Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery
Coordinates: 51 ° 47 ′ 52 " N , 5 ° 55 ′ 51" E
The Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery ( German Canadian War Cemetery Groesbeek ) is the largest Allied cemetery on Dutch territory. It is located on a hill in Groesbeek in the municipality of Berg en Dal , about 8 km south-east of Nijmegen . Most of the Canadian soldiers who lost their lives in Operation Market Garden during World War II are buried on it.
There are a total of 2619 tombs in the cemetery, 2611 from Commonwealth countries and 8 from other nations. The names of missing and missing soldiers are listed on the walls of the two pavilions of the memorial at the entrance. At the highest point of the cemetery is a Cross of Sacrifice , the Commonwealth Cross of Honor that is widely used around the world.
The cemetery and memorial were designed by British architect Philip Dalton Hepworth . It is under the auspices of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).
history
After the Canadian Armed Forces joined Operation Market Garden in 1944, a burial site for the fallen soldiers was sought in the area near the German border. Many of the young men of the Canadian 2nd and 3rd Infantry Divisions and the Canadian 4th Armored Division died during the acts of war at Operation Veritable, the Battle of the Reichswald and the Battle of Kapelsche Veer . The decision was made for a meadow on a hill at the De Hoge Hof farm near Groesbeek, where the Allies were stationed and controlled the advance. The first 6 Canadian soldiers were buried there in 1945. Unlike the Americans, deceased Canadian and Commonwealth soldiers were not returned to their home countries.
On May 4, 1947, the cemetery was officially opened by the Dutch Queen Wilhelmina , Prince Bernhard and the Canadian ambassador Pierre Dupuy . Canadian soldiers buried in German cemeteries in the region were reburied in the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery after the war or found their final resting place in one of the other two Canadian cemeteries in Bergen op Zoom or Holten . Except for one who is still buried in the British Military Cemetery in Kleve .
In order to ensure the care of the graves after the withdrawal of the Allies, grave sponsorships were organized with the Dutch. Among them are many children who take care of the graves. The local grave godparents are often still in close contact with the relatives of the soldiers. There are regular commemorative events and celebrations in the cemetery. On the so-called Poppy Day on November 11th, a day of remembrance for the end of the First World War, veterans and Canadian military units stationed in Germany meet and command their compatriots to Groesbeek. Another traditional meeting is the Nijmegen Four Day March . Every year, on the 3rd day of the event, international military units and hikers drop by the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery.
graveyard
When the cemetery was laid out in 1945, it did not have the appearance it has today. Wooden crosses marked the graves in the meadow. In 1950 they were replaced by metal crosses and a few years later, in 1957, by the white Portland headstones that can now be found in all Commonwealth war cemeteries. It was built on behalf of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). The architect was the Briton Philip Dalton Hepworth.
The cemetery is located on a hill in a rural area on Zevenheuvelenweg. It is surrounded by a brick wall and a planting of low hedges. Two tall trees mark the entrance. On the two columns at the cemetery gate there is a dedication and a declaration of donation of the cemetery property to the Allied forces in Dutch and English . From there you can see the memorial with the stone of memory and the Cross of Sacrifice at the far end. There is no paved path, only lawn. A wide grass path runs between the Stone of Remembrance and the Commonwealth Cross. To the left and right of it are the 14 grave fields with the white gravestones. The sections are numbered from I - XV. A cemetery no.13 was, however, omitted.
In front of the tombstones are narrow beds that are planted with flowers and shrubs. Trees, mostly plane trees or beeches, grow on the edge areas and between some burial grounds .
At the far end of the cemetery stands the large Cross of Sacrifice on an octagonal terrace plinth. The Commonwealth Cross of Honor marks the highest point of the cemetery. The Canadian and Dutch flags are waving on both sides . Wreaths are laid there for celebrations. From the platform you have a good view of the area and the German border and the Reichswald . If you look back at the cemetery gate, you will notice the number of dead.
Graves
Not only Canadians are buried in the Canadian Cemetery of Honor. Victims from other nations also found their final resting place here. The 2619 graves are divided as follows:
Number of Commonwealth burial sites : 2,611
- Canada: 2331
- Great Britain: 268
- Australia: 3
- New Zealand: 1
Unidentified soldiers: 20
- Canada: 7
- Great Britain: 13
Other nationalities: 8
- Netherlands: 1
- Belgium: 3
- Russia: 1
- Yugoslavia : 1
- Poland: 2
Another grave stands apart from the war graves on the left edge of the cemetery. It belongs to Robert Malster , a member of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission who looked after the cemetery. He died on September 19, 1983 at the age of 70.
The Canadian War Cemetery Groesbeek is the only “open” cemetery in the Netherlands. This means that missing military personnel can still be buried in the cemetery decades after the end of World War II, provided they are found again.
Groesbeeker Memorial
The Groesbeek memorial is located in the entrance area of the Canadian military cemetery. It consists of two large L-shaped pavilions that stand symmetrically around a central limestone cube on a stair landing, the stone of memory. The words “THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE” are engraved on it.
The pavilions are made of brick and stone. The inscription on the eaves of the building on the left reads: "PRO AMICIS MORTUI AMICIS VIVIMUS". (Those we died for our friends live on in our friends.) The inscription in the ledge on the right: "~ HIS ~ SCHELD ~ MAAS ~ RHINE ~ ELBE ~". These are the places of the war where the soldiers died.
Inside the pavilion is the Wall of Honor on the back wall. The names of the 1074 armed forces are listed on Portland stone slabs. 943 are from Great Britain, 102 from Canada and 2 from South Africa. Some of the missing have now been found and identified.
A shrine is set into the stone slab on the window side. Behind the door is the register of graves and missing persons with their rank and name and the book of condolences. In the right pavilion there is also an information board on a wall. It tells the story of the liberation of Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as the invasion of Germany during the last border offensive from the perspective of the Allies and also contains information about the cemetery. It is written in English, Dutch and French.
Web links
- Drifted Tracks - Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) - Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery (English)
- Traces of War - Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Information from the cemetery register, as of January 2019. In: 1939–1945 THE WAR DEAD OF THE COMMONWEALTH FOREIGN NATIONALS NON-WAR-DEAD Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, January 2019, published by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Copy available from CWGC, Elverdingestraat 88, 8900 Ieper, Belgium.