In the Belgian province of West Flanders, about three kilometers east of the town of Menen, lies the largest German military cemetery in Belgium. There, on Groenestraat in Wevelgem, near the Belgian-French border, lie nearly 48,000 German soldiers who died in World War I, most of whom lost their lives in the battles around Ypres.
Cemetery Description
German troops established the cemetery in 1917 following the fighting in the Menen Woods. By the end of the war, 6,340 soldiers had been buried here. During the war and in the postwar period, responsibility for maintaining the cemetery fell to the “Central Registry Office for War Casualties and War Graves” in Berlin. Following an agreement between the Belgian and German governments, the “Official Graves Service for Germans in Belgium” assumed responsibility for the German cemeteries and, in 1925, commissioned the Belgian Red Cross to maintain them.
The Menen War Cemetery is accessed through a small entrance building, where a list of all the fallen is on display, along with a book in which visitors can write their names or thoughts. In the center of the cemetery stands a small chapel with an octagonal floor plan. Mosaics by the Munich artist Franz Grau, depicting biblical motifs, adorn the interior. Two shrines each contain a parchment book documenting the names of those laid to rest here. The grass-covered burial ground, with its tall trees, gives the impression of a sprawling park. The austere geometry of the rows of Belgian granite headstones is occasionally broken up by a group of sandstone crosses scattered throughout the grounds. Due to the transfer of remains from other war cemeteries in Belgium, the number of those buried at the cemetery near Menen rose to 47,911. In 1991, all gravestones were replaced. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia has assumed sponsorship of the Menen Cemetery of Honor, which is maintained by the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V.
History
The fighting in Flanders during World War I lasted four years and reached its peak in 1917. The fallen could often not be recovered, and shells destroyed the graveyards that had been established. German troops occupied Menen, which was located near the Western Front, from October 1914 to mid-1918. The town housed depots, military hospitals, field hospitals, field kitchens, and bakeries for the German military. Until 1917, the war dead were laid to rest in the municipal cemetery, located behind the train station. After that, partly in connection with the Third Battle of Flanders, the Germans established the “Meenen Wald No. 62 Cemetery of Honor.”
Special Feature
Pursuant to an agreement dating from 1954, the remains of German war dead buried in many small, scattered German military cemeteries in Flanders were reinterred between 1956 and 1958. The remains of soldiers from 128 cemeteries were consolidated into four cemeteries: Langemark, Vladslo, Hooglede, and Menen. In South Flanders, according to a count by the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V., 49 military cemeteries were decommissioned in favor of Menen. Around the chapel at the Menen War Cemetery, the names of the German cemeteries from which the deceased were transferred there are listed.
Note
If the cemetery is inaccessible, the key can be picked up from Marc Vanhauweart, located directly across from the cemetery. There is also a sign in the entrance area indicating where to pick up the key.
