Determination of the mass graves of World War II using GIS technology

Aim of the work is determined graphically visualize historical data fragment of territory-based regiment of Yakutsk, is located in Kremenets of Ternopil region in the first half of the twentieth century on modern maps. With interpretive possibilities archival aerial photographs obtained by the Germans in 1944, to determine the place of mass execution and burial of Soviet prisoners of war and civilians during the World War II on the territory. Methods. A flow chart of the definition of mass graves from the World War II within the modern urban setting with the help of GIS technologies. On the basis of the input data, namely a fragment of the modern topographical plan Kremenets scale of 1: 1000, a fragment of topographic map Kremenets 1915, scale 1: 10,000 aerial photograph archive fragment 1952, a fragment of archival aerial photograph of 1944 and the modern space image, created overlay layers. All the materials are interconnected by means of reference points of objects present on each of them. When the co-processing of all these data vectorized shooting Yakut regiment and the place of mass graves on its territory. Vector layers are deposited on a modern satellite image obtained from the GeoEye-1 satellite in 2014. The final stage of review established plans Kremenets territory of modern buildings with marked boundaries of the Yakut regiment as of 1944. The results obtained clearly defined location shooting gallery Yakut regiment from 1915 to 1952, and which part of it was used by the Nazis for the graves of Soviet prisoners of war and civilians during the World War II. Results. According to archival and contemporary maps and remote sensing data showing the location of the shooting gallery Yakut regiment Kremenets on a modern urban setting. On the basis of interpretive possibilities archival aerial photographs indicated mass graves. Scientific novelty. The proposed flowsheet definition of mass graves from World War II can quickly identify the data area on modern maps. The practical significance. Analysis created overlays gave an opportunity to get an idea of the location of the shooting gallery Yakut regiment within the current urban situation in Kremenets and to determine which part of it became a place of mass graves during the war. These graphics can be used to display historical events that occurred in the area. The results of this work can be transferred to the Department of preservation of cultural heritage of Ternopil Oblast as annexes to the passport cultural heritage.