Stare Czarnowo

In Stare Czarnowo, the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge) has established a large German military cemetery in the Glinna district. The Polish municipality is located about 30 kilometers southeast of Szczecin. In the entrance building, there are books listing the names of all German war dead who perished in Poland during World War II. The site in Stare Czarnowo is one of 13 war cemeteries that the Volksbund has established in Poland since 1991.

More than 30,000 German soldiers who lost their lives in Poland during World War II are buried in Stare Czarnowo.

In the fall of 2000, German and Polish soldiers fenced off the site with a wildlife fence and jointly erected a large wooden cross. The site was expanded from 2001 to 2003. Stare Czarnowo can serve as the final resting place for up to 32,500 fallen soldiers. The site was inaugurated on July 15, 2006.

In April 2019, an additional 1,183 German war dead were laid to rest in Stare Czarnowo.

On August 14, 2009, the remains of 2,116 people were interred in Stare Czarnowo; these remains had been discovered in October 2008 during construction work for a hotel in a mass grave in the city of Malbork (German: Marienburg). Among the so-called “Marienburg dead” were women, men, and children.

There had been much speculation about the deceased and the cause of their deaths. There was talk of a massacre of Germans. However, extensive investigations, including forensic examinations, were never able to sufficiently substantiate this assumption. The Volksbund also considers such a theory implausible. It is now considered likely that the deceased lost their lives as a result of combat, disease, epidemics, starvation, and acts of violence, and were buried in a mass grave for hygienic reasons. Today, these deceased rest in a separate burial ground in Stare Czarnowo.