Polish "Death Valley" to be excavated

"The site of a Nazi mass execution known as death valley is to be excavated after researchers discovered bullet shells, clothing buttons and medal fragments.
The find was made on the outskirts of Chojnice, a town in northern Poland, after researchers from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences carried out an exploratory investigation to locate the execution spot.
Despite knowing mass executions took place near the now, historians had not been able to pinpoint the exact location of the graves..
In the early stages of WWII, German SS shot dead more than 1,000 locals as part of their 'action against the intelligentsia' near Chojnice.
In addition to 40 civilians and a priest, around 200 psychiatric patients were also murdered at the site.
This was followed by a series of systematic killings against Poles and Jews in the town and surrounding villages.
Mass shootings also took place at the location in January 1945 and scientists believe over 1,000 bodies could be buried there.
Dr. Dawid Kobialka, from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences said: 'The bodies of the victims were thrown into shooting ditches and many were burnt to hide the evidence.'
Despite attempts to keep the execution secret and to cover up traces of the crime by burning some of the bodies, local residents knew about the murders and dubbed the place Death Valley.
After the war, exhumations took place but were done so half-heartedly."
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8335475/Death-Valley-Nazi-execution-site-1-000-people-shot-dead-excavated-Poland.html