her husband had gone off to war at the beginning of WWII and never returned and she did not know anything of what had happened to him.
As far as tracking down any ancestors of my wife's in the cemetery, that was impossible because a big part of the cemetery had been dug up in 1945 to bury German soldiers who'd surrendered to the Russians.
Were their families notified? Who knows?
Unfortunately you are talking Russia here my friend; what you might consider proper here does not apply to them.
Expediency sometimes meant that bodies were mass buried. All beligerents resorted to mass burials for various reasons - some good, some bad.
Given changing conditions: river course changes, swamp drainage, encroachment of civilization, individual or mass burial sites are being found and remains uncovered. I'm sure there are people in Russia trying to do the right thing by these remains.
I don't think of it as grave robbing. All over the world where there have been wars people use metal detectors to find artifacts. There are bound to be remains found among them, especially in Russia. At the least though, I would hope remains are reburied where they were found. Perhaps with a prayer. The best of course would be to contact the Embassy of the soldiers country if possible.
Better that the fallen of all sides be left in situ and if discovered the place should be declared a war grave, marked and and left in peace if at all possible. Any fallen that must be moved should be treated with respect and afforded honours customary among soldiers. This includes informing surviving family if any.
This is a basic act of human decency and deserved by all fallen combatants.
WWII ended for the dead as well as the survivors.
This is a basic act of human decency and deserved by all fallen combatants.
WWII ended for the dead as well as the survivors.
Ah yes, but what is the definition of plundering?
- Location
- Smithers, B.C.
I think if they find any personal ID, that contact to the family should be made, and the remains placed in a mixed German/Russian mixed grave, and laid to rest with a proper marker of "Here lay the Unknown Soldiers"
I would say, personal effects, medals, anything owned by the person. any military issue stuff would technically still be owned by that nation I suppose.
I would just hate to see this type of stuff on ebay, like someone said above.
Black market antiquities is already a problem.
