The Sandweiler German war cemetery is a

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 ...

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

Sandweiler Sandweiler () is a commune and town in southern Luxembourg. It is located east of Luxembourg City. As of , the town of Sandweiler, which lies in the south-west of the commune, has a population of . Other settlements within the commune include ...

, in southern

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. It contains the graves of 10,913

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

servicemen from the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

in winter 1944 and spring 1945. Of these, 5,599 were buried by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

war graves service during the war; American casualties were buried at the

Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial is a Second World War American military war grave cemetery, located in Hamm, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. The cemetery, containing 5,074 American war dead, covers and was dedicated in 1960. It is adminis ...

about away in

Hamm Hamm (, Latin: ''Hammona'') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of 2016 its population was 179,397. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railwa ...

. Following an agreement reached in 1952 between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

, 5,286 bodies were moved to Sandweiler from 150 different cemeteries throughout Luxembourg. They had mostly lain in mass graves for which only incomplete records were available and 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 ...

(''Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge'') set about identifying as many as possible. As a result, 4,014 of the 4,829 in the communal ''comrades' graves'' are now identified and listed. Planning for the cemetery began in May 1952, and it was inaugurated on 5 June 1955, ten years after the end of the war. 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. With them came also delegations of school children from every German federal state. 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. The last remains interred were those of an unknown German soldier discovered in the forests of Schumann's Eck near

Wiltz Wiltz ( lb, Wolz or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in north-western Luxembourg, capital of the canton Wiltz. Wiltz is situated on the banks of the river Wiltz. It was also a battleground in the Battle of the Bulge, near the en ...

in late 2007. File:Sandweiler KSG 1631 pK.jpg, Entrance to the cemetery File:Sandweiler KSG 1698 pK.jpg, Plaque on the mass grave File:Sandweiler KSG 1706 pK.jpg, Anonymous crosses on the mass grave File:Sandweiler KSG 1712 pK.jpg, Entrance area (from the memorial) File:Sandweiler KSG 1726 pK.jpg, Group of fallen soldiers with triple inscriptions File:Sandweiler KSG 1640 pK.jpg, New cross (installed after theft)

Footnotes

External links

War cemeteries on the Luxembourg-German border

Webpage on the cemetery in German, with photos
* German military cemetery German military cemetery German military cemetery Germany–Luxembourg relations German military cemetery German War Graves Commission 1955 establishments in Luxembourg World War II cemeteries {{Luxembourg-geo-stub