More than 500 victims excavated from a mass grave after the Second World War near Brežice
STAJune 22, 2022 – The remains of at least 529 people killed in massacres after the Second World War were discovered from an anti-tank trench in Mostec near Brežice in eastern Slovenia, according to the Military Heritage Administration (Military Heritage Administration), which is part of the Ministry of Defense.
Archaeological excavations at the site were carried out to build a chain of power plants on the Sava River.
The anti-tank trench, originally dug in 1945 by Nazi occupying forces, is about 4.6 meters wide and 3 meters deep.
Historians claim that in the area of the 120-meter-long ditch are the remains of people of different nationalities killed immediately after World War II, and several probes conducted after 2008 have confirmed the presence of human remains.
In 2020, in addition to thousands of personal items, the remains of at least 276 people were found as they excavated about 20 meters of ditch.
The map below shows the location of Mostec, not the grave
This year’s excavations at a further 30 meters began in April and ended in June to find the remains of at least another 253 people.
So far, the remains of 529 to 532 dead, including 25 to 46 women, have been exhumed and will be treated in accordance with the law, including burial.
The Military Heritage Administration, which also started managing activities related to war graves a year ago, says that the excavation of the remaining part of the anti-tank trench will have to continue.
Since Slovenia’s independence in 1991, numerous mass graves have been discovered in which the remains of people executed in massacres are found.
While many Slovenes lost their lives in the massacre by speedy trial, most of the victims were Croats and Serbs sent by the Allies back to Yugoslavia after fleeing to Carinthia, Austria, as World War II drew to a close.
The largest massacre site was discovered in March 2009 in the abandoned Barbara Rov coal mine, which contained the remains of more than 1,400 victims.