Rossoschka

Rossoshka is located in the middle of what was then known as the “Stalingrad Cauldron,” 37 kilometers northwest of the city of Volgograd—which was called Stalingrad until 1961—where one of the largest battles of World War II took place.

The German war cemetery blends into the steppe, covering an area of just under six hectares. The circular layout, with a diameter of 150 meters, resembles an oversized, flat disc laid horizontally across the steppe. The cemetery is divided into two burial sections. To the left of the access path lies the old cemetery—which has since been redesigned—originally established by the Wehrmacht during the war for 600 fallen soldiers. The trapezoidal area is surrounded by a natural stone wall. To the right of it lies the new section. A perimeter wall made of granite blocks, along with a surrounding paved path, separates the grounds from the steppe. Granite plaques bear the names of the recovered German soldiers who fell in the encirclement and in the area around the former Stalingrad.

With his design, Kassel-based architect Jürgen von Reuß captures the distinctive characteristics of the cultural landscape: the biting wind in winter, the relentless heat in summer, the vastness of the steppe, and its silence. The names of nearly 120,000 missing and deceased soldiers are immortalized on large granite blocks. The cubes were dedicated on September 9, 2006. Within the territory of the former Soviet Union, Rossoshka attracts the most visitors after Sologubovka.

61,791 fallen soldiers are buried in Rossoshka. Additional burials have since taken place.

The Battle of Stalingrad is one of the most famous battles of World War II. In late summer 1942, the 6th Army attacked the Russian city. Following a counteroffensive by the Red Army in November, up to 300,000 soldiers of the Wehrmacht and its allies were surrounded. The Germans surrendered in the winter of 1942–1943. More than one million soldiers lost their lives in the fighting.

The German war cemetery in Rossoshka was dedicated in 1999. Prior to that, the Volksbund had financed the construction of a Russian military cemetery, which was opened in 1997 as a reconciliation project. The two cemeteries are separated only by a narrow country road. The cemeteries are designed very differently. At the center of the Russian cemetery stands a bell tower containing the original bell from the village of Rossoschka, which was completely destroyed during World War II. Arranged around it are grave markers, mostly for unknown Russian soldiers. Shattered steel helmets on granite stones serve as a memorial to the approximately 20,000 dead who rest in the semicircular cemetery.