Gdansk – St. Mary’s Church (Soviet Troops and the Floor)

These are tombstones on the floor in St. Mary’s church in Gdansk, lying damaged and smashed. There’s a story that Soviet troops smashed into these tombs during their invasion of the city during the Second World War in an attempt to loot the bodies underneath. I’m unsure whether these stories are true as I can’t find any contemporary mention of that happening, but it’s certainly true that the Soviets did loot the city of Gdansk (or Danzig as it was). It’s also possible that the stones were damaged when parts of the roof collapsed on top of them during the Second World War, but whatever the story, at least some portions of them remain.