German war cemetery Duchowschtschina

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graveyard
Country: Russia
Region: Smolensk
Place: Duchovshchina
Inauguration: 3rd August 2013

The German war cemetery Duchowschtschina is located 60 kilometers northeast of Smolensk and is a collective cemetery for German soldiers killed in the Second World War in what was then the central section of the Eastern Front with a capacity of 70,000 graves.

Architecture of the cemetery

The area is five hectares, greened and fenced. It has an access road, entrance building and parking lot. On the main axis of the cemetery there is a round memorial with a high cross. The reburial work began in 2010. The names of the identified dead are on granite steles. Until the official inauguration on August 3, 2013, 30,000 dead had been buried or reburied at the facility designed for 70,000 fallen soldiers. There are 38 embedding areas, which are characterized by granite stones.

The dead

Of the 30,513 dead buried up to August 2013, only 16,300 could be identified. The dead were transferred from the original graves in the Smolensk , Bryansk and Kaluga regions . They are members of the Wehrmacht who fell between 1941 and 1943 or who died in hospitals. There is a memorial name book of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge , in which the name, date of birth and death, place or area of ​​death for the deceased and missing persons assigned to the Duchowschtschina war cemetery are documented.

reconciliation

Duchowchotschina was destroyed both in the Russian campaign in 1812 and in World War II. On July 15, 1941, the place was occupied by German troops and on September 19, 1943, it was recaptured by Soviet troops. Before the inauguration of the German war cemetery, the Volksbund laid a wreath at the Soviet war cemetery. Russian and German soldiers prepared the cemetery for the inauguration ceremony with a bi-national effort. Russian and German officials spoke of suffering, international understanding and peace at the inauguration ceremony.

Supplement: The Russian war cemetery

In Duchowschtschina there is a Russian war cemetery in the middle of the village.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Internet site of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge (work of the Volksbund and description of the war cemetery in Duchowschtschina)
  2. ^ Commemorative event for the inauguration of the German military cemetery Duchowschtschina at germanruvr.ru, August 3, 2013 (accessed on August 3, 2013).
  3. ↑ Martin Dodenhoeft: The story continues. Duchowschtschina: last collective cemetery inaugurated. In peace. Journal of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V., October 2013, pp. 8-13.
  4. ↑ Martin Dodenhoeft: The story continues. Duchowschtschina: last collective cemetery inaugurated. In peace. Journal of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V., October 2013, pp. 8-13.
  5. ↑ Internet site of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge (work of the Volksbund and description of the war cemetery in Duchowschtschina)
  6. ^ Announcement of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge, Department of Graves, dated August 20, 2015. Keyword: Extract from the memorial name book of the German war cemetery Duchowschtschina with the personal details of your relatives.
  7. ↑ Martin Dodenhoeft: The story continues. Duchowschtschina: last collective cemetery inaugurated. In peace. Journal of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V., October 2013, pp. 8-13.

Coordinates: 55 ° 10 ′ 54.7 ″  N , 32 ° 25 ′ 7 ″  E