In a probing excavation, archaeologists recorded fragments of 16 objects measuring approximately 2 m by 65 cm, forming - as they have so far established - at least four rows. Exploration of two of them proved that the recorded structures were burial pits. At their bottom are human remains preserved in anatomical order. The discovery of
one-half of an identity marker (commonly known as a dog tag) next to the remains bearing the legible camp number 1064 facilitated the identification of one of the buried soldiers. He is Giovanni Paravidino, who died on 1 September 1944 at the age of 21.
Giovanni Paravidino was one of the Italian soldiers interned in the Lamsdorf camps. The first internees were sent here in the second half of 1943. It was caused by the Italian coup of 25 July 1943, as a result of which Benito Mussolini was removed from power, and the new government of Marshal Pietro Bagdolio aligned with the Allies and declared war on the Third Reich. In response, the Wehrmacht captured and imprisoned 600,000 Italian soldiers who refused to join its ranks. For propaganda purposes, the Germans referred to them as “Italian military internees” (IMI) but at the same time placed them in prisoner-of-war camps, which they converted into places of extermination for the Italians, just as for the Soviet POWs.
The discovery has been reported to the relevant authorities. The graves have been secured to facilitate the continuation of archaeological work. The museum will strive to make this feasible in the upcoming year. The next phase will be to mark and commemorate the discovered burial site.
This year's archaeological work at Łambinowice is undertaken as part of the interdisciplinary project Science for Society, Society for Science at the Site of National Remembrance in Łambinowice, part-funded by the Ministry of Education and Science, which the Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War is implementing from June 2022 to mid-2024.
UNKNOWN QUARTERS
OF WAR GRAVES
DISCOVERED IN ŁAMBINOWICE
During excavation works at the Old POW Cemetery in Łambinowice from 12-20 July this year, a team of archaeologists invited by the Museum and led by Dr Dawid Kobiałka discovered an unknown burial site of more than 60 Italian soldiers interned in the Lamsdorf POW camps during World War II.
Central Museum of the Prisoners of War in Łambinowice