The chief pathologist at Berlin's Charite hospital is investigating whether a corpse he found stored in a basement could be that of German Communist Party founder Rosa Luxemburg, who was slain in 1919, a magazine report said Friday.
Luxemburg was killed by right-wing militiamen during a failed uprising and dumped into a Berlin canal. She and party co-founder Karl Liebknecht, also killed in the uprising, remain heroes to Germany's left and an annual march is held to honor them.
A body was later recovered that purportedly was hers, and it was buried in a Berlin cemetery. But Charite's chief of forensic medicine Michael Tsokos has doubts, Der Spiegel magazine reported.
Among other things, Tsokos is quoted as saying, the original autopsy results do not indicate osteoarthritis in the joints, or legs of different length _ both of which Luxemburg was known to have. A modern forensic examination of the corpse that was buried is not possible, because the grave was desecrated under the Nazis and the bones removed.
But a corpse Tsokos found in storage under a medical history museum in the Charite complex of buildings two years ago _ which had been preserved by the cold, damp conditions in the cellar area _ could be that of Luxemburg, Tsokos was quoted as saying.
It is missing its head, feet and hands, but tests have shown it does have different leg lengths and evidence of arthritis, and has been dated to the time she lived.
The heads of many corpses were removed at that time so the skulls could be used in collections and the loss of the feet and hands could correspond to where witnesses have said the militiamen tied stones to Luxemburg's body, Der Spiegel reported.
Calls from The Associated Press to Tsokos were not immediately returned.
To definitively determine whether the corpse is Luxemburg's, Tsokos said he was trying to find a living relative of the communist leader so he can compare DNA, the magazine reported. He attempted to take DNA from a postage stamp used by Luxemburg, but was unable to get a useable sample.
