The chairman of the Union of Bergen-Belsen survivors appealed to world opinion today to bring pressure to bear on France to end its efforts to have the mass graves on the death camp site exhumed. France has asked that the graves be opened so that it could remove the remains of French victims for reburial on French soil. But Joseph Rosensaft called this “a pretext for desecration” and said that scientists had confirmed that it would be impossible to distinguish the remains of French victims from the others after so many years.
The West German Government has issued a temporary order preventing the French from opening the grave. Mr. Rosensaft said an international arbitration court in Koblenz will visit the site on May 6 to gather evidence. The case is pending before the court.
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