German war cemetery Mont d'Huisnes

graveyard
German war cemetery Mont-de-Huisnes (Mausolée du Mont d'Huisnes)
Country:	France
Department:	Some
Place:	Huisnes-sur-Mer
Inauguration:	September 14, 1963

View of the courtyard of the Mont d'Huisnes mausoleum

The German war cemetery Mont d'Huisnes was built in France for the German fallen in World War II in the form of a mausoleum (crypt). It is the only German crypt in France and was inaugurated on September 14, 1963. It is located a few hundred meters north of the municipality of Huisnes-sur-Mer and a few kilometers southwest of Avranches near the Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy .

architecture

Outside the crypts, there is a communal grave at the entrance.
Courtyard of the Mont d'Huisnes mausoleum.
34 crypts. 180 dead are housed in this crypt. The names are written on a bronze plate.
Large cross in the center of the courtyard of the Mont d'Huisnes mausoleum.
View from the mausoleum Mont d'Huisnes on the Mont Saint Michel.

The mausoleum is a round building with a diameter of 47 meters and contains 68 crypts (tombs) on two levels , which can be reached from a passage on the inside. 180 dead rest in each crypt, and the names of the dead are written on bronze plaques. The courtyard is covered with grass. A large cross rises in the middle. Opposite the entrance steps lead to a natural terrace. From there or from a lookout tower you can see the Mont-Saint-Michel (abbey) .

The dead soldiers

There is a communal grave at the passage from the vestibule to the crypt . On a marble slab it says:

"Here rest in a shared grave (... 39 names ...) as well as 58 unknown war dead from the Second World War, including 20 children who died in internment."

A total of 11,956 German casualties from the Second World War, including women and children, were transferred here in 1961 by the reburial service of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge . They were previously buried in the departments of Morbihan , Ille-et-Vilaine , Mayenne , Sarthe , Loir-et-Cher , Indre-et-Loire , Vienne , Indre , as well as from the Channel Islands of Guernesey , Alderney , Jersey and Sark .

In addition to the fallen, people who died in captivity long after the end of the war were also buried, the last in the spring of 1946.

History and memorials

After the invasion, the Americans managed to break through the German lines at Avranches on July 30, 1944 and to induce the German troops to retreat from France. The fighting in Normandy has claimed many victims from many nations. The memorials of all nations are a reminder for peace.