Most of 124 remains at Almelo convent identified as girls and young women
Nearly a year and a half after the discovery of a forgotten convent cemetery in Almelo, authorities have identified the remains of 124 individuals buried at the site. Most of them were girls and young women, many of whom once lived at the notorious girls' institution run by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. The full results of the investigation will be made public Wednesday, but the report has already been obtained by De Twentsche Courant Tubantia.
The youngest remains identified belong to a girl believed to have been just 13 years old at the time of her death. Researchers also confirmed the presence of the remains of six other girls under the age of 18 and dozens of young women between 18 and 30 years old. Among those, eight were between 18 and 20. Most of the deaths are believed to have occurred between 1881 and 1980. Researchers suspect tuberculosis as a likely cause of death for many of the young women, although the disease leaves no visible trace on bone. The same applies to complications from childbirth, which raises unresolved questions about whether any of the girls became mothers while at the institution.
The remains were exhumed late last year during a municipal investigation led by the city of Almelo. The analysis was carried out by Laagland Archeologie, Het Oversticht, and the physical anthropology firm Tot op het Bot. The teams used advanced forensic techniques to determine the gender, estimated ages, and likely causes of death. The results confirm what many survivors had long feared: the cemetery is the final resting place of many young residents of the now-controversial institution along the Vriezenveenseweg.
The investigation did not confirm longstanding fears that babies, fetuses, or small children were buried at the site. Nor were any graves found beyond the known boundaries of the cemetery. Most of the names uncovered during the investigation match records kept by the congregation. However, for 35 of the 124 individuals, researchers were unable to determine their ages.
No signs of suspicious causes of death were found, but the case has nonetheless been referred to the police. One skeleton, identified as an 80-year-old nun, showed signs of a skull injury likely caused by a fall. Six skeletons exhibited bone fractures, and four had healed skull wounds. None of the injuries are believed to have contributed to the individuals' deaths.
The convent in Almelo was one of five Dutch locations operated by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, a worldwide Catholic congregation. Girls with behavioral or social problems were housed in these institutions, where many were subjected to forced labor in laundries and sewing workshops. These practices were conducted with approval from the Dutch government. In recent years, the Church and state have formally apologized for these abuses, and a monument was erected in Velp to honor the victims.
For years, the cemetery remained untouched and largely forgotten. Many of the dead were buried in wooden coffins, with some graves marked by large wooden crosses. Rosaries were found on 66 of the graves. The cemetery itself evolved over time, starting with two burial sections in 1881, expanding to four by 1919. A cross once stood at the head of the central path, behind which the graves of three rectors were located—likely the only men buried on the grounds. The nuns and the girls in their care were buried in separate sections.
In the 1980s and 1990s, parts of the cemetery were disturbed by relocations, reburials, and construction, including the installation of an asphalt path and a horse-riding arena. Soil was moved and some remains disappeared, reportedly complicating the investigation. Several graves and remains recorded in the congregation's registry could not be found. During a 1997 removal operation, some remains were reburied at the Euphrasia convent in Bloemendaal, though the exact number remains unknown.
One unusual discovery was the historical record of a German soldier buried at the cemetery during World War II. His body was moved to a different location in 1948. His grave was reused in 1956 for a 68-year-old woman, whose remains were also found during the current investigation.
The physical research took place under sterile conditions inside a gymnasium on the Vriezenveenseweg. The site was fully disinfected with chlorine, and researchers worked for weeks wearing protective suits, gloves, masks, hairnets, and hoods while collecting DNA samples and cataloging remains.
