Mass grave of nearly 200 prisoners of war found at former Stalag II D camp in Stargard

Researchers have uncovered a mass grave in the city of Stargard in Poland, located in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, revealing the remains of nearly 200 prisoners of war from World War II. The discovery sheds new light on the history of one of the largest prisoner-of-war camps of the Third Reich, Stalag II D, which operated in the area from 1939 until February 1945.

According to reports, the mass grave dates back to December 1941 and was filled over several days, possibly containing several thousand people. The remains primarily consist of Soviet soldiers but also include Polish and Belgian soldiers.

Stalag II D was located in the western part of present-day Poland and began operations in 1939. During its operation, the camp held up to 6,000 prisoners, including Red Army soldiers and other prisoners of war. In the summer of 1941, captured soldiers of the Red Army were brought to the camp. Reports indicate that between ten and several dozen prisoners died each day at Stalag II D, totaling approximately six thousand deaths during its existence.

Scientists believe the captives were not executed, and the cause of death was likely an epidemic of some disease in the camp, such as typhus, which was a common cause of death among the prisoners. "You don't have to shoot the prisoners, you don't have to gas them, it's enough not to feed them and place them in such conditions that infectious diseases will spread, they will be treated badly, and they will die en masse," said Professor Andrzej Ossowski, the head of the research group and head of the Department of Medicine at the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, according to RBC.

The victims of Stalag II D included captured soldiers and civilians who had been displaced from Warsaw after the 1944 uprising, with an estimated from 2,000 to 6,000 victims... including women, children, and youth. 

The presumed location of the mass grave was found through aerial photographs. Archaeological excavations have been conducted in Stargard for four years. The discoveries made by the scientists shed new light on the tragic history of this place.

Sources: Gazzeta.ru, Izvestia.ru, Rossiyskaya gazeta, RBC

This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq