Warsaw, Poland — Polish prosecutors have halted an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during World War II because the advanced state of decomposition made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said. on Monday.
The remains were found on February 24 in the Wolf’s Lair, which served as Hitler’s headquarters between 1941 and 1944, when the area was part of Germany. The complex of around 200 Nazi bunkers and military barracks hidden in deep forests was the site of Colonel Claus Stauffenberg’s failed assassination attempt on Hitler on July 20, 1944. The site is now a tourist attraction.
Prosecutor’s spokesman for the nearby town of Ketrzyn, Daniel Brodowski, said police officers secured the remains after they were found by a local group, Latebra, which searches for historical objects.
A forensic medical expert examined them under the supervision of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which was trying to determine whether manslaughter had occurred. The investigation was halted in late March due to a lack of evidence that a crime had been committed, Brodowski told The Associated Press in an emailed statement.
“The expert stated that the preserved skeletal remains were of human origin and came from at least four people, three of whom were probably middle-aged men, and the fourth was a several-year-old child whose sex could not be determined.” , Brodowski said. he wrote.
But due to the advanced deterioration of the remains, it was no longer possible to determine the cause of death, he said, noting that at least several dozen years had passed.
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