Kola study

The Kola study refers to archaeological research of the Belzec camp conducted in the late 1990s. The head of the Polish archaeological team was Andrzej Kola. Historians Robin O’Neil and Michael Tregenza also participated.

The archaeological work was conducted during the following periods.

• October 12-25, 1997
• April 27-June 6, 1998
• October 25-November 14, 1998
• September 12-25, 1999

Method and Publication

A core sampling method was used. Samples were taken at 5 meter intervals. A manual drill was used, around 6-8 meters long, and 65 mm in diameter.

In total, 2,227 core samples were taken. The Kola team reportedly found human remains in 236 samples. Most samples indicated undisturbed, natural strata. Kola published the results in 2000 in both the original Polish and in a poorly translated English version, although the book has never been widely available and can only be found in select university or research libraries.

• Hitlerowski obóz zagłady Żydów w Bełżcu w świetle źródeł archeologicznych. Badania 1997-1999
• Bełżec: The Nazi Camp for Jews in the Light of Archeological Sources: Excavations 1997-1999

The published results present drawings of 137 of the 236 samples identified as positive for human remains.

Details of the Graves

The Kola team estimated 33 mass graves, with the number, boundaries, and dimensions being extrapolated from the core samples. The graves were estimated to have a total area of 5,490 square meters and a total volume of 21,310 cubic meters.

Ten of the graves reportedly contained human corpses, many in a state of wax-fat transformation. These were graves 1, 3, 4, 10, 13, 20, 25, 27, 28, 32. The others contained cremains.

The Kola made no estimate of the number of unburnt corpses, but O'Neil for his own part suggested "many thousands" while Tregenza has given 15,000 as a "conservative" estimate. Jacek Nowakowski, associate director of USHMM, stated that the unburnt corpses must have been those who were brought in to perform the cremations who were then killed toward the end.

The fact that there were many more people employed in burning the bodies than we thought suggests they had many more bodies to burn. We may have to revise upward the estimate of the number who died at Belzec and that only increases the huge significance of the site.

However Robert Muehlenkamp favors the explanation that these bodies were simply ones that were overlooked and left behind in the cleanup operation.

Supplements

Map of Kola Samples

The Kola Graves

Extrapolated Grave Dimensions

#	Dimensions [m]	Depth [m]	Surface [m²]	Est’d. volume [m³]
1	40×12	4.80	480	1,500
2	14×6	2.00	84	170
3	16×15	5.00	240	960
4	16×6	2.30	96	250
5	32×10	4.50	320	1,350
6	30×10	4.00	300	1,200
7	13–14×27	4.50	364.5	1,600
8	28×10	4.00	280	850
9	8×10	3.80	80	280
10	24×18	4.25–5.20	432	2,100
11	9×5	1.90	45	80
12	6×16×11.5×18	4.00	~132	400
13	12.50×11×17×18	4.80	~200	920
14	37×10	5.00	370	1,850
15	13.50×6.50	4.50	87.75	400
16	18.50×9.50	4.00	175.75	700
17	17×7.50	4.00	127.5	500
18	16×9	4.00	144	570
19	12×12	4.00	144	500
20	26×11	5.00	286	1,150
21	5×5	1.70	25	35
22	9×15	3.50	135	200
23	16×8.50	4.00	136	550
24	20×5.50	5.00	110	520
25	13×5	4.00	65	250
26	13×7	4.00	91	320
27	18.50×6.00	5.00	111	450
28	?	?	~17.5	70
29	25×9	4.50	225	900
30	5×6	2.70	30	75
31	9×4	2.60	36	90
32	15×5	4.00	75	400
33	9×5	3.00	45	120
Total:			5,490	21,310