The German war cemetery Berneuil is located in the west of France, around 100 kilometers north of Bordeaux and eight kilometers south of Saintes. The cemetery on the edge of national road 137, an important link between the towns of Saintes and Pons, is home to 8,342 dead from the Second World War. The "Cimetière militaire allemand de Berneuil" in the Département Charente-Maritime was dedicated on June 24, 1967 in the presence of numerous official representatives of both countries and almost 600 German families.
Description of the cemetery
The Berneuil war cemetery is located on a hill above the flat alluvial landscape of the Charente river and near the vineyards of Cognac. Established as a collective cemetery, it contains the remains of 8,342 soldiers (as of 2014) of the German troops who lost their lives in the 15 south-western departments of France. A tree-lined path leads from the cemetery's parking lot to a covered hall. The lists of names and a book in which visitors can jot down their thoughts are kept here. A stone table in the middle of the hall bears a bronze-cast overview map of the grounds, which makes it easier to find the individual cemeteries. An eleven-metre-high concrete cross stands in a central open area of the cemetery, with the flags of France and Germany and the flag of the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V.) flying nearby. Eight plots of grass surrounded by trees are grouped around the central square. This is where most of the graves are located. They are arranged in rows and marked with slabs of gray stone. The remains of eight identified German soldiers and three unknown soldiers are buried at the foot of the mound bearing the high cross. As at all German war cemeteries, the military rank of those buried at Berneuil is not taken into account when determining the position of the graves. International youth camps organized by the Volksbund, which holds a commemorative event in Berneuil every ten years, helped to develop the site. With the Franco-German War Graves Agreement signed in 1954, the war cemetery was given the status of a supplementary cemetery. The reburials began in 1962.
History
Hundreds of the soldiers buried in Berneuil lost their lives shortly before Germany surrendered at the beginning of May 1945. They fought in France, which was already almost completely liberated, in several so-called resistance nests near Royan, the Pointe de Graves on the opposite bank of the Gironde, near La Rochelle and in several other places. Others died of injuries and illnesses in captivity after the end of the war. At the end of 1945, a large number of prisoners of war in the St. Médard-en-Jalles camp fell victim to a typhus epidemic.
Special feature
The French military cemetery Rétaud (Nécropole nationale de Rétaud) is located near the German war cemetery Berneuil. The mortal remains of French soldiers who lost their lives in the battle for the German resistance nests rest there.
