Belgium. Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V. Reconciliation about the graves Work for peace. German Military Cemeteries.

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1 Belgium Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V. Reconciliation about the graves Work for peace German Military Cemeteries Recogne-Bastogne

2 Belgium First and foremost, this country is an irregularly shaped triangle, embedded between the North Sea and the Ardennes the splendid area of forest in the south of the country but it is also sandwiched between France and Germany, a position that has often proved Belgium s undoing. Within this triangle live almost ten million people: 56% are Dutch-speaking Flemings, 32% are francophone Walloons, 6% are German-speaking nationals, and the rest live in the multilingual cosmopolitan metropolis of Brussels. Nowhere are the language boundaries between the national groups so acute as in Belgium and, yet, it is in Brussels that the heart of a united Europe beats. Belgium it is also the travel destination for those in the know. For they will be greeted not just by miles of sandy beach between the Dutch and French borders, but also the ports of Ostende and Zeebrugge, the glorious towns and cities where despite all the wars the people have managed to preserve a good proportion of their medieval centres, such as Gent, Bruges, Brussels and Antwerp, and not forgetting the impressive forest region of the Ardennes, with its deep river valleys and streams, rich with fish, a veritable eldorado for walkers and anglers. Belgium is also, however, the country of the dead soldiers. Hardly any other country in the course of history has had to put up with so many enemy occupations by the major powers of Europe: Celts, Romans, Burgundians, Lorrainians, Spaniards, French, Austrians, English, Dutch and Germans have all left behind their traces, still visible even today. It is here that, al most 200 years ago, French revolutionary armies fought against 2

3 the Habsburgs, and the French against the English and Prus - sians. And it is here where Napoleon finally met his un doing. Finally, two world wars again cast Belgium under a veil of death and destruction. From this period alone, 204,000 war dead from all countries of the British Commonwealth, 180,000 German war dead, 16,000 Belgian soldiers, 13,500 Americans, not to mention Poles, Russians and the war dead of many other nations, all have been given their final resting place on Belgian soil. Add to this, too, the victims of persecution during the years of the German occupation from 1940 to For the German war dead, the German War Graves Commission has, on behalf of the Federal Government, taken on the role of building, designing and maintaining the war ceme - teries located on Belgian soil. Examples include Menin (First World War) with 47,864 war dead and Lommel (Second World War) with 38,556 war dead. 3

4 First World War After the German Reich declared war on France ( ) and Belgium ( ), and Great Britain declared war on the German Reich ( ), and as the German army advanced, border fighting broke out still on Belgian soil between 22nd and 24th August 1914 near the Belgian-French border: in the south of the country in the wooded region of the Ardennes and near Charleroi, the fighting was between the Germans and France; and further on to the west near Mons there were clashes between the Germans and the English. The war dead were first placed in field graves during the fighting. In 1916/ 1917, German rearguard forces began to place the dead together and build the cemeteries, with the involvement of renowned architects and artists. The result saw people such as Rhine-based architect Ludwig Paffendorf help in the design of the military cemeteries in the Ardennes. During the initial phase of the war, the obvious thing to do was to bury friend and foe alike, together in a final resting place and to add a natural stone cross to their grave later on, provided their names could be identified. Here, too, for the first time general burial areas were laid out, with uniform landscaping, instead of the individual mounds normally used hitherto. Between the wars, following the conclusion of a War Graves Agreement between Germany and Belgium in 1925, the Amtliche Deutsche Kriegsgräberdienst (Official German War Graves Service) attended to these cemeteries. After the Second World War, the German War Graves Association, or Volksbund as it was known, was commissioned by the Federal Republic of Germany to see to their maintenance and upkeep. In the 1950s, at the request of the Belgian government, a number of smaller cemeteries set in remote spots were closed. The dead were transferred to larger sites. Today, in the southern provinces of Belgium the following German war cemeteries devoted to the First World War still exist: 4

5 Anloy-Heide Approx. one mile from Anloy on the road to Framont; 1,384 German and 592 French war dead. Bellefontaine Situated just over a mile east of the town, about two miles south of Tintigny; 502 German and 521 French war dead. Bertrix-Heide About 2.5 miles north of Bertrix on the road to Ochamps; 254 German and 264 French war dead. Anloy-Heide Bellefontaine 5

6 Maissin-National Lies approx. 150 metres north-west of the centre of the town; 513 German and 283 French war dead. At the entrance to the cemetery there is a centuries-old, elaborate granite cross known as a Calvaire, such as can be found in Brittany, the home of the French dead to be found here. The survivors of the battle funded the cross and erected it on the 28th anniversary of the fighting. Mousson-Baranzy Approx. 10 miles east of Virton on the N 88; 511 German and 431 French war dead. Neufchateau-Malonne Approx. 1 mile south-west of Neufchateau on the N 85 towards Florenville; 340 German and 289 French war dead. Halanzy Lies on the north-eastern edge of the town at the local municipal cemetery; 44 German and 22 French war dead. Virton-Belle-Vue Lies on the Virton-Bastogne road, approx. half a mile from Virton (Av. de la Grange au Bois CN 875) ; 1,288 German and 288 French war dead, as well as 28 Austrians, 29 Italians and 17 Russians. Tarcienne Lies to the south of Charleroi, west of the N 5 towards Rocroi, approx. 2 miles west of Tarcienne; 178 German and 312 French war dead. These cemeteries are jointly maintained today by the Volksbund and the French Government. Both burial services have 6 Virton-Belle-Vue

7 subcontracted the upkeep of the cemetery, but jointly oversee the work done by the landscapers. A few hundred German war dead lie at a total of 87 British military cemeteries. The larger sites are Hautrage (375 war dead), Marcinelle (286 war dead), Poperinghe-Lyssenthoek (222 war dead), Zeebrugge (175 war dead) and St. Symphorien (274 war dead). St. Symphorien This is part of the Hainaut/Hennegau province, lying approx. two miles east of Mons and around 300 metres south of St. Symphorien; 74 German and 229 British war dead are here. It is one of the first military cemeteries laid out for the German troops of the First World War. The first ( ) and the last ( ) British soldiers killed in the fighting are buried here. Even during the war, the graves of the German soldiers who fell were, depending on which regiment they belonged to, given variously designed natural stone crosses. Since 1919, these cemeteries have been kept in perfect condition, first by the Imperial War Graves Commission, and today by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. German burial fields were also laid out at five municipal cemeteries: Brussels-Evere Eupen Herstal Lüttich-Robermont St. Vith 1,147 war dead 122 war dead 95 war dead 795 war dead 74 war dead Brussels-Evere 7

8 Belgium holiday destination The route to the war cemeteries and monuments takes us to places that reflect the history of the country in all its diversity and yet remind us at the same time of the things it has in common. Not far from the large German military cemeteries of the First World War are the famous Flemish sisters : Bruges, Gent, Antwerp and Ypres well worth a visit! Perhaps you will be lucky enough to look in on the famous Brussels lace makers at work in one of the narrow alleyways. Bruges is still a beautiful place, and one of the most picturesque cities in Europe, with churches, patrician houses and the oldest of the monumental town halls in Belgium (1376). The Basilica of the Holy Blood has been home to the Relic of the Holy Blood since The Church of Our Lady and the Beguine s House, since 1245 a cathedral chapter for women, and a place where Benedictine monks live today, are also worth a visit. An evening tour by motor boat down the canals allows visitors to see the floodlit picturesque city from a different perspective. 8 View of the belfry in Bruges

9 Gent is the birthplace of Kaiser Karl V. (1500 to 1558) and the former capital of Flanders. This is commemorated by the huge Gravensteen, the old, fortified castle. Real musts for visitors include the belfry, the old symbol of the freedom of the city, the Graslei square, complete with its merchant and guild houses dating back to the 12th to 15th centuries, not to mention the town hall with its late-gothic wings and Renaissance-style extension. The highpoint is surely the famous Gent altar, created by the van Eyck brothers between 1426 and 1432 and which can be seen in the cathedral of St. Baafs. It should be mentioned in passing that Gent has around 650,000 inhabitants and is the second largest port in Belgium. Antwerp with its population of around 500,000, it is the capital of the province of the same name and the second largest port in Europe (after Rotterdam). A trip around the port will open up the eyes of visitors to the significance of this lock harbour, a port linked via canals to the German industrial centres and via the river Scheldt to the North Sea. It is here that Peter Paul Rubens worked for a long time. His works hang in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts and in the Cathedral of Our Lady ( The Elevation of the Cross and Descent from the Cross ). The cathedral, with seven aisles and its 123-metre high tower, is the largest in the old Netherlands. The Groote Markt, with its town hall in an Italian-Renaissance style, is also worth seeing (1561 to 1565), as are the guild houses dating from the 16th century and the fountain, that explains the story of how the city got its name. In Steen, an old castle, visitors can enter the Maritime Museum; the former Meat House (1504) is home to a museum about the history of the town. Gent 9

10 Ypres was almost virtually wiped out during the First World War. Not until after the Second World War was it possible to complete restoration. Visitors should visit the colossal major Cloth Hall (originally 1260 to 1304), in the middle of which the massive 70-metre high belfry rises up, reminding visitors of the highpoint in the town s golden era during the 13th century. In the hall there is a war museum that, thanks to its exhibits from the war of 1914 to 1918, impressively recounts the occupation of the town. The Menin gate (Menenpoort) was built after the First World War to commemorate the lives of some 56,000 British who went missing after the battles for the Arch of Ypres, and has their names engraved into the walls. For more than 60 years, every evening at around 8 p.m. the traffic flowing past the gate is halted and a trumpeter plays the Last Post. In the south of Belgium lie the towns of Mons, Namur and Liege, all of which have endured a tragic past in connection with the fighting in In Mons (Bergen), the capital of Hennegau, as well as the remnants of the old Grafenburg there is an 87-metre high belfry with magnificent glockenspiel chimes. It is the only one in the country in a Baroque style. The Collegiate Church of St. Waudru is also worth seeing, one of the prettiest churches in Belgium and dating back to the 15th century (late-gothic style). Namur is the gateway to the Ardennes. A rocky massif at the point where the Sambre and Maas rivers merge rises above the town, crowned by a major fortress, the citadel, that can be toured. 10

11 Menin gate The tower of the Cloth Hall 11

12 War cemeteries in Flanders At the end of October 1914, the situation was bad for the Belgian province of West Flanders. South and north of the town of Ypres, the armies which, following the battle of the Marne, were in a race to the sea, clashed in a series of battles against one another the most well-known and by far the bloodiest being the one near the village of Langemark. After further attacks by the Germans in the spring of 1915, where poison gas was used for the first time, the fighting here too got bogged down in positional warfare. In May 1917, the English began an offensive which, after dread ful losses of men on both sides and low initial successes, literally got stuck in the mud in November. Since then, the soldiers compared Flanders with the hell of Verdun and the grey of the Somme. In 1918, first the Germans and from the middle of that year the allies attacked. When the war ended in November, more than 670 German and countless allied burial sites containing war dead were recorded in the province of West Flanders alone. Between the two wars, the Official German War Graves Service the government body associated with the Foreign Office took on the work to maintain the sites after a campaign to merge the 128 German cemeteries that remained. The Volksbund laid out the military cemetery in Langemark at the end of the 1920s, at the time containing 11,000 war dead and therefore one of the biggest, as well as the cemetery at Roese - lare (Roulers). In 1954, a new war graves agreement dissolved the previous agreement of 1925 that had been signed between Germany and Belgium. The Volksbund, on behalf of the German government, now took on the task of rebuilding and maintaining the cemeteries that remained in West Flanders, after more than 120 sites were dissolved between 1956 and 1958 and the dead (those who were known by name) were taken to the cemeteries at Langemark, Menin and Vladslo. They were buried in individual graves. The unknown dead were given their final resting place in a communal grave at the cemetery in Langemark. Because they were placed so closely together, the individual graves were marked by plaques in the ground, on which the names and dates of up to 20 dead are engraved. The final structural work carried out by the Volksbund was completed between 1970 and 1972, according to the plans of the then chief architect, Robert Tischler, who had already previously drawn up the blueprints for the cemeteries in Langemark and Roeselare (Roulers). 12

13 Hooglede About 4 miles north west of Roeselare (Roulers), on the eas tern road going out of the town where the road joins with the Roeselare-Ostende road, lies the Hooglede German military cemetery with 8,247 war dead. Through a narrow gate with wroughtiron grating, visitors from the road reach a small forecourt area from where it is possible to see the burial sites, planted with heather. Groups of small trees on both sides of the burial plots lead visitors to a commemorative hall decorated with a co lourful mosaic and which is open on the side facing towards the cemetery by means of nine high, round arches. It had been laid out by the official German war graves service even before the Second World War. The stone material that was used for this came from the German pavilion built in 1937 for the World Exhibition in Paris and then broken up. An elaborate wrought-iron gate marks the boundary to the commemorative room, situated at the left-hand end of the hall. In the middle of the room there is a piece of diabas rock and an elaborate shrine that contains the books of the names of the war dead. On each grave plaque the names of two war dead are inscribed. Thanks to financial support from the Flemish government, the cultural heritage authorities and the town of Hooglede, the Commission was able to carry out a complete renovation of the German military cemetery. The renovation work was largely completed in late autumn A ceremony to mark the reopening of the cemetery was held on 5 May Hooglede, along with Langemark, Menen and Vladslo, is one of the four main German military cemeteries in West Flanders, all of which are classified as historic monuments and recognised as part of the cultural heritage of Flanders. 13

14 Langemark On the northern exit road on the road to Houthulst- Diksmuide lies the German military cemetery of Langemark, with 44,324 war dead. Visitors enter the cemetery through an entrance building made of red Vosges sandstone. Inside, there are two memorial rooms. The left-hand room contains a map of Belgium carved in wood, showing the location of former and current cemeteries. Visitors can also see the books of names here. The room on the right contains carved in oak panels the names of the known war dead, who lay at this cemetery even before the major reburial efforts from 1956 to Upon leaving the entrance building, visitors walk via a small forecourt area to the large communal grave, in which lie the mortal remains of more than 25,000 unknown German soldiers. The Volksbund has since been able to work out the names of some 17,000 or so. These have been cast on bronze plaques, which secured on heavy stone cuboids are positioned around three sides of the cemetery. In the background, it is possible to see a group of four soldiers in mourning, cast in bronze a work by sculptor Prof. Emil Krieger. The burial field itself has been planted with oaks and is surrounded by a wall, with graves in front of it. In the northern section lies part of the former frontline, marked by three restored bunkers and a series of granite blocks. The stone blocks bear the names of the troop regiments that took part in the fighting and who, between the wars, helped by making donations to develop the cemetery. An Information Centre was built in 2006 next to the cemetery to provide information both as to the fighting in and around Langemark during World War I and the creation of German military cemeteries. Complete restoration work is planned for 2013/14. 14

15 Menin Not far from the Belgian-French border on the north-eastern edge of the town lies the largest German military cemetery in the West. 47,864 war dead have their final resting place here. Visitors enter the cemetery from the main road via a small entrance building where there is a room containing the books of names. Visitors then proceed via a paved walkway to the eight-cornered chapel of remembrance in the middle of the lawned burial fields, shaded by a number of tall trees. The inside of the chapel consists of a room, supported by a column in the middle. Some of the walls have mosaics on them, reflecting biblical images. Two elaborately designed shrines contain books bearing the names of the war dead lying here, written in parchment. 15

16 Vladslo From the Diksmuide-Beerst-Torhout road, turning left approx. three miles east of Beerst (it is signposted), after a few hundred metres visitors will reach the German military cemetery, home to 25,644 war dead. From the entrance building, which contains a room with the books of names inside, you can look down the entire length of the cemetery onto an impressive group of figurines entitled Parents in Mourning by Käthe Kollwitz. The artist created these statues, which bear the facial characteristics of her husband and herself, to commemorate her son, Peter. He fell in October 1914 in Flanders and was given his final resting place here. In 1932, the statues made from Belgian granite were erec ted in the presence of Käthe Kollwitz and her husband right in front of her son s grave. In Koekelare, about three miles west of the cemetery, there lies the Käthe-Kollwitz museum, housed in a listed building. As well as drawings, lithographs and wood carvings, exhibits on show also include personal letters. One area is devoted to the Parents in Mourning statues. Complete restoration work is planned for 2013/14. 16

17 Second World War With the German advance on 10th May 1940, Belgium until then still neutral was once more thrown into a global war. Once again, German cemeteries had to be laid out on Belgian soil. The cemeteries were first home to members of the occupying forces who were killed until, in the summer of 1944 after the Allies had landed in Normandy Belgium once more became a theatre of war. The fighting in the winter of 1944/45, and with it the level of German losses, reached their climax during the German Ardennes offensive. The dead German and Americans were buried by the American burial service and placed in temporary cemeteries. In 1946/47, the American war dead were reburied into two cemeteries at Neuville-en-Condrez in Liege and Henri-Chapelle, west of Aachen. The German dead, on the other hand, were taken to Lommel in the Belgian province of Limburg and placed near the Heidegebiet. At the same time, the Belgian burial service began to close down all other German war grave locations for the Second World War throughout the country and started to transfer the dead to Lommel and to a lesser extent to a site at Bastogne in the Belgian province of Luxemburg in the south. In 1952, a war-graves agreement was signed between Belgium and Germany. The Volksbund was commissioned on behalf of the German government to develop and maintain the two German war cemeteries that were home to the war dead of the Second World War. 17

18 Lommel The German military cemetery lies on the road leading from Lommel to Leopoldsburg (N 746). It is here that 38,556 war dead from the Second World War and 542 dead from the First World War lie, having been at the Belgian military cemetery in Leopoldsburg until transferred to Lommel. After reburial work had been completed in 1947, the Belgian authorities had a massive concrete cross erected for every two dead. The names in so far as identifiable were attached the crosses on small enamel signs. Because of the reburial work, the surface structure was de - stroyed over an area of some 16 hectares. A desert-like surface developed, the sand being driven in windy weather in long gusts of dust across the cemetery. In 1953, the Volksbund after the completion of the planning and approval process was able to start its redevelopment work at the cemetery. The most urgent task was to recultivate the ground and to secure it by planting vegetation. Several thousand pieces of turf and many square metres of humus were worked into the sand, 15,000 trees and shrubs were planted and, finally, heather was planted on the graves. For the first time, youth camps provided major help in this work, the helpers having been called up by the CVJM and Kolpingwerk. Whilst even in 1953, 100 young people mainly from Germany came to help, the numbers grew in 1954 to almost 400, with helpers coming from 16 nations. They symbolised the watchwords of what they did, namely reconciliation across the graves a motto still valid today and to which was later added the statement Working for Peace. This campaign started in Lommel, and soon spread to all countries in Europe where German military cemeteries were located. In 1955, the work by these young people reached its end. The work had, among other things, included the building of a wall complete with graves more than 1,100 metres in length, as well as the construction of the access road and the 18

19 car park. Young people from Schleswig-Holstein in Germany also helped. Today, there are still youth camps in Lommel. To provide a central point at the large site, the building ma nagement of the Volksbund had a crypt built in the entrance area, inside of which lay a stone figure, raised from the ground, symbolising the dead in the wars. The work set on solid blocks of basalt lava supports an impressive crucifixion scene, also made of basalt lava. The crucifix is almost six metres high, and the two figures on either side each measure 3.30 metres. The entire piece weighs around 39 tonnes. The cemetery was inaugurated on 6th September Since then, of the original 13,000 unknown war dead, the Volksbund has been able to identify more than 7,500 of them, and to inform their relatives. In the cemetery building a youth meeting place was built in 1993, which was extended in 2001 to create sleeping accommodation and the necessary seminar rooms and leisure areas. School classes and youth groups from Germany and Belgium discuss war history here. They also learn, by working on the war graves, how important it is to work and live together in peace. The location Lommel is one of the largest communities in Belgium by land area. Because of its good economic conditions, the population is continually rising. These good conditions also include con nections to the European road network via the F 314, the E 34 and the Boudewijn expressway. The Kempenland museum offers an extensive insight into life at the time, right up to the present day. The Fränkische Marktplatz, with its historical buildings, is also worth a look. Unspoiled beauty spots, dunes, heather and forest invite people to take trips here in summer and winter alike. Lommel youth meeting place 19

20 Recogne-Bastogne About three miles north of Bastogne on the Bastogne- Houffalize-Liege, road lies the war cemetery of Recogne- Bastogne near the small village of Noville. At this German war cemetery, 6,809 dead lie in peace. The name Bastogne, the small town that became known throughout the world as a result of the Ardennes offensive in December 1944, leads one to suppose that the cemetery is only dedicated to those dead who fell during the hopeless struggle in the last stage of the Second World War. But this is only part of the story. German war dead who fell during fighting on German soil also lie here. On 4th February 1945, the Americans began to create a joint cemetery. It took 2,700 US soldiers and more than 3,000 German war dead and combined them at two separate burial sites on an area left of the Bastogne-Noville road. These temporary burial sites were given the name of the village, Foy. In 1946/47, the American dead were removed and transferred to Henri-Chapelle, a small place between Liege and Aachen where the Americans had also set up a temporary combined cemetery. In Bastogne the German remained. Meanwhile, the Official Belgian Burial service resumed its work. It started to close the German burial fields, individual graves at municipal cemeteries and smaller sites. Around 3,000 dead were transferred to Bastogne, the rest to Lommel. The Volksbund began in 1954 to identify the countless 20

21 un known war dead. This work was completed in the spring of ,121 war dead were given their names once more. Along the road, on the north side of the cemetery, a low wall was built from red Eiffel, springing up bastion-like in the northwestern corner. A chapel complete with clock tower rises from the brickwork. The inside of the chapel forms a vaulted holy room, the walls of which have been decorated by two reliefs St. Michael and the Archangel Gabriel. In order to build the wall, protectively surrounding the burial plots on three sides, and to cultivate the land, young people from six nations volunteered their services. With the help of the Kolpingwerk and the CVJM an international youth camp was set up in Noville in the summer of The concrete crosses that were originally used were later replaced by crosses made of natural stone. To cover the costs of the work, not only the Volksbund and the Federal government helped by making considerable donations, but so too did the workforce at the Volkswagen plant. On 25th September 1960, the cemetery was inaugurated, many relatives joining in attendance. 21

22 Liege is the capital of Wallonia, situated north of Recogne-Bastog - ne, and once marked by coal and steel. Home to the invention of a steel-extraction process, Liege also has armaments factories here, a feature of the city for centuries. The pit frames and headgear have since disappeared only the slag heaps are left to remind visitors of the era of mining. As well as the citadel, from which you can get a fantastic pano - ramic view of the city and the Maas valley, you should also visit St. Paul s cathedral (971) and the following famous museums: the Museum of Wallonian Art, the Glass Museum, the Museum of Architecture, the Arms Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and more besides. Bouillon with its well preserved castle above the narrow valley of the Semois, Bouillon is a reminder of the first crusade once com manded by Gottfried von Bouillon. The castle is the oldest monument from the days of feudalism. Just 50 miles as the crow flies from its source to the point where it opens into the Maas, the river Semois snakes for almost 125 miles through the wooded Ardennes region. Bouillon is the starting point for many walks, and if you go on one you may even come across the heraldic animal of the Ardennes: the wild boar. Consequently, you will also find restaurants and butchers everywhere selling the famous Ardennes Ham. Brussels of course, no trip to Belgium would be complete without a visit to Brussels: the capital of the country, residence of the royal family and home of all things European a city with a lot of history. Visitors are reminded of this history today when they visit the Market Square, described by residents as the most beautiful in the world. This is a view definitely shared by the countless tourists who have stood and will continue to stand on this square in astonishment, marvelling too at its city hall dating back to the 15th century and its unique merchant and guild houses. Well-known museums draw in art lovers, ethnologists and historians alike. The Maneken Pis is situated just round from the city hall, symbolising the mischievous stubborn ness of the Brussels natives. Just over ten miles to the south lies Waterloo. This was the scene in 1815 where the battle between the English and Prussians on one side and Napoleon on the other marked the end of an era. Countless monuments and souvenir sellers serve as a reminder of this major event in history. A further 15 miles to the south west at Ronquiere is Europe s longest boat lift, exten- 22

23 ding along a sloped plane for 1,400 metres. That was just a rather brief and somewhat arbitrary look at some of the things visitors to Belgium can expect to see. There is, perhaps, one more thing: do not stumble over the wordings on the signposts: for example, Rijsel is Lille in France (did you know that?), Luik is Liège or even Lüttich; Aix-la-Chapelle is Aken or Aachen; Anvers is Antwerp, and so on. Sometimes, you may have to let your imagination run wild, for street maps will sometimes be of no help. In the Flemish provinces, people understand German or English well. Hans Soltau Brussels town hall 23

24 The German War Graves Commission cares for the German war graves here and nearly 100 countries all over the world.... helps the next of kin in finding out about their relatives fate and searches for their graves.... works in the Eastern European countries since 1990 when the borders were opened.... finds the war dead and brings them to central cemeteries.... advocates through its work understanding and reconciliation with former enemies.... leads young people to war graves in order to make them understand the terrible conse quences of war, thus recognizing how important it is to work for peace.... finances its work almost exclusively with contributions of its members and donors and would be very grateful for YOUR help. Account: Commerzbank Kassel BLZ: Commerzbank Kassel IBAN DE BIC COBADEFF520 Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V. Werner-Hilpert-Straße Kassel Telefon: +49 (0) Telefax: +49 (0) Internet: info@volksbund.de Schreckhase/10/4-2013