The exhumation in the northeastern town of Jedwabne began last week as part of a government probe launched after a book published last year described how Poles, not Nazi troops, killed as many as 1,600 Jews there. The new rabbi, Morris Herschaft of London, was in Jedwabne on Monday to supervise the resumed procedure. Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, which ordered the work as part of its investigation of the massacre, hoped to finish the exhumation later Monday, spokesman Rafal Gorzkowski said. Investigators planned to release their findings later in the week. Despite the Jewish community's objections that the exhumation violates religious law, the institute ordered it to secure evidence in case charges are brought against any surviving perpetrators.
Investigators also hope to establish the identities of at least some of the victims.
The rabbis were supervising the procedure to minimize desecration and to ensure that the remains are treated with utmost respect. Under a compromise, workers were to dig only to the first layer where human remains are found. They are examining and photographing remains, and then putting them back in place. On Thursday, investigators found fragments of a statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, corroborating accounts that Jews were forced to carry it before being killed. Signs of charring indicated it was brought to a barn before it was set on fire.