Kursk-Besedino is the resting place of 50,401 German soldiers who died in the Second World War. The cemetery was inaugurated in 2009.
Cemetery description
Kursk is located around 500 kilometers south of Moscow near the border with Ukraine. From there it is another 18 kilometers to the east to Besedino. There is a high cross made of natural stone on the memorial square. The names of the identified dead are listed in alphabetical order on natural stone steles on the grave blocks. If further war dead are identified and embedded, their names will also be included in the subsequent inscriptions. Groups of symbolic crosses are scattered around the site. At the request of many surviving relatives, the 7,117 names and dates of the not yet recovered or missing dead have been immortalized on steles.
Burial
50,401 German soldiers who died in the Kursk, Orel, Voronezh, Tula and Belgorod regions during the Second World War are buried at Kursk-Besedino.
History
The Battle of Kursk in July and August 1943 is considered the largest tank battle in history. The transfer of German war dead to Besedino began in 2005. By the time the war cemetery was dedicated on October 17, 2009, the War Graves Commission had already buried more than 24,000 fallen soldiers from hundreds of graves.
Special feature
A memorial to those who died as prisoners of war in the region has been erected in a special part of the cemetery.
