The Hooglede German war cemetery (' in German) is a military cemetery in the Belgian town of

Hooglede Hooglede (; vls, Ooglee) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of and Hooglede proper. On January 1, 2006, Hooglede had a total population of 9,831. The total area is 37.84 k ...

, six kilometer northwest of

Roeselare Roeselare (; french: Roulers, ; West Flemish: ''Roeseloare'') is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The ...

. It is located at the east side of Hooglede. It contains 8,241 buried German soldiers from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Military incidents

On October 19, 1914, Hooglede was occupied by German soldiers. The Hooglede cemetery in the Beverenstraat arose in 1917 when the cemetery in Hooglede was no longer sufficient for the mounting deathtoll. There were some new cemeteries, including "Ehrenfriedhof Hooglede Ost Beveren" along the street. After the liberation by the French, approximately 4100 German soldiers were buried in the soil of Hooglede.

Care of graves

The German cemeteries were supervised by the Belgian military service of tombs, but in 1926 all the cemeteries were the responsibility of the Amtlicher Deutscher Gräberdienst. Between 1932 and 1937, this service was responsible for the German cemetery in the Beverenstraat. Many graves in various cemeteries in Hooglede, Gits, Handzame, Torhout, and Lichtervelde were sent to Hooglede. The graves then were marked by crosses. In 1937, a chapel was built using stones from a German pavilion at the World Exhibition in Paris. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, an additional 29 German soldiers were buried at the cemetery. These soldiers were later sent to another cemetery. After the Second World War, the supervision of the cemetery was again in the hands of the Belgian organization "Nos Tombs". Not much later, in 1954, the monitoring was taken over by the

German War Graves Commission The German War Graves Commission ( in German) is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of German war graves in Europe and North Africa. Its objectives are acquisition, maintenance and care of German war graves; tending to next of kin; youth ...

(' in German).

Graves centralized

Numerous German graves dispersed over the country were transferred between 1956 and 1958 from 128 cemeteries to the four cemeteries in the Flemish part of Belgium. Hooglede is one of the four main German cemeteries in Belgium. The others being in

Langemark Langemark is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders, and a subdivision of the municipality of Langemark-Poelkapelle. The village has about 5,000 inhabitants. Besides the village center, there are also three smaller hamlets on th ...

Vladslo Vladslo is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders and a part (" deelgemeente") of the municipality of Diksmuide. The rural village has slightly over 1,200 inhabitants. Attractions * The church of St Martin has a Romanesque tower da ...

Menen Menen (; french: Menin ; vls, Mêenn or ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Menen proper and the towns of Lauwe and Rekkem. The city is situated on the French/Be ...

. During the renovation works in Hooglede in 1957–58, the entrance arches of the chapel were reduced to 9. This change came in two phases. The crosses were also replaced by nameplates. After 1960, no more major works were performed.

Monument of historical value

In 2008 this graveyard was classified as historical monument by the Belgium Office for the preservation of monuments because of its historical cultural and architectural value.(nl
Registered historical value (Onroerend Erfgoed)
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Reconciliation

The German War Graves Commission sometimes organizes youth camps under the motto "Reconciliation among the graves, work for peace". These people are sent abroad in order to learn about the war and care for the graves. File:Ehrehalle.JPG, Memorial hall (Gedenkhalle)

References

Literature

* (de) Sendker, Werner Bernhard: ''Auf Flanderns Feldern gefallen: Deutsche und ihr Verhältnis zum Ersten Weltkrieg.'' Der Andere Verlag, Tönningen 2005, * (nl) Verhelst Dirk, ''Het Duits Militair Kerkhof 1914–1918 in Hooglede'', 1996.

External links

{{commons category, Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof Hooglede
Hooglede at Find A Grave
* (de

World War I memorials in Belgium World War I cemeteries in Belgium German War Graves Commission Cemeteries and memorials in West Flanders Hooglede