Poland holds state burial for over 700 victims of German WWII massacres

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Poland on Monday held a state burial of the remains of over 700 victims of Nazi Germany’s World War II executions that were recently uncovered in the so-called Valley of Death in the country’s north.

The observances in the town of Chojnice included a funeral Mass at the basilica and interment with military honors at the local cemetery.

The remains of Polish civilians, including patients of an asylum, were exhumed in 2021-2024 from two separate sites near Chojnice.

Historians have established that the Nazis, shortly after invading Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, executed some of the civilians. Other remains are from an execution that took place in January 1945, when the Germans were fleeing the area.

Poland lost 6 million citizens, or a sixth of its population, of which 3 million were Jewish, in the war. The country also suffered huge losses to its infrastructure, industry and agriculture.