Je tam krásný hřbitov. Kamarád tam má chalupu.
4. 7. 2010 283 German skulls buried
Categories: Finds and rescue research in the Czech Republic , War crimes , Calendar
The remains of the original German inhabitants were buried near Deštné. It was speculated that they were murdered at the end of the Second World War. Their exact identities have not been established.
The remains of the German inhabitants of Deštná were placed in graves. Alongside their other compatriots. Ignaz Köhler, Johann and Theresia Welzel, Familie Jung, Ignaz Hartwich.
German-speaking inhabitants were the majority in Deštná until 1945. But then, according to some, they were murdered. The skulls at the church in the Jedlová section were found in a shallow pit near the cemetery wall. "These are the remains of the original German inhabitants who were buried in the cemetery in the past. Hopefully they will finally run out of room," said Deštné mayor Alena Křížová at the time.
Photo gallery from the ceremony: Deštné-funeral
Bohumír Dragoun, the director of the museum in Deštné v Orlických horách, noted that it was good that the skulls were buried in a respectful manner. "They have been buried at the Church of St. Matthew for about 300 years. These are probably bones taken from a cemetery that no longer functions," he said.
The remains were buried one Saturday morning in 2010 in freshly dug graves. About 80 people attended the ceremony. Among them were descendants of Sudeten Germans. According to Dragoun, atrocities were also committed in the Eagle Mountains at the end of World War II.
"But I think it is just speculation to think that these skulls belonged to people executed in 1945. I cannot imagine that after the war someone would have separated the heads from the bodies and transported them here," Dragoun said.
Křížová also said there was no reason to believe they were the remains of murdered people. But some survivors disagree. They are basing this on some sources that speak of Germans being killed at the church. "My uncle is probably among them. He did not return after he handed over the keys to the mayor's office in Velké Uhřínov," revealed, for example, Petr Kasal.
This theory is supported by the findings on the skulls. There are holes like gunshot wounds. "My uncle was shot in Čertova dolina. The skulls were transported here in '68," said another survivor, Stanislava Žďárková.
The police in Rychnov also investigated the discovery, but found no evidence of a crime...
Sources: www.idnes.cz, www.denik.cz
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