Langemark German Military Cemetery, Belgium
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Langemark cemetery is one of only four First World War German cemeteries in the Flanders region. In the whole of Belgium there are 13 First and Second World War German military cemeteries.
The origins of the military cemetery began with a small group of German graves in 1915. Between 1916 and 1918 the burials at Langemark were increased by order of the German military directorate in Ghent. (During the war the village was known by the spelling: Langemarck. In later times the “c” would be dropped.)
From the mid 1920s the private German war graves organization, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge (VDK) and the newly established Official German Burial Service in Belgium began to renovate German cemeteries in Flanders. At that time this cemetery was named “Langemarck-Nord”. This was done to distinguish the cemetery from the other 15 German burial sites in the Langemark area. The VDK secured private funds in the form of sponsorship from its members and was able to carry out significant work on two cemeteries in Flanders, namely this one at Langemarck-Nord (10,143 war dead) and another further norht at Roeselaere called Roselaere-de Ruyter (2,806 war dead).
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In 1930, with the setting up of a register of German military cemeteries in Flanders, more work was carried out at the cemetery and it was renamed “German Military Cemetery Number 123”. Oak trees were planted; the oak is the national tree of Germany. The cemetery was officially inaugurated on 10th July 1932.
The cemetery is now called “Langemark” cemetery.
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In 1954 an agreement was signed to establish three German collecting cemeteries for First World War dead in Flanders: Langemark, Menen and Vladslo. This decision was based on the experience of maintaining so many smaller cemeteries on foreign soil during the inter-war years. With more graves gathered together in fewer locations it was considered that the care and upkeep of the cemeteries could be carried out more effectively.
From this time almost 9,500 German soldiers were brought into Langemark from 18 German burial sites in the area. The number of exhumations ranged from cemeteries containing from 54 to 1,562 burials. Some burials were not identified by name, but were known to be German. These cemeteries included Langemark-Kerselaere, 4 cemeteries in Moorslede, 2 cemeteries in Passchendaele, 5 cemeteries in Poelcappelle, 2 cemeteries in Staden, 1 in Westroosebeke, 2 in Zillebeke and 1 in Zonnebeke-Polygone. 8 soldiers, identified and unidentified, were buried in each grave plot and their identities were marked with a grave number.
It was decided that all of the thousands of unidentified dead would be taken only to Langemark for reinterment as there was enough room in the cemetery to create a mass grave.
As a result of the reburials from outlying cemeteries the total number of soldiers buried or commemorated in Langemark increased to 44,294.
As a result of this enormous task, Langemark cemetery underwent a major redevelopment in the late 1950s:
- groups of three basalt-lava crosses were placed in the grounds
- a basalt-lava cross was erected near the old bunker which was left on the site
- a Kameraden Grab (Comrades Grave) was created for the unidentified dead.
- the lifesize bronze statue of four mourning soldiers, by the Munich sculptor Professor Emil Krieger, which was located near the entrance to the cemetery was moved to the “horizon” of the cemetery on its western boundary.
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The total number of identified dead buried in the cemetery then totalled 19,378.
The figure of 44,294 war dead included the remains of 24,916 unidentified German soldiers who had been interred in the newly created Kameraden Grab (‘Comrades Grave’).
The names of those known to be buried in the cemetery but not in identifiable graves were carved on oak boards in one of the entrance buildings.
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In recent years research by the VDK has identified 16,940 of the 24,000 previously ‘unknown’ soldiers buried in Langemark. Since 1984 their names have been inscribed on bronze tablets at the Kameraden Grab (Comrades Grave). That same year an international ceremony at Langemark was held to mark the completion of renovation work.
In 1971 more work was carried out at Langemark. The German war graves agency, the VDK, changed all the grave markers which had previously only given the grave number to stones giving personal details for each soldier where possible. Where known the identity of a soldier was inscribed with a forename, family name, rank and the date of their death.
The Mourning Soldiers
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The statue of four figures by Professor Emil Krieger was inspired by a photograph of soldiers from the Reserve Infantry Regiment 238. It was a well-known photograph which appeared in the German press. It was taken in 1918 as the soldiers mourned at the grave of a comrade. The second soldier from the right was killed two days after the photograph was taken.
The Student Cemetery
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About 3,000 of the graves in the cemetery were those of young student volunteers who had died in the Battle of Langemarck in October and November 1914, during the First Battle of Ypres. They had the rank of Kriegsfreiwilliger, which translates as “war volunteer”. As a result of this the cemetery became known to the German people as “Der Studentenfriedhof”, which translates as the “Student Cemetery”.
Care for German War Graves
The Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräber Fürsorge (VDK) is responsible for the maintenance and care of German war graves around the world. For more information about the VDK go to:
Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräber FürsorgeAcknowledgements
(1) Photograph of the mourning soldiers courtesy of Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräber Fürsorge.
Source: Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräber Fürsorge