A Nazi-era grave containing the remains of nearly 2,000 Jews was discovered in Belarus two months ago — but that’s not stopping officials from forging on with plans to turn the site into a luxury apartment complex, according to a report.
Soldiers combing through the soil have pulled out the blackened remains of 1,900 people murdered during World War II since bones were first found by builders on the site in January.
“You see the results of this horrible war and of a genocide,” the commander of the search battalion, Major Pavel Galetsky, told DW. “History speaks for itself here.”
Before World War II, almost half of the 50,000-strong population of Brest were Jewish, according to the BBC.
When the mass grave was discovered, it was unclear what would happen to the area once all the remains were dug up.
But the mayor’s office confirmed to DW that building work on the swanky, modern apartment complex will resume this week.
Officials argue that there’s no need for a second memorial — since there is a small marble stone dedicated to 34,000 murdered Jews just around the corner from the gravesite.
“There should be a place where people can live well, a nice corner of the city of Brest,” said Alla Kondak, who heads the cultural department at the mayor’s office.
Kondak also pointed out that many of the buildings in the city are built on graves.
“When the buildings around here were built they also found bones,” Kondak said.
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