Dozens of men, women and children executed by the Nazis are discovered nearly 80 years later after Polish man remembered seeing families being led away to die when he was a small boy
- The skeletal remains of more than 25 men, women and children were uncovered in Warsaw, Poland this week
- Site was pointed out by elderly resident who said he saw Nazi troops in the area when he was a child in WW2
- Historians will excavate the remains of the woodland mass grave and attempt to identify the victimsThe skeletal remains of over 25 men, women and children shot dead by Nazi troops during WWII have been uncovered in woodland in the Polish capital, Warsaw.
The grisly discovery by the country's Institute of National Remembrance came following a tip off from an elderly local who recalled seeing German troops leading people to the area.
Posting on Twitter, Tomasz Trzaska from the Institute said: 'The remains of several dozen people, including women and children, were discovered in a mass grave.
'The current state of work allows us to conclude that the remains of at least 25 people were buried at the discovered site.'
The skeletal remains of over 25 men, women and children shot dead by Nazi troops during WWII have been uncovered in woodland in the Polish capital, Warsaw
The grisly discovery by the country's Institute of National Remembrance came following a tip off from an elderly local who recalled seeing German troops leading people to the area
Historians were led to a forest between Choszczówka and Legionowo, where they found the mass grave that has been undiscovered for 80 years
'Information about this place was given to us by a witness who, as a small child, saw and remembered that the Germans led several people to this place.
'He was a few years old at the time, 7, maybe 8. Our historians investigated and confirmed this supposition.
'On Monday we started preparations, secured the site. On Tuesday we made the find.'
Since then, the number of skeletons has increased to 29.
Tomasz Trzaska from the Institute said on Twitter: 'The remains of several dozen people, including women and children, were discovered in a mass grave'
Trzaska added said the Institute had been led to the site by an elderly resident who was seven or eight during WWII
Skeletal remains of at least 29 people have been found since the site was discovered on Tuesday
In addition to the remains of adults and children, elements of clothing were also found, including buttons, belts, shoes
The Institute said that the bodies had been arranged close together indicating that the soldiers forced their victims to lie in the death pits immediately before executing them.
In addition to the remains of adults and children, elements of clothing were also found, including buttons, belts, shoes.
According to documents released by the Central Archives of Modern Records, the massacre most likely took place in 1943 as secret reports confirm mass killings in this part of Warsaw took place then.
A report from Poland's WWII resistance reads: 'On 3 July in the morning, four vehicles brought about 100 people, including several women, to the forest between Choszczówka and Legionowo.
'They were ordered to dig ditches, then all of them were shot.'
The Institute said the newly-discovered remains will now be examined in the hope that they will be able to identify who the victims were.
It is estimated that close to six million Polish civilians were killed during WWII.
Over 90 percent were non-military victims of German forces which invaded the country in September 1939, and the Soviets who invaded two weeks later.
According to documents released by the Central Archives of Modern Records, the massacre most likely took place in 1943 as secret reports confirm mass killings in this part of Warsaw took place then
The Institute said the newly-discovered remains will now be examined in the hope that they will be able to identify who the victims were
The Institute said that the bodies had been arranged close together indicating that the soldiers forced their victims to lie in the death pits immediately before executing them
It is estimated that close to six million Polish civilians were killed during WWII. Over 90 percent were non-military victims of German forces which invaded the country in September 1939, and the Soviets who invaded two weeks later
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