German WW2 war dead memorials

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Adam Carr
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Re: German WW2 war dead memorials

#31

Post by Adam Carr » 29 Apr 2008, 18:00

Sorry Rob. The links work now.

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Re: German WW2 war dead memorials

#32

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Aug 2008, 14:54

I'm coming back to this thread after a long lapse, to remark how much commemorative material for German war dead there is now on new media like YouTube. Here is an example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivVxAtK6 ... re=related
I think this illustrates how the scars of the war haven't really healed in Germany, partly because of the suppression of the kind of extravagant public mourning one sees in Russia, Poland and France, for example. But the internet is now giving Germans the means to circumvent this suppression. Some of them are neo-Nazi tinged, but this one and others are not.


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Re: German WW2 war dead memorials

#33

Post by Adam Carr » 11 Aug 2008, 05:29

Now that I have mastered the art of uploading photos, here are the only two memorials that I saw in three months in Germany (much it spent looking at memorials) that explicitly commemorate Germany's military dead of World War II. The first is the Hamburg cemetery.
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Re: German WW2 war dead memorials

#34

Post by Adam Carr » 11 Aug 2008, 05:29

This is the inscription
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Re: German WW2 war dead memorials

#35

Post by Adam Carr » 11 Aug 2008, 05:31

The second is at the Gebirgsjäger barracks at Berchtesgaden:
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Re: German WW2 war dead memorials

#36

Post by Adam Carr » 11 Aug 2008, 05:32

This is the inscription
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Re: German WW2 war dead memorials

#37

Post by Hülse » 04 Oct 2008, 06:32

Nice photos Adam. I always look for this kind of memorial, for both sides of war. Here in my town in Brazil we have a big monument for our Expedionary force that fight in Monte Cassino - Italy. (photo below) We have many of this monuments and our loses in WWII were comparative tiny (only 1.000 KIA). All monuments at: http://www.anvfeb.com.br/outrosmonumentos.htm

Many people here admire the breavery and the courage of germans in WWII (we known that their leaders were too much wrong, but this fact cannot erase the memory of millions of soldiers that fallow orders and fallen fighting for their homeland). I think that is time to Germany government show respect to this soldiers, specialy Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge.

Wars don't make heroes or villains. Wars made victims and survivors.
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Re: German WW2 war dead memorials

#38

Post by ghostsoldier » 09 Oct 2008, 19:05

Hülse wrote:Wars don't make heroes or villains. Wars made victims and survivors.
Nice quote. :)
Rob
"Even God cannot change the past. "
-Agathon (448 BC - 400 BC)

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Re: German WW2 war dead memorials

#39

Post by Fallschirmjäger » 11 Oct 2008, 11:19

Forget if posted in here,anyone know if german WW2 cemetry in the reichswald,hochwald forest area or surrounding areas of the rhinleland battles of early 1945.Like are they further away in a bigger cemetry,as where they not buried near to the battle area they died,think saw the allies have cemetry's in the reichswald,and maybe other area's around there too.

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Re: German WW2 war dead memorials

#40

Post by Delta Tank » 15 Oct 2008, 18:31

To all,

I lived in Germany for 5 1/2 years while in the US Army, I saw memorials in every little German village/town I went to, or it seemed that way. Nothing elaborate, just a column with the dead from 14-18 one one side and 39-45 on another side, sometimes a list from 1870-1871 (?) would be on another side. Very simple monument with the names of all the fallen from that town or area.

Now in the US we have a lot of memorials to the Civil War dead and to World War II. But the big ones that I am familiar with are for American Civil War dead. The one here in Lock Haven, Pa. is pretty big for a small town. Sorry no pictures.

Interesting thread

Mike

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Re: German WW2 war dead memorials

#41

Post by friend_of_Obersalzberg » 15 Oct 2008, 22:26

Delta Tank wrote:I saw memorials in every little German village/town I went to, or it seemed that way. Nothing elaborate, just a column with the dead from 14-18 one one side and 39-45 on another side, sometimes a list from 1870-1871 (?) would be on another side.
Mike,
almost all war memorials are from the I.WW. The memorials became extended with the names of the fallen soldiers of the 2.WW. You will hardly find special or extra memorials for the 2.WW. The 1870/7: The Second Deutsche Reich fought against France in 1870/71. The memorials are for the fallen soldiers of that war.

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Adam Carr
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Re: German WW2 war dead memorials

#42

Post by Adam Carr » 20 Oct 2008, 03:54

Actually Prussia fought against France in 1871, with other Germans states such as Bavaria as allies. The German Empire was proclaimed only at the end of the war.

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Re: German WW2 war dead memorials

#43

Post by friend_of_Obersalzberg » 20 Oct 2008, 07:50

Right you are, Adam. My assertion about the France-war is misleading.
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Re: German WW2 war dead memorials

#44

Post by grassi » 02 Jan 2009, 13:34

All over Germany you can find tens of thousands of war memorials etc. for WWII victims – soldiers, civilians, refugees, concentration camp prisoners, deported workers from the east (“Ostarbeiter”) etc. Many of these memorials do not only exist, they are regularly visited and decorated with flowers, wreaths and candles. Politicians, local authorities, veterans, church members, relatives etc. show up - not only on Volkstrauertag.

Almost every little village has a war memorial. To be more precise – in many times villages have not less than three memorials: Typically there is one in the main place of the village, one in the village’s church(es) and one at the cemetery. So if you look carefully it is very hard to overlook German war memorials.

After WWII local authorities in many (but not in all) cases just added some plaques for the numerous fallen soldiers between 1939 and 1945 the WWI memorial. In many cases separate memorials for WWII were erected.

Re-using the WWI memorial (or even older memorials) was an easy way concerning Germany’s more then disputable role in World War II. I personally suppose that clinging on the old traditions and symbols (for examples statues of St. Georg killing the dragon - a widespread type of monument in the 1920ies) of 1914 and 1918 sometimes saved authorities and relatives of the victims some more or less unpleasant discussions in which way to commemorate the dead of the Nazi time. By the way: To re-use WWI monuments after 1945 was also a widespread practice in Italy and France.

From time to time I will load up some pictures at this thread:
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 1&start=15

At the present time new graveyards and memorials are erected. In many times the Volksbund (http://www.volksbund.de/kurzprofil/) is somehow involved, e.g. in Rossoschka/Stalingrad-RF and Halbe/Germany.

grassi

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Re: German WW2 war dead memorials

#45

Post by grassi » 13 Feb 2009, 15:54

This is the war memorial in Gliching-Argelsried (near Munich/Germany).
It is dedicated to the dead soldiers of 1914/18 and 1939/45.
The memorial can be found close to the church.
The fotos are from January 17th 2009.

grassi
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