In the immediate vicinity of the French war cemetery La Cambe
the Volksbund established its first peace park in 1996.
Cemetery description
The La Cambe military cemetery is located just a few kilometers from Omaha Beach
on the French Atlantic coast. On this stretch of coast landed
uS troops landed on June 6, 1944 (D-Day). La Cambe is the largest
german military cemetery in Normandy.
The cemetery was designed by the architect Robert Tischler. One of
of his central design principles is a narrow entrance to the cemetery,
through which only one person at a time can enter the site. The aim
Tischler's aim was to bring people to peace and silence when they enter the memorial
enter the memorial. A narrow entrance can be found at almost all
War cemeteries that he designed. At the center of the site
are communal graves, as is the almost six-metre-high tumulus. Instead of
individual crosses as grave markers, there are groups of symbolic crosses that bear no
Bear names.
An exhibition in the information center documents examples of what the
People had to suffer during the war. It describes fates and lets
People have their say. The pictures and stories of death, suffering, destruction
and war graves are juxtaposed with hopeful examples of reconciliation, understanding and friendship,
Understanding and friendship.
Occupancy
Today, 21,245 German soldiers have found their resting place in La Cambe.
The burial mound contains 207 unknown and 89 known dead.
History
More than 100,000 people died in the summer of 1944 during the fighting following the
the Allied landings in Normandy. At least 14,000 French civilians
lost their lives. Even during the fighting in Normandy, the
american Salvage and Identification Service laid two large graves near the small
Village of La Cambe with two large cemeteries containing their own and German
fallen. After 1945, the Americans buried their dead in the St. Laurent cemetery 15 kilometers away
st. Laurent-sur-Mer cemetery, 15 kilometers away. The bodies of the German soldiers
were exhumed there and buried in La Cambe.
At the beginning of the Volksbund's reburial work in 1954, the cemetery at La
Cambe was already one of the largest provisional German military cemeteries of the
German military cemeteries of the Second World War in France. In the following years
the mortal remains of 12,000 German soldiers from 1,400 graves and a further
another 700 bodies found at scattered war sites in Normandy were buried in La Cambe
were buried at La Cambe.
The La Cambe war cemetery was officially opened on September 21, 1961
inaugurated.
Special feature
in 1957, an international youth camp was held under the motto "Reconciliation over the graves"
For the first time, young people from several nations helped the
Volksbund to help lay out a war cemetery in France.
Next to the cemetery is the Peace Park, which the Volksbund opened in 1996.
There, 1,200 globe maple trees grow as living symbols of peace and reconciliation
Reconciliation. La Cambe is the Volksbund's first peace park. In the
three more were created in Budaörs
(Hungary), Groß Nädlitz (Poland) and Sologubowka (Russia).
Note
Barrier-free access to the cemetery was completed in 2012. Through a
direct connection to the bus parking lot, it is a short and easy walk to the war cemetery
to the war cemetery. So that older people can also make the ascent to the
The hill grave safely, the Volksbund installed a stainless steel railing in July 2016
made of stainless steel.
