Unknown mass grave containing 1,362 Nazi victims, 675 of whom were children, was discovered in Western Russia.
Experts say that all the victims were civilians and they were found near the Hitler SS base during Second World War II in a horrific unrecorded genocide cemetery.
Nearly all of the victims were uninjured and were naked when they were buried.
It is believed that these younger bodies are from the notorious concentration camp in nearby Leningrad where more than 300 children were brutally imprisoned to supply blood for injured German soldiers and officers fighting at Leningrad.
The bodies of 1,362 Nazi victims have been discovered at a grave in Novaya Burya village, in the Lomonosovsky district of Leningrad region (pictured)
They were almost all naked when they were buried, and had no shoes.
The theory that these younger remains may have come from an unknown nearby concentration camp, where 300+ children were held at once to provide blood for the wounded German soldiers. Pictured is a memorial to child victims at the Vyritsa Camp
Many newborns-to-teenagers perished here from chronic blood loss.
Viktor Ionov is the head of the mass grave hunt team. He said, “We dig and dig but it never ends.”
It is more difficult for civilian victims to be rescued morally than those who are military casualties.
He stated, “The victims weren’t wearing shoes and clothes.”
“Usually, something remains that has been damaged (soles for instance), but this is not the case.”
All the victims discovered at the spot were naked and had no footwear.
The excavation team also found a tag with 1410 on it. However, the meaning of this tag is still unknown.
Pictured: The dig site in Russia is flanked by blue bags containing the remains of victims
50 bags of human remains, containing approximately 50 people, were removed from Novaya Burya’s burial ground in Leningrad’s Lomonosovsky District.
They contained the 415 most recent victims, more than half of which were children. These will be taken from the mass grave.
Sergei Beregovoi, search volunteer, stated that 1,362 bones were discovered, with 675 being children.
The majority of adults in the group were women. At least three were even pregnant.
Although there is no evidence of gunshot injuries and few victims are injured, many do not have signs that they were shot.
The bodies of most of those recovered to date were found to belong mostly women. At least three are thought have been pregnancies.
Viktor Ionov (pictured), the head of the search team said the most bizarre thing about the discovery was that virtually nothing is known.
After the winter, it is likely that more victims will be discovered when resumes are searched.
Although a tag numbering 1410 was located, its significance remains ambiguous.
A year ago, the remains of two people and one child were discovered during a survey of land. This was the first sign of a mass grave.
Soon afterward, 20 additional skeletons were found, and the Russian Investigative Board opened an investigation into mass murder.
Reports indicate that this investigation is being reclassified to genocide.
The bodies are believed to have been dumped at the site by trucks. They lie just a few feet beneath the surface.
Beregovoi stated that remains of the deceased were found lying on piles to 47news.
“Some people stretched their arms.”
A year ago, the remains of two people and one child were discovered during a survey of land. This was the first sign of a mass grave.
Although initially the bodies were classified under criminal investigations, more victims are being discovered, so it’s likely that they will be reclassified to a genocide investigation
He claimed that he has never witnessed such a sad burial in spite of years spent trying to locate them.
“To be sincere, I was horrified despite my many years of experience.”
During the Siege Of Leningrad (now St Petersburg), Nazi troops were located about 300m (985ft) away from this site.
A nearby SS unit also existed.
Ionov stated that the most amazing thing about this is that neither local historians nor elderly people remember much of what occurred here.
The site of the body was found by Nazi soldiers, who were located 300m away from it during World War II. They were there to fight in the Siege at Leningrad, 1943.
A second theory that has been put forward, is that the victims died from famine, during the harsh winters between 1941-43, but this is far from certain
“There are no military records.”
The site was not even considered a cemetery or graveyard.
Ionov stated that he did not get the idea why nobody knew anything about what had happened.
Another version states that victims were killed by famine during harsh winters 1941-43. However, this is not certain.
Experts are also investigating whether any children were interred here from Vyritsa, a blood transfusion camp near Gatchina.
Pictured is the scale at which the bodies of nearly 1,000 Nazi victims were discovered on the site.
This week, 50 bags of human remains from Novaya Burya village in Leningrad’s Lomonosovsky region were removed from the burial ground.
Over 300 “juvenile prisoners”, ranging in age from infants to 14 years, were held for one purpose: Pumping blood for soldiers and officers who served near Leningrad.
The camp allowed mothers to visit the children under their care, although the graveyard is about 30 miles away from the Nazi-respected facility.
One survivor stated that Elena, her sister, had died in the hospital.
“She was beg me, Alexander, take me from here. They keep asking for more, even though I don’t have any blood.
Sergei Beregovoi, a volunteer search officer (pictured), said that he’d never witnessed such an awful burial in spite of years spent searching for lost graves.
“She died in the following day.”
This explanation may be why the locals who lived near the grave have never reported any mass executions at this location.
This could be because the bones of child victims have no visible injuries.
A Soviet-era monument is dedicated to camp victims.
Near the site were approximately 100 graves, but no other Vyritsa child transfusion victims were ever found.