The war dead

[London Lad]

Throughout the UK, every town has some sort of memorial commemorating the inhabitants of that town who were killed in the war.

Does anything like this exist in Germany?

[Christoph Awender]

Hello!

Can´t speak for germany but we in Austria have these in many villages, towns for WWI and WWII

regards,
Christoph

[Elrebein]

Why shouldn't?

[Snorre]

Close to my home, just south of Oslo, there is a plaque commemorating the shooting of three Norwegians who where housing an illegal radio transmitter (Corn Creek).

May 8 every year, flowers are placed by the plaque and a small "ceremony" is held.

Rgr,

S.

[Annelie]

Yes, I travelled to small villages around Berlin and there was indeed
memorial plaques dedicated to those that lost their lives during second world war. Sometimes it looked like most of the men of the village died.

Annelie

[Ovidius]

Close to my home, just south of Oslo, there is a plaque commemorating the shooting of three Norwegians who where housing an illegal radio transmitter (Corn Creek).

May 8 every year, flowers are placed by the plaque and a small "ceremony" is held.

Are there any monuments commemorating the volunteers of the 5th Waffen-SS Division "Wiking" who gave their blood fighting against the USSR?

Or they were on the "bad" side?

~Ovidius

[Matt Gibbs]

In my local area in the UK there is a War Graves cemetry with a huge number of war graves to members of the allied forces of many nations. It also includes some war dead with appropriate memorials to German war dead. I have never had the chance to go and have a look to see for myself but I think I may well do so now.
Regards

[Qvist]

Ovidius:

No, there aren't. They were indeed considered as traitors, and most served prison sentences for it after the war. Looking at it historically we can of course take a more balanced view, but the Norwegian state can hardly be expected to honour those who voluntarily fought for the power who attacked and occupied Norway, and with whom the Norwegian gvt was at war at the time.

cheers

[Christian Ankerstjerne]

Same thing in Denamrk - the same gouvernment who incouraged them to fight with the Germans punished them for doing so...

FP

[michael mills]

Same thing in Denamrk - the same gouvernment who incouraged them to fight with the Germans punished them for doing so...

I have read that the King of Denmark gave his permission for members of the Danish Armed Forces to volunteer to fight against the Soviet Union in German formations. Is that correct?

[michael mills]

No, there aren't. They were indeed considered as traitors, and most served prison sentences for it after the war. Looking at it historically we can of course take a more balanced view, but the Norwegian state can hardly be expected to honour those who voluntarily fought for the power who attacked and occupied Norway, and with whom the Norwegian gvt was at war at the time.

Yes, but the Norwegian volunteers did not fight against the Norwegian Government-in-Exile, nor did they fight against the resistance in their own country. They fought solely against the Soviet Union. In the moral sense they were not traitors to their own people.

An interesting vignette. Here in Australia, the Returned Soldiers' League, the official association of war veterans, allowed membership to refugees from Eastern Europe who had fought for Germany on the Eastern Front but not against the Western Allies. The rationale was that those men had fought against Communism, not for Hitler or against the West. I recall that several years ago, a detachment of Estonian former SS men marched in an Anzac Day parade. The commentary referred to them as having been brave fighters against Communism, but of course made no reference to their having been in the SS.

[Birgitte Heuschkel]

I have read that the King of Denmark gave his permission for members of the Danish Armed Forces to volunteer to fight against the Soviet Union in German formations. Is that correct?

I've no idea whether he did -- but it's worth noticing that his royal opinion made nodifference whatsoever. Certainly, he inspired some of the Danish resistance by his refusal to bend knees to his German cousins, and as he was generally known to be, well, a grumpy old man, I'm certain he enjoyed throwing sticks in German wheels where he could. Legally, however, the Danish royal house has very little governmental power but for show and tradition.

That said, there is a rather charming anecdote about the king in which one of his German relations (mind you, the Danish royal house is pretty much German of origins) came to call for afternoon tea. As the fellow showed up in uniform the king threw him right back out, instructing him that if he was going to show up like that, he could bloody well use the kitchen entrance.

[Polynike]

where i live we have a cross of sacrifice and a monument for the fallen of the two world wars. its only fair that the germans remember thier own war dead in a similar fashion.

[Qvist]

" Yes, but the Norwegian volunteers did not fight against the Norwegian Government-in-Exile, nor did they fight against the resistance in their own country. They fought solely against the Soviet Union. In the moral sense they were not traitors to their own people. "

That's one way of seeing it, but that is not the way the Norwegian state sees it. They did fight for the army that attacked Norway and against an ally of the Norwegian gvt. Incidentally, some also happened to have skirmishes with the Norwegian resistance near the end of the war, for which they received additional sentences. These were elements of the SS Skijägerbataillon "Norge", retreating across the border from Northern Finland. Not really arguing the case here, just trying to provide a picture of how these things are seen in Norway.

cheers

[hfjugsta]

Throughout the UK, every town has some sort of memorial commemorating the inhabitants of that town who were killed in the war.

Does anything like this exist in Germany?

In Oslo are there a lot of memorials. Even a German graveyard.