British archaeologist destroys Holocaust deniers' argument with mass grave find at Treblinka

  • 'Ground penetrating radar' used because Jewish burial sites cannot be disturbed
  • Holocaust deniers had previously used the lack of graves to support their theories

By Lee Cain
Updated:


A British forensic archaeologist has unearthed fresh evidence to prove the existence of mass graves at the Nazi death camp Treblinka - scuppering the claims of Holocaust deniers who say it was merely a transit camp.

Some 800,000 Jews were killed at the site, in north east Poland, during the Second World War but a lack of physical evidence in the area has been exploited by Holocaust deniers.

Forensic archaeologist Caroline Sturdy Colls has now undertaken the first co-ordinated scientific attempt to locate the graves.

Treblinka death camp in Poland where 17,000 Stone Memorial is one of the few reminders of the horrific events of the past

Treblinka death camp in Poland where 17,000 Stone Memorial is one of the few reminders of the horrific events of the past

As Jewish religious law forbids disturbing burial sites, she and her team from the University of Birmingham have used 'ground-penetrating radar'.

Her work at the site, where the Nazis tried to destroy all traces of industrial-scale killing, is being followed in forthcoming Radio 4 documentary The Hidden Graves Of The Holocaust.

Sturdy Colls said: 'All the history books state that Treblinka was destroyed by the Nazis but the survey has demonstrated that simply isn’t the case.

'I’ve identified a number of buried pits using geophysical techniques. These are considerable in size, and very deep, one in particular is 26 by 17 metres.'

The programme’s presenter says that the pits contain the burnt remains of thousands of bodies.

The forensic archaeologist, who has now presented her findings to the authorities responsible for the memorial at Treblinka, added: 'I really hope this is the first stage in a long-term programme to seek out those hidden graves of the Holocaust.'

Survivor Kalman Taigman remembers his arrival at the camp’s railway station, packed into a cattle wagon.

'I was with my mother. We were about 100 people in a wagon. They opened the doors, firing guns and hitting us, and sent us into a yard. I ran with my mother and tried to calm her.

'They told me to leave my mother but I didn’t do it quickly and I was hit on the head. When I got up, she was gone. She went with all the rest of the women to the gas chamber.'

TREBLINKA: NAZI DEATH CAMP TARGETED BY HOLOCAUST DENIERS

Treblinka was a Nazi death camp in occupied Poland near the village of Treblinka during World War II

The camp was constructed as part of Operation Reinhard

Treblinka operated between July 23, 1942 and October 19, 1943

During this time, approximately 850,000 men, women and children were killed at Treblinka.

This figure includes more than 800,000 Jews, as well as a few thousand Romani people

The camp, which was operated by the SS and Eastern European Trawnikis, was split into two sections named Treblinka I and II

Treblinka I was designed for forced-labour center

Treblinka II was designed as a death factory with more than 99 per cent of all arrivals being immediately sent to its gas chambers.

Treblinka II ended operations on October 19, 1943 following a revolt by its Sonderkommandos.

Beginning in March 1942, the SS implemented Sonderaktion 1005 to cover up the murder of millions of people during Aktion Reinhard.

There actions were so comprehensive that ever since the end of the Second World War, Holocaust deniers have used the site as evidence of misinformation about Nazi genocide.

They claim the site was merely a transit camp - a myth now debunked by the latest discoveries of mass graves.

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