Visiting the German Kriegräberstätte in Berneuil near Saintes France.

I wanted to share these moving pics with you.
This German War cemetery in Berneuil, near Saintes in Southwest France is beautiful and has some interesting graves. The proxiity of the coast explains quite a few Kriegsmarine graves, there are Luftwaffe crews, but most of all many Volksdeutsche that were assigned in France, including Ost Soldaten , Alsacians, Ukranians and even muslim volunteers who served in the Wehrmacht. I also found quite a few high rank officers , including an Oberst and ùany adminastrive staff, medics and others. Also some nobilty.
last but not least many deceased pows rest there, they are easy to recognise due to death death after May 1945 and up to 1946 and even 1947. These fellows died of ancient wounds or while cleaning mine fields, lack of decent food etc... May they all rest in peace




explanation in German with figures



the map carved in stone



walking towards the graves



the first sight of the graves

 

I took some pictures randomly and focussed on the different nationalities and ranks . Each grave stone bears four names (two on each side)












A nobility

 

LRusso, I was hoping you could explain this one to me? I have never come across that word in my reading...I don't think.

 

Never mind, I did a google search...pretty bad fellas

Einsatzgruppen

 

I found this place by coincidence. While driving towards the town of Saintes I was on a stateway when Mrs Skipper spotted the sign in German and we followed it. The location is beautiful but the access is dangerous. Due to an almost absence of traffic, the exit is perpendicular which in 1967 would not have been too much a hassle but with the many cars speeding like maniacs coming down the hill and no visibility makes it harder to get to that place than crossing Cape Good Hope in a storm. Leaving the place is worse. You'd better not stall when you drive away. We were joking about the identity of some of the unknown and wondered if they were visiting car drivers.....

 

seems a bit pathetic but not so unusual the loser having a very hard reach............from the visitor/Families to visit and leave from, a place quickly forgotten by all. must say though the appearance looks quite well kept and typical of the German cemetery's outside of Germany where multiple soldiers are buried with a single stone.

 

A few more of whom you'll find :




-A Lw Flieger



-a Moslim Ost Freiwilliger



-and a sailor

 

Skip actually 3 KM guys, the one right above and upside down are two Oberbootsmatts.

not sure if the Doctor was part of a German navy land based unit or ? though the August date may indicate a US/RAF bombing.

 

You are correct Erich , 4 lads a stone , the trouble is whatever you do there are always to names upside down.













A few more : Bruno Lambert and André Gourioux were possibly Mosselans or Alsacian.
Does anybody know T. Bengen's job?

 

Stabsoberfeldwebel

must admit some of the abbreviations are a bit strange for the rank(s)

 

What about RTTF?

 

odd Skip and a wild guess

possibly W-SS chap, with Röttenführer

am noticing quite a few KM guys now in your pics with some very late dates for death - April of 45. possibly death due to injuries incurred while stationed in or off the coast of France and died in a Hospital ?

also of note is SOLD = Soldat or in this case unknown rank, probably just remains with tag(s) from the inner struggles of 1944 within the country.

 

Thanks Erich and Yes, Sold = soldat . As to the Km I checked some of the names . Some were washed ashore on the Atlantic coast, others died in mining accidents, there are also administrive fellows, pows who died after their capture , others who deid in combat whne incorporated in ground crews and attacked by the Maquis. Others died of illness. There are also chaps from the pockets who were reburied after the surrender of the said territories. The bodies have been gathered for over 20 years and the cemetery was inaugurated in 1967 after the relocation of many smaller places and the finding of unknown soldiers , of whom 300+ were never indentified.

 

a few more to work on:







including a few officers.

 

LT - Leutnanat

UFFZ - Unteroffizier

Kan - Kanonier, funny term but used on Heer Artilliere sometimes off ship KM Flak and Artilliere batterie

Obergefreiter and Oberfeldwebel also listed

Gefr - Gefreiter

Feldw - Feldwebel

 

I'd say Kanonier would apply to naval Flak on this particular case.

 

The ones with the years 41-42. probably died bij Air raids ? Or Resistance ?

 

Possible, most of the time their death was far less glorious. I have checked a few and many 1941-1942 died in fact of illness, car accidents , drowning and following wounds on other battlefields (for instance an infection that started again after the man thought he was cured) . resons stated are pneumonia, mine accidents, car accidents etc....