My mother’s ancestors came from Germany, so before my parents left, we visited the towns my great-great grandparents came from. My mom was hoping she would be able to find more information from some of the local cemeteries. The towns were up near Stuttgart, and our plan was to drive around looking for cemeteries.
Driving around Kirchheim am Neckar, we were able to find the cemeteries really easily, once we learned the German word, Friedhof; we just followed the signs. Puzzlingly, none of the graves were older than the 1950s. At the time, we thought collateral damage from WWII had destroyed all the older graves, but we wondered how that could happen to all the cemeteries in this small town. Lacking another explanation though, this was all we had to go on. It turns out the truth is actually stranger.
Germans lease their grave spaces. The plots are rented in 15 year increments, and after 30 years, if the family doesn’t want to maintain the site, it will be reused for a totally new (dead) person. Usually, the previous occupant has returned to dust before the new occupant arrives. However, in some regions, the soil composition is such that the bodies are becoming preserved. When undertakers dig up the site, they’re finding mummified remains, and are being forced to come up with alternate solutions.
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