In the 1940s, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. In response, many Central Asians, including Uzbeks or Samarkandites, were sent to fight the Germans in the area of Smolensk. However, a number of them, including Hatam Kadirov and Zair Muratov, were captured, transported to the Netherlands, abused and killed. Their bodies were buried in Rusthof cemetery near Amersfoort. For some time, these 101 victims were not identified, apart from the fact that they were Soviets, until an investigation by journalist Remco Reiding. Their plight was also studied by Uzbek historian Bahodir Uzakov of Gouda, South Holland. Witness Henk Broekhuizen said that, despite having seeing them once as a teenager, he would recall the soldiers' faces, whenever he closed his eyes.