Sannum war cemetery
The Sannum war cemetery is a cemetery for foreign forced laborers who were brought to Germany by Germans from the conquered so-called " eastern regions " during World War II . The war cemetery is located in Huntlosen -Sannum, a district of the community of Großenkneten , which is about 20 kilometers south of Oldenburg in Lower Saxony . The cemetery was laid out in 1944, originally to take in the deceased from the Hosüne special hospital near Huntlosen.
After the end of the war, the forced laborers were freed from the camps by the Allies . Many of these displaced persons were at the end of their tether or were sick with diphtheria , typhus or tuberculosis . Some had become stateless or did not want to return to their home country for political reasons, while others could have been turned away at the border because of contagious diseases. The exhausted and sick were taken to the nearby hospital, which was actually intended as an alternative hospital for Bremen . For many people, however, medical help came too late.
In addition to the 256 cross graves, there are two large memorial stones in the cemetery. The memorial stone for the deceased Latvians bears an inscription on the front, which translates as “Divine peace for the deceased”. The names of those who died are listed on the back. The memorial stone for the deceased Estonians bears a cross with the names of the dead carved on the sides.
The war cemetery has been under the responsibility of the Großenkneten community since 1952. The Huntlosen reserve team has been looking after the area for several decades . In 2018, a history and commemorative plaque was set up in Sannum, largely created by young people from the Graf von Zeppelin School in Ahlhorn .
Web links
- Huntlosen reservist comradeship supports peace work in Sannum , accessed February 15, 2019
- Volksbund: Großenkneten - Sannum, Foreign War Victims Cemetery , accessed February 15, 2019
- NWZ Online: A plaque against forgetting , accessed February 15, 2019
Coordinates: 53 ° 0 ′ 20.2 " N , 8 ° 15 ′ 21.5" E