Combat in Malbork in 1945 and the issue of the mass grave of more than 2,000 civilian victims of the war

Abstract

In June 1944, as the Germans were preparing to defend Malbork, the city was declared a fortress. The Soviet offensive commenced on 12 January 1945. For refugees from East Prussia, a central location to gather was organised where they could wait for further evacuation westward. News of the approaching Soviet units caused panic among both the refugees and the inhabitants of the city and they were soon on the move. During their journey, they witnessed terrifying acts of aggression by Soviet soldiers. From 27 January to mid-April 1945 Malbork was under exclusive control and administration of the Red Army. Clearing the city after the war took years. In October 2008, during the demolition of the former “Włókniarz” movie theatre at Solna St. (currently Sierakowskich) in Malbork, the remains of almost 2,000 people were found. This prompted an investigation by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Malbork. After the exhumation was completed on 22 January 2009, the investigation was handed over to the prosecutors of the Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation in Gdańsk. After they concluded their work in July 2009, the recovered remains of the German victims were transferred to the Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites. Eventually, on 14 August 2009, the German foundation “Memory”, working in cooperation with the Kassel-based Association for the Care for German War Graves (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge), held a solemn funeral ceremony at the German war cemetery in Glinna, in the commune of Stare Czarnowo near Szczecin.