Hungary exhumed 2,400 WWII soldiers since early 2010s

Since the early 2010s, approximately 2,400 World War II soldiers have been exhumed in Hungary, including more than 1,500 Hungarian soldiers, according to the Ministry of Defence Historical Institute and Museum (HIM).

Recent discoveries include a joint German-Hungarian mass grave in Baja containing 1,089 soldiers. Additionally, extreme low water levels in the Danube led to the discovery of a German motorcycle and the remains of two German soldiers in Budapest, while seven Hungarian soldiers were recovered in Dombiratos, Békés County.

HIM conducts annual autumn burials with religious and military honors at the Heroes' Plot in the Fiumei Road Cemetery. Personal items found with the remains are typically buried with the soldiers, unless they are of museum value or requested by relatives.

Through intergovernmental agreements with nine countries, HIM also receives information regarding Hungarian remains found abroad, with recent data arriving from Romania, Poland, and Russia. While Polish discoveries often involve World War I soldiers, WWII remains are typically interred in local Hungarian military cemeteries.