Sandweiler German war cemetery

Sandweiler German war cemetery
German War Graves Commission
(Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge)
Used for those deceased 1944 – 1945
Unveiled5 June 1955
Location49°36′34″N 06°12′20″E / 49.60944°N 6.20556°E / 49.60944; 6.20556
near 
Sandweiler, Luxembourg
Total burials10,913
Burials by nation
* Germany: 10,913
Burials by war
* World War II: 10,913

49°36′34″N 06°12′20″E / 49.60944°N 6.20556°E / 49.60944; 6.20556 The Sandweiler German war cemetery is a World War II cemetery in Sandweiler, in southern Luxembourg. It contains the graves of 10,913 German servicemen from the Battle of the Bulge in winter 1944 and spring 1945. Of these, 5,599 were buried by the American war graves service during the war; American casualties were buried at the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) away in Hamm.[1]

Following an agreement reached in 1952 between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Federal Republic of Germany, 5,286 bodies were moved to Sandweiler from 150 different cemeteries throughout Luxembourg.[1] They had mostly lain in mass graves for which only incomplete records were available and the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge) set about identifying as many as possible.[1] As a result, 4,014 of the 4,829 in the communal comrades' graves are now identified and listed.[2]

Planning for the cemetery began in May 1952, and it was inaugurated on 5 June 1955, ten years after the end of the war.[1] The ceremonial opening took place in the presence of more than 2,000 relatives of the dead, whom the Volksbund had brought to Sandweiler in special trains.[1] With them came also delegations of school children from every German federal state.[1]

In 2005, a special ceremony attended by civil and military representatives from Luxembourg and Germany as well as members of youth groups, took place to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the cemetery.[3]

The last remains interred were those of an unknown German soldier discovered in the forests of Schumann's Eck near Wiltz in late 2007.

  • Entrance to the cemetery
    Entrance to the cemetery
  • Plaque on the mass grave
    Plaque on the mass grave
  • Anonymous crosses on the mass grave
    Anonymous crosses on the mass grave
  • Entrance area (from the memorial)
    Entrance area (from the memorial)
  • Group of fallen soldiers with triple inscriptions
    Group of fallen soldiers with triple inscriptions
  • New cross (installed after theft)
    New cross (installed after theft)
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Sandweiler booklet, German War Graves Commission" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
  2. ^ "Cemetery for German soldiers at Sandweiler". National Museum of Military History. Archived from the original on 2007-06-16. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  3. ^ "Reconciliation over the graves — 50th Anniversary of the German cemetery at Sandweiler, Luxembourg, part of the 60th anniversary commemorations". Association of Museums of the Battle of the "Bulge". 16 December 2005. Archived from the original on 31 July 2008. Retrieved 2013-07-09.