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Remembered Today:

German cemeteries in France


AliceF

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I need to visit more cemeteries of the Volksbund...I was kind of stunned to realize I have uploaded videos of all the Volksbund cemeteries I have visited, but perhaps only half of the CWGC cemeteries I have visited.  I had wanted to upload a new Volksbund cemetery today, but had to settle for Passchendaele New British Cemetery (quite apropos given the date - Nov 10, 1917, last day of the Canadian offensive).

 

There is a more of a natural, rather than cultivated beauty in these cemeteries (compared to the CWGC), and I find my feelings of loneliness, despair and sadness, flow more easily when I am not distracted by the amazing work of the CWGC employees in their cemeteries.

 

Which is not to belittle in any way, the just as amazing work of the Volksbund volunteers.

 

Beautiful to see us all united in a common cause, a hundred years later...to Remember Them!

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15 hours ago, ejwalshe said:

I need to visit more cemeteries of the Volksbund.

hello from the Somme, if you want pictures of Germ. Cemeteries near where I live, just ask. It could be e.g. : Andechy, Montdidier

kind regards, martine

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Martine, if you are once close to the German cemetery in Morisel, it would be great if you could check Plot 5 grave 5 and took a photo of that grave.

I am still wondering if Otto Fernand has two graves or if it is just a mistake in the Volksbund database.

 

Best regards

Christine

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, AliceF said:

Martine, if you are once close to the German cemetery in Morisel, it would be great if you could check Plot 5 grave 5 and took a photo of that grave.

I am still wondering if Otto Fernand has two graves or if it is just a mistake in the Volksbund database.

 

Best regards

Christine

 

 

 

no problem, Christne,  I'll do that !

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@mva

Martine,

as you're already on your way to Morisel could I pester you for a picture of a headstone/cross there?

 

Wilhelm Breunig

Block 1, grave 322.

 

He was the officer who wrote the letter detailing Fritz Limbach's death back in 1915 (Letter nr 90 in the blogspot in my signature)

 

Merci mille fois!

JW

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1 hour ago, mva said:

F I'll be there on Monday, so you'll have the pictures on Tuesday !

That’s great! Thanks a lot! Christine

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@JWK  @AliceF  please send me your e mail address in a PM, so that I can forward the pictures ; btw : Alice : there is a cross with the name of Otto Fernand !

 

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There are strange crosses in Morisel :  August PASCH : there was probably a soldier with this name, but when did he die ? But the name BOHSC is very strange  : who was he, when did he die ?

 

Pasch_x.jpg

Bohsc_x.jpg

Edited by mva
mistake corrected
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You can find these strange names on most German cemeteries in France. That is because the French took care of the cemeteries shortly after the war. They didn't bother much about the correct spelling of the names. There was some time ago a thread here where several users managed to decipher and correct one of these names which was found out to be a rank or unit or something if I recall correctly.

 

Jan

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That's what I think too ; I even wondered if BOHSC could be read as 'Boche' .....

edit : Volksbund :

"Max Bohsc ruht auf der Kriegsgräberstätte in Morisel.

Endgrablage: Block 4 Grab 93"

Edited by mva
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1 hour ago, mva said:

Alice : there is a cross with the name of Otto Fernand !

Martine,

Wow - do not know what to say!

Thank you very much that you went to Morisel!

I sent you a pm.

 

Christine

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Or it could be Boße, Boßi, Boßk, Boßt or Boßy (all names from the Verlustlisten) as "hs" is another (old) way of writing "ß".

 

Jan

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here are some news from Comines and St.-Laurent-Blangy...

 

First of all, I visited again Comines cemetery and I saw flowers on that stone near the German monument. There were not put for Nov. 11th, but for Nov. 1st (all saints' day), as everyone here put that kind of flowers on their family grave.

 

As I was at St.-Laurent German cemetery for Nov. 11th celebration, I shot few pictures. Three long buses full of people (maybe 200, elders and youngers) went first to German cemetery (on pictures, you can see French army and veterans honouring German WW1 soldiers), then by foot to an English cemetery near by, then back to town to celebrate French soldiers (then VDK is honouring too). Speeches and moving songs by school children (inside town hall, as it was much raining and freezing), including "La chanson de Craonne" written in 1915-1917 and which has been forbidden for many years (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Chanson_de_Craonne). Celebration continued with German, English, French, and European hymns... and of course a glass of champagne.

 

I met there M. Lehmuller who works at SESMA (VDK French agency), and complain that name books are no more in cemetery box. He told me they take them away during winter because of humidity, but also to avoid thefts or depredations (pages can be torn or even burned...) They use a lot of money to replace those books. He also told me about stupid young people going in German cemetery to take silly pictures (even with a car !...) and to post them on Internet.

 

To be continued...

5a1c2d64330c1_2017_11_09-Comines(3).thumb.JPG.93d8d476953abd80372d8e4099cb741b.JPG

 

5a1c2dcd1f541_2017_11_09-Comines(5).JPG.b13d94ae84c8155f124ce179aef11b7f.JPG

 

5a1c2a35df832_2017_11_11-St_Laurent_Blangy(13).thumb.JPG.d8fea03748abd8fc3ad1578c58c987bc.JPG

 

5a1c2aa86e684_2017_11_11-St_Laurent_Blangy(32).thumb.JPG.b843446ee41fff00afea3a754929900a.JPG

 

5a1c2a4c49ce3_2017_11_11-St_Laurent_Blangy(18).thumb.JPG.9019af838bddcf8010c75938ce4cad99.JPG

 

5a1c2a68a9685_2017_11_11-St_Laurent_Blangy(22).JPG.ce4f70fe0355a24f80781f95acaac078.JPG

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In St.-Laurent-Blangy, as namebooks were not there during winter (but I got a hint for you: in some cities, there is a copy at town hall), I can't find all soldiers name I got on that picture of Comines cemetery dated 1915-1917. I found the ones who were readable on that picture ("+" means date of death, and "FC" means massgrave):

–   Kurt MELZER, +12/12/1915, grave 4/192.

–   Albert IRMSCHER, +03/11/1915, grave 4/568-569 (no name).

–   Paul LUKANNEK, +06/11/1915, grave 5/296.

–   Ignatz PLACHATTA**, +05/11/1915, grave 5/296.

–   Arthur KELLE or KELLER (I found Josef KELLER, +14/11/1915, grave 5/841).

–   Walter POSSELT, +05/11/1915, grave 5/897.

–   Paul WEIGELT, +07/11/1915, grave 5/899.

–   August KORNAS, +06/11/1915, grave 5/945.

–   Rudolph(f) BAUER, +27/08/1915, FC.

–   Christoph ANDRE, +13/09/1915, FC.

 

** @JWK I was very lucky to find that guy we were searching for, as his name is on same stone (not a cross) as Paul Lukannek! See below.

 

I won't put all pictures there, but they are available on Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hsokq6xtiljqlid/AADXVKzSfK6Oegz0P3FyqDgNa?dl=0

 

5a1c3194070b9_2017_11_11-St_Laurent_Blangy-PLACHATTA_et_LUKANNEK(Tombe_5_296).JPG.3b105941c18d6ac4607d1ccdf118be13.JPG

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Pascal, thanks a lot for sharing your experiences in Comines and St.-Laurent-Blangy with the photos!

 

Christine

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I could use some help with this one:  Halpegarbe German cemetery.

 

In fact, there were two!

 

I ran across this in the Burial Returns for Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery, there was a body originally buried by the Germans in "Halpegarbe German Cemetery"

 

It was removed to Wicres Curchyard in error by the Etat Civil in August 1921 (there are 3 BS, and 1 UBS in Wicres today).

 

Body was recorded on G.B. List 347/1 (SSP/4995/556.)

 

According to webmatters:

 

Halpegarbe German Cemetery, Illies, in the hamlet of Halpegarbe, which contained the graves of eight soldiers from the United Kingdom. (There was another on the South side of the hamlet.)

 

 

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Hello,

 

There were indeed two cemeteries there, they are both on my map of the German cemeteries in the 6. Armee sector.

 

One of the cemeteries is visible on trench map 36 SW (you can see this on the trench map collection of the National Library of Scotland), the other cemetery was northeast of the Chemin de la Malfrette and the Rue du Biez crossroads.

 

Jan

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Could you give me the GPS coordinates for both, Jan?

 

I also just ran across Le Sars German Military Cemetery, also in the Cabaret Rouge Burial Return file.

 

57c.m.15.d.5.3 is at 50.0705, 2.7775

 

 

 

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Ferin German Extension found in Cabaret Rouge Burial Returns.

 

57c.m.15.d.5.3 is at 50.0705, 2.7775

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Remy German Military Cemetery

 

Found in Cabaret Rouge BRs 51b.o.18.a.2.3 is at 50.2568, 2.9554

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Frasnoy German Military Cemetery 

 

Found in Cabaret Rouge Burial Returns 51b.m.2.d.6.1 is at 50.2657, 2.7588

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Not sure if this was a German cemetery, I suspect it was as it is behind the lines and near another German Military cemetery at 

Ervillers German Military Cemetery
 
57c.b.19.a.5.8
 
Found in Cabaret Rouge Burial Returns 57c.b.13.c.9.6 is at 50.1628, 2.8218
 
Ervillers German Military Cemetery II
 
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