Please guys, if you want to discuse the ethics of keeping items, do it on an other thread not this one. I dont want this thread to turn into one of "those". Here are a couple of things I would like to point out, and then I would like this topic to be closed on this thread:
-First, and very importantly, although I completely understand that it would be nice to leave the body untouched; you may miss vital information by not taking things away and carefully analysing them, for example you could miss a set of initials or a name on a helmet liner. There are also simple practical considerations. For example in this case Mr Hauser had to fit 14 bodies in the trunk of his car, so space was scarce.
-Secondly, for me, these objects are precious historical relics. Burying them in the ground isnt doing anybody a favor. Although I understand that it may be unethical that me, a simple person get to keep them, remember that: I found the grave, I live in the village where the grave was found, and apparently I am the person on this planet who cares most about the history of the grave... So it only seems logical that I should be their caretaker.
-Finaly, soldiers are not normaly buried with helmets or equipements. If you find a soldier buried with a helmet, it normaly means that he was buried by enemies (or by nature). They didnt leave the helmet on to honnor him, they left it on because they considered the entire body as trash, and didnt want to touch it, except to steal valuables.
There are several other points that I know about, but that I am not going to talk about here.
Just trust me guys, I am not some grave robber trying to earn money by stealing from dead bodies. I am a person highly interested in the stories of these soldiers, and working hard to make their stories be known and be preserved. Preserving the items goes with that, IMO. If you dont agree with me, that is fine, but please dont turn this thread into a battleground.
JL
-First, and very importantly, although I completely understand that it would be nice to leave the body untouched; you may miss vital information by not taking things away and carefully analysing them, for example you could miss a set of initials or a name on a helmet liner. There are also simple practical considerations. For example in this case Mr Hauser had to fit 14 bodies in the trunk of his car, so space was scarce.
-Secondly, for me, these objects are precious historical relics. Burying them in the ground isnt doing anybody a favor. Although I understand that it may be unethical that me, a simple person get to keep them, remember that: I found the grave, I live in the village where the grave was found, and apparently I am the person on this planet who cares most about the history of the grave... So it only seems logical that I should be their caretaker.
-Finaly, soldiers are not normaly buried with helmets or equipements. If you find a soldier buried with a helmet, it normaly means that he was buried by enemies (or by nature). They didnt leave the helmet on to honnor him, they left it on because they considered the entire body as trash, and didnt want to touch it, except to steal valuables.
There are several other points that I know about, but that I am not going to talk about here.
Just trust me guys, I am not some grave robber trying to earn money by stealing from dead bodies. I am a person highly interested in the stories of these soldiers, and working hard to make their stories be known and be preserved. Preserving the items goes with that, IMO. If you dont agree with me, that is fine, but please dont turn this thread into a battleground.
JL
Comment