Remains of 115 Polish WWII soldiers exhumed in Ukraine

In a joint effort between Polish and Ukrainian researchers, the remains of over 100 Polish soldiers who died in 1939 while defending Lviv, which was then part of Poland, have been exhumed in Ukraine. The excavation took place in the Holoskivske Cemetery in Lviv and began in August. Experts found 133 burials, comprising 115 Polish soldiers and 18 German Wehrmacht soldiers who succumbed to death during the Battle of Lwów in September 1939.

This conflict ensued when Poland tried to defend the city from Nazi Germany, which invaded on September 1, and the Soviet Union, which invaded on September 17. After Polish forces surrendered on September 22, the city fell under Soviet control.

The primary focus now is on identifying the remains. Experts are taking bone samples for DNA testing, which will be compared with samples from potential relatives. The site also yielded roughly 2,900 objects, including identification tags, bayonets, helmets, and religious items. Dominika Siemińska, a researcher from Poland’s state Institute for National Remembrance (IPN), highlighted the importance of identifying the remains to restore their names. However, due to the passage of time, finding living relatives will be challenging.

The final step in the process will be the reburial of the recovered Polish soldiers' remains at the Polish cemetery in Mostyska, Ukraine. The date of the ceremony has not been announced. The German remains will be handed over to the Volksbund organization, which specializes in searching for and reburying German soldiers. Meanwhile, the remains of 55 Poles killed by Ukrainian nationalists during WWII were reburied in Ukraine with the participation of political and religious figures from both countries earlier this year.