Dutch family uncovers mass grave of 128 WWII victims in their backyard in Poland
Daniël van Beuningen and his wife Victoria, originally from the Netherlands, made an unexpected discovery in their backyard in Wroclaw, Poland: the remains of 128 people, most of whom were civilians, buried in a mass grave dating back to the end of World War II. The find included 120 civilian casualties and 8 soldiers, many of them women, children, and elderly people who perished during the chaotic final days of the war, according to RTL.
The couple had moved to Wroclaw in 2016, drawn by a sense of adventure and Victoria’s German heritage. The city, formerly known as Breslau, was part of Germany until the end of the war when it became part of Poland following the redrawing of borders. The couple soon became captivated by a large, derelict villa with a neglected garden and decided to renovate it. The house, abandoned for twelve years, had sealed-up windows and an overgrown yard, prompting their curiosity.
While renovating the house and its garden, Daniël and Victoria uncovered a German helmet while digging a trench for a new water line. Suspecting a grave, Daniël ceased work and marked the spot with a candle, determined not to disturb any potential remains. This discovery would set the stage for an archaeological investigation and uncover a hidden wartime cemetery.
Through research, the couple connected with the family of the former residents, the Meineckes, whose lineage in the area dated back to before the war. During their investigation, Daniël came across a memoir from Carl Meinecke, the grandfather of Jörg Meinecke, who was born in the house. The memoir revealed that as the war neared its end, people had been buried in the garden, though the exact number and location were unknown. This led Daniël to further investigate the property’s wartime history.
The family’s curiosity was further piqued as they learned of the region's grim history. Wroclaw, known as Breslau during WWII, endured intense fighting between German and Soviet forces. As part of the German defense strategy, the city was declared a fortress, and German troops, along with civilians, fought to the bitter end. The city finally fell to Soviet forces on May 6, 1945, just days after Hitler’s death and weeks before the official end of the war.
It wasn't until Daniël was contacted by Pomost, an archaeological group working for the German Volksbund (Federal Association of the People's Union for the Maintenance of German War Graves), that the full scale of the burial site became clear. Pomost had found a map in an archive in Wroclaw, indicating the location of the graves in Daniël’s garden. A more detailed map, showing 76 graves, including three mass graves, revealed that 128 people were buried on the property.
Archaeologists from Pomost began excavating the garden, carefully unearthing the remains. Their investigation confirmed the presence of numerous graves, with a clear distinction in soil color indicating disturbed earth, a telltale sign of burial. Over several months, and after securing the necessary permits, they began exhuming the bodies using both a small excavator and manual labor.
The majority of the bodies exhumed were civilians, many of whom had died during the brutal final days of the war. Daniël described the process: "The first two or three coffins that were dug up were very small. Inside, we found babies and toddlers." These early graves contained not only human remains but also clothing fragments and preserved shoes, remnants of the victims' lives before they were caught in the crossfire. The later graves, in contrast, revealed mass burials.
The majority of the bodies were buried between March and May of 1945, during the bombardments and the violent "rabbit hunts," in which aerial machine gunfire targeted anyone on the streets. As the war ended, the people of Breslau, including many who had been unable to flee, were hastily buried in unmarked graves.
Once the exhumation was complete, the remains were reburied at the German military cemetery in Nadolice Wielkie, a village outside Wroclaw, where 18,000 German war dead are interred. During the excavation, Daniël and his family maintained a respectful vigil, lighting candles by the gravesites to honor the deceased.
The discovery was particularly poignant for Daniël and Victoria's children, who were involved in the process. Daniël explained, "We didn’t hide the graves from our children. We took them out of school during the excavation; they were curious and wanted to understand what had happened here. It became an educational moment for them."
Two years after the remains were exhumed, Daniël and Victoria’s family continues to remember the grave site. A display case in their home contains artifacts from the graves: watches, hair combs, and jewelry — physical reminders of the lives lost. While Daniël acknowledged the emotional impact of the discovery, he was ultimately glad that the bodies had been moved to a final resting place. "We used to camp in the garden, but not on the spot where we knew the bodies were buried. It didn’t feel right," he told RTL.
A particularly emotional moment for Daniël and his wife came when they helped locate the descendants of one family whose grandfather had been buried in the garden. "It was a deeply emotional experience," Daniël told the newspaper. "It made the connection between the past and present very tangible. My wife, due to her own background, was very involved in the German history of the city. We made sure to host the family as best we could."
In a final act of remembrance, Daniël and his family placed 128 candles in the garden — one for each of the individuals buried there. The act symbolized respect for the dead. "I think it’s important that the dead are treated with respect," Daniël said. "The Nazi regime was horrific, but the people buried here were mostly civilians — women, children, the elderly. I felt much more empathy for them than disgust. In this way, we’ve contributed to some healing."
