Poland: Workers find WWII mass grave of Germans

As the Red Army was advancing in early 1945, the inhabitants of Malbork were ordered to evacuate. Some refused, while others were prevented from doing so by the general chaos of the nearing front.

The Soviets bombarded the city with heavy artillery in their assault. After the defeated German military retreated, the remaining civilians found themselves at the mercy of Red Army troops. There are no known living witnesses of what happened, Szwedowski said.

The bodies were buried naked without any possessions, he said.

"We found no trace of any clothes, shoes, belts, glasses — not even dentures or false teeth," he said.

Some 100 skulls — primarily of adults — have bullet holes in them, suggesting these people could have been executed, but it is still unclear how the others were killed, Szwedowski said.

"We don't know if these (civilians) are direct or indirect victims of the artillery barrage but the bullet holes suggest executions in some cases," he said.