Still
wearing their boots and helmets, and carrying their weapons, the bodies
of German soldiers who died in the Battle of the Seelow Heights have
finally been unearthed.
A
team of archaeologists - the Association for the Recovery of the Fallen
- have uncovered the skeletons of men who died defending Berlin from
the soldiers of the Red Army in the final days of the Second World War.
The
dig, in Klessin, Brandenburg, brought to the light weapons, helmets,
boots and the bones of those fighting to protect the murderous Third
Reich.
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A member of
the Association for the Recovery of the Fallen uncovers the remains of
German soldiers in a Soviet trench close to Klessin (Brandenburg),
Germany
The work is painstaking: Human beings are buried below the soil. Gradually skulls are unearthed by the archaeologists
In many cases the German soldiers are
still wearing their helmets and boots, made of more durable material
than their battlesdresses which have worn away.
In
keeping with the spirit of respect the Association fosters, a simple
wooden cross was set up at the site, topped with a distinctive 'coal
scuttle' German helmet found in the earth.
The battle was part of the Soviet assault on Berlin, lasting three days in April 1945.
Almost
a million soldiers of the Red Army under the command of Marshal Georgi
Zhukov, attacked the position known as the Gates of Berlin.
Defending the German position were110,000 soldiers of the 9th Army.
Seelow
Heights was where some of the most bitter fighting in the overall
battle took place. Fighting began in the early hours of April 16 with a
massive bombardment by thousands of artillery weapons.
On
the third day the final line of the Seelow Heights was breached leaving
nothing but fractured German divisions between the Red Army and the
chancellery in Berlin.
A German soldier lies dead in the street as troops rush forward during the battle to gain control of Berlin
Vision of hell: A convoy of Soviet tanks as they drive through the war-torn streets of Berlin in April 1945
The number of Russian soldiers thought to have died ranges from 5,000 to 33,000, while some 12,000 German troops perished.
By
April 23, the German capital was fully encircled and the Battle of
Berlin entered its last stage. Within a fortnight, Adolf Hitler was dead
and the war in Europe was effectively over.
For
many of the German soldiers who died in the battle where they fell is
where they have remained ever since – buried deep in mud and soil -
until now.
The
Association for the Recovery of the Fallen, which consists of
volunteers from Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Holland and Switzerland, was
founded in 1992, with some 200 members working as volunteers.
In memoriam: A cross is planted in the ground above a trench and adorned with a German helmet.
A German soldier has lain undisturbed
for 70 years after falling in the Battle of the Seelow Heights, part of
the Soviet assault on Berlin in 1945
How this soldier met his end is
unknown but he fell fighting the Red Army as it advanced on Berlin in
the twilight of the Third Reich
A German tin helmet, a boot, a gun, a belt and what looks like a thigh bone are all that is left of a German soldier
The bones pile up as more and more
German soldiers are uncovered in the trench near Seelow Heights where
the bitterest fighting in the overall battle took place
Russian soldiers raise a red victory
flag over the Reichstag in Berlin after the German capital's capture in
May 1945 marking the defeat of Germany in the Second world War
The
association's mission statement on its website says: 'We are searching
for the nameless dead, who lay without commemorative stones in the mass
graves of War or were buried somewhere, as individuals and are
considered as missing.
'We want to restore people to their name, which was taken from them over 60 years ago.
'We
are not looking for soldiers of the Wehrmacht, not for U.S. GI's,
Marines, soldiers of the red army or Polish Military - not for infantry,
soldiers, sailors or airmen - not for Good or Bad.
'We are looking for people - Sons, Fathers, Brothers.
'Fallen soldiers are also victims - victims of a gruesome war, which they had not caused and had not wanted.'
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