Sensational: Remains of German soldiers from WWII unearthed in Budapest
The remains of fourteen German soldiers, who died during the siege of Budapest in 1944-45 and were buried at the time, have been exhumed in the courtyard of the National Archives building at Bécsi Gate Square in Budapest, the Hungarian National Archives (Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár, MNL) informed MTI on Tuesday.
Seven soldiers could be identified
Among the soldiers, the identification tags of seven were found, making it possible to establish their exact identities. Excavation work will continue, so more soldiers buried during or after the siege may yet be found in the area, according to the statement.
The statement recalled that at the end of World War II, in March 1944, Germany occupied Hungary, turning Budapest into a theatre of war. During the winter of 1944/45, the Hungarian capital endured one of the longest sieges of the war, which caused immense destruction and loss in every sense.
To mark the 80th anniversary of the military occupation, the Hungarian National Archives is preparing a European program in cooperation with the Institute and Museum of Military History and the Military History Archives. The German Bundesarchiv has joined the initiative, and some documents previously preserved in Russian archives and later made accessible will also be used in the joint work.
Work is progressing well
According to the statement, the work is progressing well: county archives have reviewed death registers from spring 1944 to 1950 for all Hungarian settlements. Until 1950, death registers still indicated if someone died as a result of war injuries.
With the collected data, a spectacular interactive database and data visualisation will be created, allowing users to see on a map what military events took place in each settlement, which units fought, and the scale of both military and civilian losses.
Not all data has been processed yet, but experts have already identified over 58,000 victims, the vast majority civilians. The program is expected to be presented in the autumn.
Exhibition to present Hungary’s situation during WWII
In connection with the developing database, the archives, together with the Institute and Museum of Military History, are preparing an exhibition to open on 21 June as part of the Night of Museums program. The exhibition will present Hungary’s fate, situation, and horrors during World War II through the 1944/45 history of the archives.
According to the statement, while preparing for the exhibition, a document was found in the archives revealing that during the siege, a German field dressing station operated in the basement for weeks, and twelve people were buried in a shell crater in the courtyard.
Based on the gathered information, the deceased were not exhumed after the war, so experts assumed they remained in their original resting place. Following a preparatory site visit, excavation began on 25 May. The efforts of the staff from the German War Graves Commission quickly yielded results, and the first remains were soon found.
Subsequently, thirteen more soldiers were recovered from the former shell crater, and identification tags were found for seven of them. This means that the relatives of seven families can finally learn the burial site of their loved ones who died in the fighting.
Utility lines complicated the excavation
Excavation was complicated by the presence of utility lines laid in the area after the war. Nevertheless, numerous personal items—watches, combs, razors, medical supplies, and contemporary coins—were recovered from the soil.
Remnants of the National Archives’ tower, which was demolished in the summer of 1945, were also found. The work will continue in other areas after Pentecost. Csaba Szabó, Director General of the MNL, emphasised in the statement that this case also demonstrates the importance of archives and the documents preserved in them.
“If this crucial document in our collection had not survived, these German soldiers might never have been exhumed. But the information in the records led us to the solution,” he said. Szabó also recalled the recent discovery in Austria of the records of the 1st Hussar Division.
These documents were buried in 1945 and are in poor condition.
“If the material is returned to Hungary, the experienced conservation staff of the Hungarian National Archives will help restore the documents, should the Military History Archives request it,” Szabó added.
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