The Polish Genetic Database of Victims of Totalitarianisms
Introduction
The creation of The Polish Genetic Database of Victims of Totalitarianisms (Polska Baza Genetyczna Ofiar Totalitaryzmów—PBGOT) arose from the need to identify the anonymous victims of Nazi and Communist regimes before the first-hand historical, family and genetic information was lost and the victim remains too degraded for genetic sampling. To this end, the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin and the Institute of National Remembrance—Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes Against the Polish Nation entered into a written agreement on 28th September 2012 to create the Polish Genetic Database of Victims of Totalitarianism (PBGOT). Signatories included president of the Institute of National Remembrance, and provost of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin. The President of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, wrote a letter of support encouraging the formation and research of the PBGOT.
Until the relatively recent advances in the science of genetics, personal identification of war victims through DNA testing had rarely been attempted. For purposes of victim identification, genetic testing consists of short tandem repeats analysis—STR and mitochondrial DNA sequencing. STR markers are most often used to identify crime victims and victims of mass disasters [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]. Forensic genetics basing on mitochondrial DNA analysis was first used when trying to identify Americans missing in action during the Vietnam and Korean wars [7] and then when identifying victims of 20th century armed conflicts in the aftermath of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1991–1995 [8], [9], [10]. Teams from several countries, including USA [11], Finland [12], Croatia [13], Slovenia [14], Russia [15], Poland [16] and Spain [17], [18] successfully identified many of the victims through genetic testing. Texas State University and other research institutions in the United States are exploring the use of forensic genetics to identify the bodies of illegal immigrants who have perished attempting to cross the desert along the Texas–Mexico border [19].
For victims of earlier conflicts (such as WWII era) the main difficulty for forensic geneticists was extracting enough DNA of a quality suitable for STR testing. By 2013, however, techniques for extracting genetic material from skeletal remains had advanced to the point that reliable matches with tissue samples of the victim's nearest living relatives were finally possible. PBGOT sought to apply this technology to the skeletal remains of victims buried in mass graves in the Powązki Military Cemetery. The more daunting task for PBGOT was the process of locating, collecting, storing and cataloging genetic reference material from the victim's close relatives. Many of the victims died young and childless; their parents were mostly deceased and their siblings, if any, were over 80 years of age. As part of the project, PBGOT launched a media campaign asking the relatives to come forward. Added to the problem of locating their relatives was the sheer number of victims – upwards of 300. To be effective, the project necessarily had to narrow its scope and focus its resources on a smaller group of victims in a defined geographic area within the cemetery. The archaeological excavations had to be particularly exacting to avoid unnecessary disturbance to other grave sites. Through its experience with the Powązki Military Cemetery project, PBGOT has continued to refine and adapt its procedures and apply them to identify more victims of 20th century wars, armed conflicts and political repression.
PBGOT's success depends upon the initial identification of graves with particular victims and ability to locate the putative relatives, which requires institutional and governmental support as well as citizen participation. European nations that have experienced the political and social repression of totalitarian regimes are increasingly willing to confront the truth about mass killings, hidden graves, crimes of the government and the disappearance of loved ones during painful periods of national history. By creating the Polish Database of Victims of Totalitarianism, our team of forensic scientists, archaeologists, and historians continue in their efforts to bring the truth to light and into our collective social consciousness.
Section snippets
Procedures of Pbgot
To systematize and standardize the research, the entire identification process was designed to be carried out in specific stages, beginning with the exhumation and ending with genetic testing. In general terms, these operational procedures (“The Polish Genetic Database of Victims of Totalitarianisms Procedures”) correspond with the methodology for identification of victims of mass disasters conducted by Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) teams [20], [21], [22]. PBGOT's genetic testing
Victim identification workflow
PBGOT's identification procedures can be divided into 8 stages. They are showed on a flowchart (Fig. 1) and described below:
Stage A: Analysis of archives: This stage determines all the specific characteristics of the people missing. Collected data is stored in a database (authorial program called “Łowca Dusz v.1.0.”) under a bookmark “People missing”. Next, living family members are located based on historical documents and other investigation and research.
Stage B: Collecting reference material
Methods and lab work
The genetic testing lab at the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin is specifically designed for our team of geneticists to work with bone samples. The lab is divided into two separate areas: in the first room, the bones are cleaned, decontaminated and ground in liquid nitrogen. The second room is dedicated solely to DNA extraction. DNA extracted from the exhumed bones is isolated and kept separate from DNA trace evidence so as to avoid cross contamination.
Initial projects and results
To date, PBGOT has collected and catalogued genetic reference from the swab samples of over 600 living family members of victims of totalitarian regimes. Our first project, identification of the victims secretly buried at Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw between 1948 and 1956, was undertaken in two separate exhumations conducted in 2012 and 2013. Historical information from the Institute of National Remembrance suggested the presence of approximately 350 victims. In PBGOT's two separate
Conclusions and discussion
An interdisciplinary approach is the most effective way to positively identify victims of past political repression. Each specialist's contribution, whether historical, archaeological, forensic or genetic, provided a piece of the puzzle of that conclusively established the name and identity of victims who perished over a half-century ago. Without the contribution of a variety of specialists, the PBGOT project would not have been possible.
For remains situated in mass graves, the painstaking
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