§ The correspondence that was owed Addressed to the family, and to the Central Tracing Agency Mailbox

Card 05 of 10 · Geneva IV · Article 130

A grave that can always be recognised

A grave that can always be recognised — Geneva IV, Article 130. Not delivered.

The rule that requires it

Article 130 of Geneva Convention IV — Prescriptions regarding the dead: Burial and cremation. Retrieved verbatim, 2026-08-22.

The detaining authorities shall ensure that internees who die while interned are honourably buried, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged, and that their graves are respected, properly maintained, and marked in such a way that they can always be recognized.

Deceased internees shall be buried in individual graves unless unavoidable circumstances require the use of collective graves. Bodies may be cremated only for imperative reasons of hygiene, on account of the religion of the deceased or in accordance with his expressed wish to this effect. In case of cremation, the fact shall be stated and the reasons given in the death certificate of the deceased. The ashes shall be retained for safe-keeping by the detaining authorities and shall be transferred as soon as possible to the next of kin on their request.

As soon as circumstances permit, and not later than the close of hostilities, the Detaining Power shall forward lists of graves of deceased internees to the Powers on whom the deceased internees depended, through the Information Bureaux provided for in Article 136 . Such lists shall include all particulars necessary for the identification of the deceased internees, as well as the exact location of their graves.

What the record shows instead

United States / Israel

The Conventions require the dead to be identified, recorded, decently buried and their particulars forwarded. Bodies have been returned marked only with numbers, some blindfolded, bound or bearing gunshot wounds, and buried in mass graves without identification.

3 sources