Germany
discovered a mass grave in a Stuttgart
suburb containing 34 skeletons. German
police subsequently gave Israel a list
of 619 Jewish names who were forced laborers
in the nearby the Echterdingen Nazi work
camp. The camp, which was
active from November 1944 until February 1945, was scene to horrific brutality,
with its Nazi staff routinely burning the
prisoners.
Others died of starvation and disease.
“Not all of the people
on the list have passed away, some were murdered
by the Germans, some died of disease, and some
were transferred to the Buchenwald concentration
camp,” according to Israel Police Interpol
Unit Head, Chief Superintendent Asher Ben-Artzi. “On
the one hand, we have 34 skeletons; on the
other, we have 619 names. We are trying to
find out if the people on the list have relatives
in Israel.”
German police intend on taking DNA samples from the
skeletons. At the same time, Israeli police will take
DNA samples from relatives, in an attempt to ascertain
whether the skeletons are those of Jews who were murdered
in the camp.