Operation 1005 - Trying To Erase History

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For two years German troops systematically backtracked the regions that they'd previously pilaged. Word had been leaked that there were mass graves but it wasn't until the Nuremberg Trials started that people saw the whole scope of “The Final Solution”. Troops forced prisoners to dig up the bodies and keep count of them to ensure that there were no bodies left in the graves. Unlike the prisoners that were used in the concentration camps (until they were too weak or sick), the prisoners used in Operation 1005 were routinely executed so there were no 'witnesses'. Several black and white reels of film were released to the public; they brought the grizzly and gruesome images seen in photographs to life. While I didn't think it possible to be more disturbed by the executions, seeing what they endured the final moments of their lives seemed surreal. Babies and toddlers yanked away from their mothers, teenage girls forced to undress completely and walk to the side of the execution pit. When I was able to see the hours of footage that was recorded at the camps and at other locations it was mind-blowing to see how docile the prisoners were, almost as if they had no more fight left in them and were welcoming death. When the bodies were dug up they were stacked 20 to a row, head to toe the burned until nothing but bone was left. Another set of prisoners were assigned clean up duty which included checking all of the ashes for gold (from teeth) and other valuables. The bones were separated and crushed until there was nothing left but a fine white powder. Photo: euobserver.com