A mass grave containing human ashes equivalent to 8,000 people was discovered near a former Nazi concentration camp in Poland, the country's Institute of National Remembrance said on Wednesday.
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The institute, which investigates crimes committed during the Nazi occupation of Poland and the communist era, said the remains were unearthed near the Soldau concentration camp, now known as Dzialdowo, north of Warsaw.
The grim discovery of around 17.5 tons (15,800 kilograms) of human ashes means it can be claimed that at least 8,000 people died there, according to investigator Tomasz Jankowski. Estimates were based on the weight of the remains, with two kilograms roughly corresponding to one body.
Those buried in the mass grave "were probably assassinated around 1939 and mostly belonged to the Polish elites," Jankowski said. In 1944, the Nazi authorities ordered Jewish prisoners to dig up the bodies and burn them to wipe out evidence of war crimes.
