By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

GROZ, Austria – Austrian governmental officials have announced the discovery of two mass graves created for victims of the Nazis in World War II.

The grave sites were found on property used by the Austrian Army in the city of Graz in southern Austria. The Austrian Army had been using the land as a sports field and recreational area for service men.

The mass graves were discovered on the basis of photographs taken during World War II. The aerial photos were taken by United States bombers and showed discernible uncovered graves with dozens of visible bodies.

Government officials have begin to seek out the property owners to begin exhuming the bodies. But Rudolf Gollia, the Austrian Interior Ministry spokesperson, said he could not confirm whether the Austrian army owns or rents the involved property.

The Austrian government says that the mass graves contain approximately 70 corpses. Officials have said that most of the victims were in Nazi concentration camps, and these victims were killed by Nazi leaders to prevent witnesses from testifying against them as Soviets entered the country near the end of World War II.

An Austrian Army report suggests that a few of the bodies might be American fighter pilots shot down in Austria by the Nazis.

For more information, please see:

ASSOCIATED PRESS – Austrian govt finds mass graves of Nazi victims – 12 March 2010

IRELAND ON-LINE – Dozens of bodies found in Nazi mass graves – 12 March 2010

NEW YORK TIMES – Austria: Mass Graves of Nazi Victims Are Found – 12 March 2010