Two Moldovans exhumed and reburied about 5,000 Germans

Two Moldovans have exhumed and reburied approximately 5,000 Germans killed during the Second World War on the territory of Moldova. According to the employee of the German Popular Union for Care of War Graves in Moldova, Ruslan Volosin, the exhumation process starts when there is truthful information about the burial place of a German soldier. About 300 exhumations are carried out every year. “Initially, we collect information about possible graves. Then, we ask for permission from the land owner and take tests to make sure that there are bones buried in the ground. When sure, we exhume the bodies and rebury them at the German cemetery in Chisinau,” Ruslan Volosin told Info-Prim Neo. In some of the cases, the exhumation is performed at the request of the relatives. In other cases, the union does it on its own initiative. The information about the graves of the soldiers is provided by the population. The persons that look after graves also use several lists with data extracted from Germany’s archive. The soldiers are recognized by the oval counters that were carried at the chest or in the pocket and which bore the initials, registration number and regiment of the soldier. The soldiers are also recognized by clothes, buttons and helmets. Ruslan Volosin said that the exhumed bones are stored in polyethylene packing in a special place. Usually, the burial takes place in autumn. The bones are placed in 50x80 cm coffins. The two Moldovans also keep the cemetery of German soldiers clean. They cut the grass, wash the crosses, collect the waste etc. The activity of the German Popular Union for Care of War Graves is financed from the money offered by persons that want to find their relatives that died during the Second World War. The German state allocates only a small part of the money.