The number of German war dead from World War II in Lithuania is estimated at 20,000. The dead were buried in more than 2,000 cemeteries or smaller grave sites.
Around 10,000 Germans died as prisoners of war. So far, little is known about the situation of the prisoner of war cemeteries. Some of the sites were built over or overlaid with the remains of civilians.
There is no precise information about the losses of the First World War. Estimates assume around 24,000 fallen soldiers. So far, 190 cemeteries from the First World War have been recorded by the Commission.
On July 4, 1996, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Lithuania concluded the War Graves Agreement. In implementing the tasks set out in the War Graves Agreement, the Commission is working closely with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, the Cultural Heritage Protection Service and local administrations.
The two German military cemeteries in Memel (Klaipeda) and Kaunas have been expanded into collective cemeteries. The cemetery in Vingio Park, Vilnius, has an additional burial site for war dead recovered from the city area. The Volksbund has restored the cemeteries in Tauroggen (Taurage), Kudirkos-Naumiestis (Neustadt) and Siauliai (Schaulen) as permanent war graves. In Siauliai, the location of the POW cemetery was also found and it was restored in 1993.
The Bundeswehr and work camps are helping with the cleaning of the cemetery grounds from the First World War in the areas of Vilnius, Memel (Klaipeda), Kaunas, Siauliai, Tauroggen (Taurage) and Vilkaviskis (Wilkavischken). The facilities were cleaned and handed over to the municipalities for maintenance.