Jewish tombstone fragments found in Polish river

Ben Sales

(JTA) — Fragments of Jewish tombstones were discovered as the level of the Vistula River in Warsaw dropped during a drought.

The tombstones are thought to be from the city’s Bródno Jewish cemetery. Only 300 of the cemetery’s original 3,000 graves remain, as the rest were used for construction and reinforcing the riverbanks during World War II.

“The Vistula River is hiding no end of secrets. They are everywhere,” said Jonny Daniels, head of Holocaust commemoration organization From the Depths, who visited the river Tuesday, according to the Guardian. “Jewish history is buried in the Vistula.”

A Soviet plane was also discovered in the river. The plane crashed in 1945 during a battle between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, as the Nazis were retreating from captured territory.

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