Numerous war cemeteries in the Lower Rhine region are a prime reminder of the final months of the war. Most of the soldiers who lost their lives fighting in our region found their final resting place in one of these cemeteries. There are both German and British war cemeteries in the Lower Rhine region; the Canadian War Cemetery is located near Groesbeek in the Netherlands. The American war dead are buried in Margareten in the Netherlands.
An incomplete list of military cemeteries in the Lower Rhine region can be found here. Some of the largest sites are presented here in pictures and videos.
Hier soll eigentlich eine Karte zu sehen sein.
- Cemetery for German War Dead, - Allied Cemetery, - Memorial
Cemeteries for German War Dead
The German War Graves Commission records, maintains, and cares for the graves of German war dead, both in Germany and abroad. The Germans killed in the Lower Rhine region were buried in cemeteries in Diersfordt, Donsbrüggen, Weeze, Bienen, Haldern, Rees, Drevenack, Emmerich, Wesel, and Voerde, among others.
Donsbrüggen at Kleve
2,718 war victims are buried here. Most are German soldiers who were killed in action or died in military hospitals. About 400 of the victims are civilians killed in the bombing of Kleve on October 7th, 1944. In addition, there are the graves of about 200 forced laborers of various nationalities who died while working on the West Wall fortifications. The cemetery is situated on a hillside. On the valley side, it is enclosed by massive walls. This allowed the burial ground to be largely leveled. The dead rest in double rows, interspersed with grassy paths, with groups of crosses consisting of three stones each. A special feature: At its center is a crypt containing 40 unknown dead.
73 German war dead are buried here. The then municipality of Dingden had expanded the municipal cemetery shortly before the outbreak of World War II. The plan was then to repatriate the Dingden residents who had fallen on the battlefields of Europe and rebury them there. The course of the war made this plan obsolete. After much discussion, the reburial of the German war dead to the current burial ground began in 1947. According to the official list, 73 soldiers' graves are listed there. Among them are three German soldiers who were reburied in the Dingden Memorial Complex at the instigation of their relatives. In 1965, the Dingden Memorial Complex took on its current appearance. The wooden crosses, which had weathered over the years, were replaced with stone crosses.
Hier ruhen 90 Kriegstote. Es sind 88 Soldaten der Wehrmacht sowie Angehörige des Volkssturms und des Reichsarbeitsdienstes (RAD), die vor allem zwischen dem 24. und 26. März 1945 in Bienen, Vrasselt, Praest oder Grietherbusch im Kampf um den Brückenkopf Rees gefallen sind. 14 dieser Opfer sind unbekannt. Zwei der Unbekannten sind niederländische Kriegstote, vermutlich verschleppte Zivilisten, die als Insassen des Lagers Bienen Zwangsarbeit leisten mussten.
871 German war dead rest here, including 347 unknown soldiers. 119 of the soldiers buried here died in the German army hospital, which was established in the fall of 1944 in the nearby convent Haus Aspel. These deceased were mostly victims of the fighting that took place after the Allied airborne landings near Arnhem and Nijmegen in the Netherlands. However, most of those buried here were victims of the fighting in the Lower Rhine region in February and March 1945.
This war cemetery was established by the US Army in 1945 for German war dead. The Americans initially buried 618 German soldiers in a field of the old Voshalshof farm. Crosses made of mixed sandstone were erected in 1963.
Today, 891 war dead from World War II are buried in this location. 888 of them are German, two come from the former Soviet Union, and one from the Netherlands.
2,004 war dead are buried here. Like other war cemeteries, this one is somewhat hidden, surrounded by forest. Only an inconspicuous sign on the country road points to the cemetery. Unusual: Along the approach, countless gravestones with inscriptions are stacked in containers. I couldn't find any information about them. Do they refer to missing war dead who could not be buried?
At the end of the access path with information boards and a staircase, an avenue opens up, leading to an imposing group of high crosses. If you walk around the three crosses, you have a clear view of the burial ground. An enchanted place that invited me to linger in silence. (Author's note)
516 German and two Dutch citizens killed in World War II are buried here, 106 of which are unknown. These soldiers were killed in in March 1945. The plaque at the cemetery reads: "Diersfordt was the first cemetery to be developed by the German War Graves Commission in the Lower Rhine region. The cemetery was built on the so-called Memorial Meadow, near Diersfordt Castle, which was used as the main dressing station during the war. The meadow got its name from the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial, which was erected here in 1896. ... The cemetery was dedicated on October 23, 1949…“
Umgeben von dichtem Wald liegt der Friedhof recht verwunschen und versteckt. Vor dem Eingang das Denkmal Kaiser Wilhelm II. Eigentlich nicht zum Thema passend.
984 victims of war are buried here. 270 of them casualties of World War One, most of whom died in Wesel military hospitals. In addition, several victims of the civil war-like clashes during the "Ruhr Uprising" of 1920 are buried here. In addition, there are 714 victims of the Second World War who were killed in Wesel between 1939 and 1945. Among the total number of dead are 853 Germans, 115 victims from the former Soviet Union, three Poles, eight Dutch, and five of "other nationalities."
The cemetery is located on the edge of the municipal cemetery. The graves are only visible at second glance due to the now tall vegetation. The sidewalks are also overgrown. An information plaque is missing. According to the German War Graves Commission, 115 war dead killed in World War II are buried here. Of these, 101 are German casualties, 12 came from the former Soviet Union, and two are Yugoslav casualties. Hidden behind the morgue is an area with the graves of former forced laborers from the Soviet Union and Ukraine.
The vast majority of members of the Commonwealth armed forces who died in Germany are buried in 15 war cemeteries maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission with the support and cooperation of the German people. Those whose graves are unknown are commemorated at memorials to the missing. During our visits, we were struck by the exceptionally well-maintained condition of these sites. Gardeners were at work on every visit. The following pictures reflect this.
Reichswald Forest War Cemetery
7,672 Allied World War II casualties are buried here, the vast majority of them British soldiers. This cemetery is the largest Commonwealth war graves cemetery in Germany.
Most of those buried in the cemetery were airmen, whose graves were brought in from Dusseldorf, Krefeld, Mönchengladbach, Essen, Aachen and Dortmund; 450 graves were from Cologne alone. The men of the other fighting services buried here mostly lost their lives during the battle of the Rhineland, or in the advance from the Rhine to the Elbe. 3334 war dead are buried here, 2458 are British, 516 Canadian, 240 Australian, 104 were from New Zealand, there are also graves for South African and Polish war dead.
This Allied cemetery is located in the Netherlands at Groesbeek near Nijmegen. It contains mostly Canadian soldiers who lost their lives during World War II. Many died in the battle for the Niederrhein.
In total, the cemetery contains 2,619 gravestones, 2,331 of the war dead are Canadians. The names of 1014 missing soldiers are listed on the walls of the memorial's two pavilions at the entrance. At the highest point of the cemetery stands a Cross of Sacrifice, the Commonwealth's worldwide honorary cross.
The Overloon War Cemetery is a British war cemetery in Overloon, Netherlands. 280 World War II casualties are buried here: 265 British soldiers, 14 British airmen, and one Dutchman. Most of the dead in this cemetery were killed during the heavy fighting in October/November 1944. The region south and west of the Meuse River was liberated from the Germans during a 10-day tank battle, the Battle of Overloon. More information can be found at the nearby Overloon War Museum. As is customary in Commonwealth war cemeteries, the cemetery features a memorial cross (Cross of Sacrifice) designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield. It is made of stone with an inlaid bronze sword. The cemetery was designed by Philip Hepworth.
This is the only American military cemetery in the Netherlands. It is located near Margraten, near Maastricht. Currently, approximately 8,800 American war dead are buried here on the 26-hectare site.
The memorial is located at the Wylerbaan/Derdebaan intersection near Groesbeek. It commemorates the soldiers of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd US Airborne Division who landed here on September 17 & 18, 1944 during Operation Market Garden. The memorial is also intended to commemorate Operation Veritable, or the Battle of Reichswald, which began at this location on February 8, 1945.
Plaques at Hamminkeln Town Hall. Photo: Ortwin Nißing
Various memorial plaques relating to the Allied airborne operation have been placed on a wall of Hamminkeln Town Hall (Brüner Straße 9) in recent years.
Liberation Tower – converted transformer station located in a tower in the Heiderott area near Hamminkeln, housing a privately run museum, commemorating Operation Varsity liberation-tower.de
A memorial stone on Güterstraße near Hamminkeln station commemorates the soldiers and casualties of the 2nd Battalion, Oxford and Buckinghamshire (Ox and Bucks) Light Infantry.
A memorial plaque at a B-24 crash site in Hünxe. The exact location remains undisclosed here to avoid the activities metal detectorists.
- Cemetery for German War Dead, 
- Allied Cemetery, 
- Memorial 
Donsbrüggen at Kleve
