Nick Casey

If the Volksbund manages to find dog tags or other items, they use those to try to identify the bodies and contact relatives. Later, they rebury the bones in one of their cemeteries. I'd seen a couple of mass graves like this one before, from other genocides, like in Guatemala. But I'd never seen a mass grave on this scale.

If the Volksbund manages to find dog tags or other items, they use those to try to identify the bodies and contact relatives. Later, they rebury the bones in one of their cemeteries. I'd seen a couple of mass graves like this one before, from other genocides, like in Guatemala. But I'd never seen a mass grave on this scale.

When you look closely at a site like this, you start to see that it doesn't tell just one story. I've been reporting this article for more than a year, and during that time, I've also been watching the rise of populism that's been happening in Germany and across Europe more broadly. Germany's far-right party, Alternative for Germany, or AFD, just doubled its seats in parliament.

When you look closely at a site like this, you start to see that it doesn't tell just one story. I've been reporting this article for more than a year, and during that time, I've also been watching the rise of populism that's been happening in Germany and across Europe more broadly. Germany's far-right party, Alternative for Germany, or AFD, just doubled its seats in parliament.

And this is a party where some of its politicians have been found to have neo-Nazi ties. The idea of searching for the bones of Nazis in forests around Germany is terrifying to many people for what it means today. A lot of Europeans, especially the war's victims, don't think this should be happening at all.

And this is a party where some of its politicians have been found to have neo-Nazi ties. The idea of searching for the bones of Nazis in forests around Germany is terrifying to many people for what it means today. A lot of Europeans, especially the war's victims, don't think this should be happening at all.

But the Volksbund says it's not here to commemorate or honor any of the people who are buried at their cemeteries. They're simply here to remember the deadly toll of war. The Volksblum's work has been controversial since the beginning, but it's in crosshairs today that it wouldn't have been in if we were talking about it just a few decades ago.

But the Volksbund says it's not here to commemorate or honor any of the people who are buried at their cemeteries. They're simply here to remember the deadly toll of war. The Volksblum's work has been controversial since the beginning, but it's in crosshairs today that it wouldn't have been in if we were talking about it just a few decades ago.

And I wanted to understand just how complicated it's become. So here's my article, read by Malcolm Hilgartner. Our audio producer today is Adrian Hurst. The original music you'll hear was written and performed by Aaron Esposito.

And I wanted to understand just how complicated it's become. So here's my article, read by Malcolm Hilgartner. Our audio producer today is Adrian Hurst. The original music you'll hear was written and performed by Aaron Esposito.