Authorities in Germany have begun excavating a site they believe contains one of the last undiscovered mass graves of Jews killed by the Nazis. The work on the site of the former Nazi labor camp of Lieberose, in the state of Brandenburg, follows a decade-long battle with the former landowner. More than 750 sick Jewish men and women from Polish and Hungarian origins are believed to have been killed there by the Nazi Waffen SS on 2 February 1945. The remains of 589 victims shot the next day were uncovered nearby in 1971.
Investigators were forbidden from excavating the site under communist rule in East Germany because a Soviet camp, where thousands also lost their lives, operated there after the war. Houses were later built on the land. However, after German reunification, the owner of the land refused to allow any investigations to take place. After a lengthy court battle local authorities reached an agreement with him to buy it. The excavations are expected to take three weeks. If remains are discovered, the local authorities hope to erect a memorial.
