 In the aftermath of the recapture of the city , the discovery of several mass graves ( the last of which were uncovered in 1970 ) of South Vietnamese citizens of Huế sparked a controversy that has not diminished with time . The victims had either been clubbed or shot to death or simply buried alive . The official allied explanation was that during their initial occupation of the city , the PAVN had quickly begun to systematically round up ( under the guise of re @-@ education ) and then execute as many as 2 @,@ 800 South Vietnamese civilians that they believed to be potentially hostile to communist control . Those taken into custody included South Vietnamese military personnel , present and former government officials , local civil servants , teachers , policemen , and religious figures . Historian Gunther Lewy claimed that a captured Viet Cong document stated that the communists had " eliminated 1 @,@ 892 administrative personnel , 38 policemen , 790 tyrants . " The North Vietnamese officer , Bùi Tín , later further muddied the waters by stating that their forces had indeed rounded up " reactionary " captives for transport to the North , but that local commanders , under battlefield exigencies , had executed them for expediency 's sake . 
