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Forced burial of victims by German civilians

Film | Digitized | Accession Number: 2011.124.1 | RG Number: RG-60.1329 | Film ID: 2921

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    Forced burial of victims by German civilians

    Overview

    Description
    (LIB 6591) Estedt, Germany. German civilians smooth dirt over fresh graves in a fenced area, then pound grave markers (crosses) into the dirt. A group of Polish former forced laborers led by a man in a Polish army uniform, carries a large wreath with a red and white ribbon in a procession (Polish funeral march). Wreath inscribed with "Od Polaków z Estetu ku czci pomordowanych rodaków" [From the Poles of (in) Estet in honor of their murdered countrymen]. They wear small badges (the purple P on a yellow square) on their breasts. They enter the fenced area with the wreath. Several American soldiers (probably from the 102nd Armored Division) stand on one side. A Catholic priest conducts a funeral service. CUs of people (probably German civilians; a couple of the men wear top hats) attending the service. CU of woman wearing a badge with a "P" on it. American soldiers shoot their rifles into the air in a salute. View of the empty cemetery, with a valley beyond. During a death march of Polish, Soviet, and Jewish prisoners from Mieste to Gardelegen, a number of prisoners escaped into the Zichtauer forest, where some of them were spotted by local farmers, who immediately alerted the police. The prisoners were captured and marched to a site near Estedt. There they were shot and buried in a mass grave. There were some 1016 prisoners from several death marches who were brought in together. The Americans were approaching and the Nazis killed them on April 13, 1945; the area was liberated on April 14, 1945. The funeral participants might have been forced laborers (even POWs in forced labor) who witnessed the event and funeral.

    02:31:50 (LIB 6111) Solingen-Ohligs, Germany. Shot from above, German civilians exhume corpses under American guard. CUs of the partially and then fully exhumed bodies. 02:32:35 Rows of exhumed corpses arranged on a hillside (see Photo Archives worksheet 08177 for matching frame).The corpses are those of 71 political prisoners taken from Luettringhausen prison and shot by the Gestapo near the end of the war.
    Duration
    00:02:21
    Date
    Event:  after April 1945
    Locale
    Estedt, Germany
    Solingen, Germany
    Credit
    Accessed at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of National Archives & Records Administration
    Contributor
    Producer: United States. Army. Signal Corps.

    Physical Details

    Language
    Silent
    Genre/Form
    Unedited.
    B&W / Color
    Black & White
    Image Quality
    Good
    Time Code
    02:30:30:00 to 02:32:51:00
    Film Format
    • Master
    • Master 2921 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2921 Digital: MotionJPEG2000 - HD
      Master 2921 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2921 Digital: MotionJPEG2000 - HD
      Master 2921 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2921 Digital: MotionJPEG2000 - HD
      Master 2921 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2921 Digital: MotionJPEG2000 - HD

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    You do not require further permission from the Museum to access this archival media.
    Copyright
    Public Domain
    Conditions on Use
    To the best of the Museum's knowledge, this material is in the public domain. You do not require further permission from the Museum to reproduce or use this material.

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Film Provenance
    The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum purchased the film excerpts from the National Archives and Records Administration in February 2011.
    Note
    Historical information taken from USHMM Photo Archives records - refer to the Photo Archive for photographs of these events.
    Copied From
    35mm
    Film Source
    United States. National Archives and Records Administration. Motion Picture Reference
    File Number
    Legacy Database File: 5530
    Source Archive Number: 342 USAF 13138 R2
    Record last modified:
    2024-02-21 07:44:11
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn1004599

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