Langemark German war cemetery
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| Langemark German war cemetery | |
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| German War Graves Commission Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge. |
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 This mass grave contains 24,917 soldiers of whom 7,977 remain unknown. The names of those known are on the surrounding basalt blocks. |
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| Used for those deceased 1915-1918 | |
| Established | 1915 |
| Location | near Langemark-Poelkapelle |
| Total burials | 10,143 (graves); 24,917 (mass grave) |
| Unknown burials |
3,836 (graves); 7,977 (mass grave) |
| Burials by nation | |
| Imperial Germany | |
| Burials by war | |
| World War I | |
The German war cemetry of Langemark (also spelt 'Langemarck') is near the village of Langemark, part of the municipality of Langemark-Poelkapelle, in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The village was the scene of the first gas attacks by the German army, marking the beginning of the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915.
During the First Battle of Ypres (1914) in World War I, inexperienced German infantry suffered severe casualties when they made a futile frontal attack on British Army positions near Langemark and were checked by experienced French infantry and British riflemen. Contrary to popular myth, only fifteen percent of the German soldiers involved in the Battle of Langemark were schoolboys and students. Legend has it that the German infantry sang the first stanza of what later (1919) became their national anthem "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles," as they charged.
The cemetery, which evolved from a small group of graves from 1915, has seen numerous changes and extensions. It was dedicated in 1932. Today, visitors find a mass grave near the entrance. This comrades' grave contains 24,917 soldiers. Between the oak trees, next to this mass grave, are another 10,143 soldiers. The 3,000 school students who were killed during the First Battle of Ypres are buried in a third part of the cemetery. At the rear of the cemetery is a sculpture of four mourning figures by Professor Emil Krieger. The group was added in 1956, and is said to stand guard over the fallen. The cemetery is maintained by the German War Graves Commission, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge.
