The Foreign Ministry of Pridnestrovie hosted a meeting of Minister Vitaly Ignatiev with the Delegation of German War Graves Commission headed by Thomas Schock, Kassel Exhumation Department (Germany). The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Presidential Administration, the Supreme Council, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Defence, the Investigative Committee and the Public Service for Culture and Historical Heritage.
German War Graves Commission is a German humanitarian public organization, founded in 1919. Its task is to create and care for the graves of German soldiers outside Germany, as well as to collect data on existing German war graves abroad. Currently, the Commission operates in more than 100 countries in Europe and North Africa.
Welcoming the guests, Vitaly Ignatiev flagged the long-term positive cooperation between Pridnestrovie and Germany in the social, humanitarian and cultural spheres. According to him, the republic pays particular attention to the initiative of the German side to search the remains of German soldiers fallen in World War II in the territory of Pridnestrovie and their subsequent reburial.
In this context, the interlocutors continued the discussion of the procedural and legal aspects of cooperation between the Commission and relevant Pridnestrovian institutions and organizations.
In particular, the head of the Foreign Ministry recalled the previously adopted Resolution of the Government of the PMR, which regulates the procedure for the reburial of foreign military remains in the republic and their transportation across the state border of Pridnestrovie. He also informed that last year constructors found the remains of German soldiers from the period of the Great Patriotic War in Tiraspol and in Rogi village, Dubossary District.
Along with it, a detailed discussion took place on the proposed parameters of bilateral cooperation in the transfer of these remains to the German side, as well as the prospects for further exploration activities on the territory of Pridnestrovie.
“We believe that there are still many military graves from that time in Pridnestrovie. The restoration of historical memory is our common task. Therefore, we appealed to the German side with a request to provide data on Soviet war prisoners placed in German camps on the territory of Pridnestrovie. Our work is comprehensive, and we hope that the current meeting will give it a practical impetus,” Vitaly Ignatiev said during the media scrum after the meeting.
In turn, Thomas Shock also positively assessed the results of the dialogue held in the Pridnestrovian Foreign Ministry. “We drought to Pridnestrovie an important humanitarian issue. I believe that during the meeting achieved good results, because we outlined a plan and specific deadlines for cooperation. We would like to continue here the work that we do in many countries,” said the representative of German War Graves Commission.
