Synagogue excavation starts near Auschwitz

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Archaeologists have begun excavations at the site of a synagogue near the former Auschwitz death camp, looking for a Torah scroll and other objects missing since the Nazis burned down the building in 1939.

Malgorzata Grupa, the archaeologist leading the project, said the only clue guiding the excavation was the account of a Jewish survivor who saw members of his community burying the religious objects in hopes of saving them from destruction by the Nazis.

The excavation, financed by private donors, is expected to take a month.