Vermandovillers German war cemetery
Encyclopedia
Vermandovillers
German war cemetery contains 22,632 fallen soldiers from World War I
. It is located in Somme Département, France
and is cared for by the German War Graves Commission
.
as a collective cemetery for fallen German soldiers from the battle fields of the Somme. Apart from a few casualties from the fighting in the summer and autumn of 1914, those buried here were mainly killed in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, the Battle of Amiens, and the 1918 Spring Offensive
. Further remains were recovered in the first years after the war, while cleaning up the battlefields. Even to this day, when major earth movements reveal World War I-era bodies, the dead are re-interred here. The army units of those who rest in Vermandovillers derive from all countries and provinces of the former German Empire
.
. Trees and shrubs were planted, the cemetery area was bordered with stone walls, and the common graves were marked with wild roses. However, the problem of establishing permanent grave markers remained unresolved due to currency inflation, the Great Depression
and the outbreak of World War II
.
was charged with the final design of all German military cemeteries in France dating from the time of World War I.
Starting in 1964, National Association of North Rhine-Westphalia
youth camp participants began leveling, soil improvement and replanting on the property, including new layouts for the graves. In 1979, permanent cast-metal markers with the names and dates of those at rest were installed to replace the temporary wooden markers. The Bundeswehr
erected the concrete foundations for the metal crosses largely according to survey markings by participants in the National Association youth camps.
Of the 9,455 individual graves in this cemetery, those of 379 at rest remain unknown, while an additional 13,200 dead are interred in 15 mass graves.
In lieu of crosses, the graves of 32 fallen Jewish soldiers were given stone markers whose translated Hebrew inscription reads: "Here lies buried XXX, May his soul be woven into the circle of the living."
Communal graves are marked with heavy stone crosses and metal plaques affixed on the outer walls bearing the names of those who are known. A high forged-steel cross stands in the center of the cemetery.
There has been a fundamental review of landscaping, with grave area plantings, the establishment of new trees and shrubs, and overall maintenance of existing stock.
Two famous literary figures rest in the common graves; the Roman Catholic war poet
and playwright Reinhard Johannes Sorge
, and the Expressionist writer Alfred Lichtenstein (writer)
.
Vermandovillers
Vermandovillers is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Vermandovillers is situated east of Amiens, on the D143 and D79 roads.-World War I – Battles at Vermandovillers:...
German war cemetery contains 22,632 fallen soldiers from World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. It is located in Somme Département, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and is cared for by the German War Graves Commission
German War Graves Commission
The German War Graves Commission is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of German war graves in Europe and North Africa...
.
History
The cemetery was created in 1920 by the French ArmyFrench Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
as a collective cemetery for fallen German soldiers from the battle fields of the Somme. Apart from a few casualties from the fighting in the summer and autumn of 1914, those buried here were mainly killed in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, the Battle of Amiens, and the 1918 Spring Offensive
Spring Offensive
The 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht , also known as the Ludendorff Offensive, was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during World War I, beginning on 21 March 1918, which marked the deepest advances by either side since 1914...
. Further remains were recovered in the first years after the war, while cleaning up the battlefields. Even to this day, when major earth movements reveal World War I-era bodies, the dead are re-interred here. The army units of those who rest in Vermandovillers derive from all countries and provinces of the former German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
.
Interwar period
Initial work on improving the condition of the cemetery arose through establishment of the German War-Care Association in 1927/28, through an agreement with French ArmyFrench Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
. Trees and shrubs were planted, the cemetery area was bordered with stone walls, and the common graves were marked with wild roses. However, the problem of establishing permanent grave markers remained unresolved due to currency inflation, the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Final design
On completion of the Franco-German War Graves Agreement, the German War Graves CommissionGerman War Graves Commission
The German War Graves Commission is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of German war graves in Europe and North Africa...
was charged with the final design of all German military cemeteries in France dating from the time of World War I.
Starting in 1964, National Association of North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
youth camp participants began leveling, soil improvement and replanting on the property, including new layouts for the graves. In 1979, permanent cast-metal markers with the names and dates of those at rest were installed to replace the temporary wooden markers. The Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
erected the concrete foundations for the metal crosses largely according to survey markings by participants in the National Association youth camps.
Of the 9,455 individual graves in this cemetery, those of 379 at rest remain unknown, while an additional 13,200 dead are interred in 15 mass graves.
In lieu of crosses, the graves of 32 fallen Jewish soldiers were given stone markers whose translated Hebrew inscription reads: "Here lies buried XXX, May his soul be woven into the circle of the living."
Communal graves are marked with heavy stone crosses and metal plaques affixed on the outer walls bearing the names of those who are known. A high forged-steel cross stands in the center of the cemetery.
There has been a fundamental review of landscaping, with grave area plantings, the establishment of new trees and shrubs, and overall maintenance of existing stock.
Two famous literary figures rest in the common graves; the Roman Catholic war poet
War poet
A War poet is a poet writing in time of and on the subject of war. The term, which is applied especially to those in military service during World War I, was documented as early as 1848 in reference to German revolutionary poet, Georg Herwegh.-Crimean War:...
and playwright Reinhard Johannes Sorge
Reinhard Johannes Sorge
Reinhard Sorge was a German dramatist and poet. He is best known for writing the Expressionist play The Beggar , which won the Kleist Prize in 1912. Sorge served in the Imperial German Army in World War I beginning in 1915...
, and the Expressionist writer Alfred Lichtenstein (writer)
Alfred Lichtenstein (writer)
Alfred Lichtenstein was a German expressionist writer.Lichtenstein grew up in Berlin as the son of a manufacturer. He finished a study of law in Erlangen...
.