Fourteen bronze panels etched with names. Imagine standing before the Polnische Opfer der Weltkriege War memorial. It stands as a solemn testament to a dark chapter in Leipzig’s history. This memorial honors the Polish victims of World War II.
The Polnische Opfer der Weltkriege War memorial is located in the Ostfriedhof. This is Leipzig’s largest memorial and burial site. It is a dedicated space for Polish victims of the Second World War. Their graves are in the southeastern part of the cemetery.
Consider the weight of history as you approach. The Polnische Opfer der Weltkriege War memorial is the main memorial. It commemorates Polish war victims from 1939 to 1945. Four pillars create a portal. The 14 panels display names of nearly 500 Polish victims. Most are buried directly behind the memorial. They rest in fields X7, X8, X9, and X10.
A large metal cross stands before the portal. These Polish victims included former concentration camp prisoners. They were also prisoners of war. Many were forced laborers and their children. All of them died or were murdered in Leipzig. The surrounding area also took its toll. The current Polnische Opfer der Weltkriege War memorial was erected in 2009. It replaced an earlier DDR memorial.
In 1977, an initial memorial honored the Leipziger Polish victims. It stood directly on the graves. An initiative arose in 1995. The Polish Consulate and the city of Leipzig sought a new memorial. It would not stand directly on the graves. The first phase was completed May 8, 2005. In 2007, the old memorial was dismantled. The graves were then restored.
The Polnische Opfer der Weltkriege War memorial was completed in 2009. This was on the 64th anniversary of the war’s end. Fourteen bronze panels bear the names and data of 478 Polish victims. These victims died between March 1940 and December 31, 1945.
The names and life details of 461 Polish victims are known. Seventeen remain unknown. Among them are 311 men, 96 women, and 71 children. Twelve were Polish Jewish women and men. Six were Jewish Polish children. One belonged to the Sinti and Roma group. There were 338 forced laborers or their children. Seventy-eight were concentration camp prisoners. Five were children of female concentration camp inmates. Thirty-two were prisoners of the police and Gestapo. Eight were Polish prisoners of war. They perished from exhaustion and hunger. Diseases and mistreatment by guards took their toll. Allied air raids on factories also contributed to their deaths.
Nearby, in field X7, lies the Memorial Grove. The city of Leipzig created it in 1999. It honors forced laborers. A plaque reads: “Here rest 766 war dead of various nations. Far from their homeland, they fell in the Second World War. Remember them and all war dead of both World Wars.” Many metal plaques bear the names of victims. Most are from Poland. People from almost all Central and Eastern European countries rest here.
The Ostfriedhof also holds a separate cemetery for victims from the Soviet Union. It is in field X2. There are 259 individual graves of Red Army soldiers. Four mass graves hold 1,277 civilian victims from the Soviet Union. Among them are Polish citizens. Six have been identified.
Field X5 contains a gravesite for 32 men. A Wehrmacht execution squad shot them in April 1945. The text claims they were resistance fighters from Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Austria. Yet none were Polish. Two mass graves hold children of forced laborers. They died during World War II. Glastafeln display the names of 12 infants. Three were Polish. The Polnische Opfer der Weltkriege War memorial serves as a poignant reminder. It urges reflection. It honors those who suffered. It promotes peace.