The Military Cemeteries Connect Us Too…

The new grave markers of the soldiers buried in the German military cemetery were consecrated in a ceremony at the county seat of Vas on November 17. In his speech, the Minister of Defence stressed that 54,000 German soldiers had fallen in World War II in Hungary. Among them, 35,000 can be identified by name, but “we do not know the faces and deeds of many of them because they are covered by the eternal shadow of war." The graves of the soldiers whose names are in the registries can be found at around 1,400 settlements in Hungary.

“Almost every European town has a military cemetery on its edge. This is a terrible legacy of the stormy 20th century. We should never forget – not even amidst the battles of today’s political life – that we belong together. We, Europeans belong together because we share a common past, common roots and common experiences. These cemeteries connect us too, which have changed the fate of the survivors forever as well. These dead are the common dead of Europe’s tragedy", the Minister said.

Paying tribute to the fallen German soldiers’ memory, Minister of Defence Csaba Hende, General Staff Col. Manfred Knopp, the defence attaché of the German Federal Republic and Viktor Lazáry, the deputy mayor of Szombathely laid their wreaths at the wooden cross in the cemetery. 1LT Ferenc Szabó, the field chaplain of the MoD Protestant Field Chaplaincy Service consecrated and blessed the new name-plates.

You see, here lie my comrades…

Imre Kovács, the Hungarian representative of the German People’s Association for the Care of War Graves (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge) told us that in 1945, at the end of World War II, the mortal remains of 440 German soldiers were found in Szombathely and its environs, and were collected in this cemetery.

“The Association is responsible for the care of this cemetery. We received support from the Ministry of Defence in renovating the name-plates, and the Vas County Funeral Services Company has carried out the works to a high standard.", Imre Kovács said. He added that apart from the one in Szombathely, there are another 15 German military cemeteries in Hungary.

“You see, here lie my comrades, I have found the two names on the marble plaque", said Ernst Servais (a renowned drug therapist) from Belgium who laid his wreath on behalf of the fallen German victims. During our conversation he revealed that a very old good friend of him had asked him to come to Szombathely and pay his tribute here. “I have long been looking for the memories of those who fell in the battles at the former Ostffyasszonyfa, and now I have found them at last", he added.

Photos by the author