The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, on the one hand, and the Belgian Government, on the other hand, have decided, in an effort to ensure the dignified maintenance of German war graves in Belgium and in view of the provisions contained in the declaration exchanged between Germany and Belgium on 6 March 1926 regarding the graves of soldiers, to conclude the following agreement for this purpose:
Article 1
The Belgian government shall make available to the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, for use free of charge, the land on which German war graves from the wars of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 are currently located, including access routes where applicable. German graves are understood to mean graves of German members of the armed forces or persons equated with them or other persons of German nationality who died as a result of acts of war.
Article 2
With regard to the bodies buried in municipal cemeteries, the Belgian government guarantees the government of the Federal Republic of Germany the maintenance of the graves, unless the Belgian government considers it advisable to relocate them.
Article 3
Graves outside the municipal cemeteries are subject to the authority, police supervision and control of the Belgian government. Graves in the municipal cemeteries remain subject to the general regulations applicable to these cemeteries and to the supervision of the Belgian government.
Article 4
In the event of the closure of cemeteries, the Belgian State shall repossess the land that becomes available. If the Belgian Government decides to close a cemetery, it shall, in consultation with the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, provide other land for the same purpose. In this case, the Belgian government will bear the costs of reburial of the corpses and the design of the new cemetery. If the Federal Republic of Germany wishes to transfer the corpses, it will bear the costs of moving and reburial of the corpses to an existing cemetery. If reburial in an existing cemetery is impossible, the Belgian government will provide other land for the graves; the transfer of the bodies and their reburial in the new cemetery will be at the expense of the German government.
Article 5
The Belgian government will allow the repatriation of bodies upon presentation of permission from:
a) the government of the Federal Republic of Germany for the bodies of Germans;
b) the governments of other countries, in so far as non-German nationals who are buried in German graves and cemeteries are concerned. In the cases referred to under b), the Belgian Government shall, prior to exhumation, refer the matter to the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany in order to determine the exact location of the grave and the identity of the body to be exhumed.
Article 6
The Belgian government will hand over to the government of the Federal Republic of Germany all documents in its possession concerning the identity of the war dead buried in German gravesites and cemeteries, as well as the relevant plans and lists.
Article 7
The Belgian Government will authorize any identifications and searches for corpses requested by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and, in so far as non-German nationals are concerned, by the Governments of other countries. It will grant every administrative facility for this purpose, without, however, sharing in the costs of these measures.
Article 8
The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany shall bear the costs of decorating and maintaining all German graves in Belgium.
Article 9
In order to facilitate the task of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Belgian Government allows the German organization “Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V.” to operate in Belgium. The Volksbund is entrusted with all tasks concerning the graves in question: the appointment of the representatives and staff of this organization who carry out their activities in Belgium is subject to the prior approval of the Belgian Government.
Article 10
The Belgian government will request parliamentary approval for the following tax exemptions:
1.a) The land and buildings used by the Federal Republic of Germany for the design, decoration, maintenance and administration of the cemeteries and war graves, as well as for the construction and maintenance of the monuments, are exempt from property tax and the associated national crisis levy under the same conditions as the Belgian state properties.
b) The motor vehicles used by the Commission exclusively for the purposes mentioned in 1 a) of this article are exempt from motor vehicle tax.
2. The “Volksbund” may import or purchase in Belgium the materials, supplies and goods necessary for its own needs or for the construction, development and maintenance of cemeteries and war graves and for the construction and maintenance of memorials, exempt from all duties (import tax, excise duty and stamp duty).
3. It shall enjoy the same exemption for all work and services that it directly orders for the same purposes.
4. It shall take the necessary measures to ensure that no goods imported or purchased under tax exemption are transferred in Belgium without the consent of the Belgian government.
5. The motor vehicles temporarily imported by the Commission and intended for its own use or that of its foreign (non-Belgian) members shall enjoy a temporary exemption from import duty and from luxury tax. The application of the tax exemptions provided for in this article shall be regulated by the competent authorities in consultation with the Commission.
6. In every case, a certificate must be submitted stating that the tax exemption is being requested for the official performance of the tasks incumbent upon the Volksbund; this certificate must be signed and stamped by a representative of the Volksbund. The persons authorized to sign the aforementioned certificate, their specimen signatures and the specimens of the stamps used must be communicated to the competent Belgian authorities.
Article 11
The plans for the design of the cemeteries and the reburial of corpses, as well as for the erection of monuments, are to be submitted initially to the Belgian government in order to obtain the permits required under Belgian law. Any change or transfer of German monuments requires prior notification between the two governments. The right of disposal over monuments that are no longer needed remains reserved to the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Article 12
The details of the application of this agreement shall be settled between the German organization named in Article 9 and the competent Belgian authority.
Article 13
Any difficulties that may arise in the application of this Agreement shall be settled through diplomatic channels.
Article 14
This Agreement shall apply from January 1, 1954. After a period of five years it may be terminated by either of the States concerned through diplomatic channels, with a period of notice of six months.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, having been duly authorized by their respective Governments, have affixed their signatures and seals to this Convention.
DONE at Brussels this 28th day of May 1954, in two copies in the French and German languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
FOR THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY: signed Dr. Anton Pfeiffer, Seal: Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
FOR BELGIUM: Brussels Seal: P.H. Spaak, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et du Commerce Extérieur