In a case that could easily appear on Prime Time television, residents of Menden, Germany have unearthed a mass grave that’s believed to be from the Holocaust. The grave, containing 51 bodies, appeared to be made up of mentally or physically handicapped victims.
Twenty-two of the skeletons appeared to be of children ranging from newborns to 7-year-olds. Some showed signs of physical or mental disabilities, such as those associated with Down syndrome, he said.
Maass, a prosecutor at the Dortmund-based Central Office for Investigation of Nazi-era Crimes, said he had begun a criminal investigation for at least 22 counts of murder. He declined to say who tipped off authorities about the grave.
An unnamed witness is said to have alerted prosecutors to the gravesite’s location, but nothing further has been released on the circumstances of this information. Despite the difficulties of successfully prosecuting a 60 year-old case from World War II, Maass stated that he was going forward with the investigation.