According to the opinion of an international research group conducting research over the past two years, the remains of Jewish victims of the Holocaust may be stored in the collection of anatomical preparations of the University of Strasbourg.
A team of historians and specialists, including scientists at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, announced this at a press conference held at a French university. The remains were brought to Strasbourg at a time when it was under Nazi occupation.
The existence of the remains of dozens of victims of the Holocaust at Strasbourg University was considered a rumor and was refuted by the university for many decades. But in 2015, thanks to a book written by the historian Michelle Simes, the existing rumor was confirmed, which led to the discovery of the location of the remains of 86 Jews.
The remains were buried that year, but a group of experts claims that some more remains can be stored in the university's storerooms. The team found 20 boxes of bones. Most likely these are the bones of the Jews, since the boxes belonged to Augustus Hirt. This was reported by the news site France Bleu.
Hauptsturmfuhrer SS August Hirt was the head of the SS anatomical institute in Strasbourg during the Nazi occupation. Hirt committed suicide in 1945 after he received at his disposal the remains of dozens of Holocaust victims killed by the Nazis in Eastern Europe.
Vice President of the University Matthew Schneider told France Bleu that he intends to implement the recommendations of the research group that found that in 1943-1944 Hirt gave directions for "intensifying" work on the Nazi racial theory.
"We need to find all the pieces of this puzzle and get a consistent and clear overview of the events, which would allow us to give our students very important lessons on medical ethics," he added.