Holocaust-Era Mass Grave of Jews Unearthed in Romania

Romanian presidential honor guard soldiers guard the Holocaust memorial in central Bucharest, Romania, opened on 08 October 2009. EPA/BGNES

A mass grave from World War II containing the bodies of some 100 Jews has been found near a Romanian town, the Elie Wiesel National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania announced.

The Jewish men, women, and children were shot by Romanian troops in 1941. The mass grave is located in a forest near Popricani, a town located 350 km northeast of Bucharest. The remains of six bodies have already been unearthed.

An estimated 8000 Jews were killed during World War II pogroms in this part of Romania.

International media have commented that the discovery of the mass grave provides evidence that local people were involved in the anti-Jewish pogroms whereas the official history textbooks in Romania ascribe them solely to Germans.

The World War II Romanian regime of dictator Marshal Antonescu saw the murder of an estimated 280 000 Jews and 11 000 Roma.

In the recent years, Romania has taken up efforts to investigate Holocaust pogroms committed in the country during the period of World War II.

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