Military War Cemetery Grebbeberg

Military War Cemetery Grebbeberg
Netherlands War Graves Foundation

Cross of Remembrance at the entrance
Used for those deceased 1940–1945
Established 20-5-1940
Location near Rhenen, Netherlands.
Designed by Jacobus Oud
Total burials 850
Burials by war

Military War Cemetery Grebbeberg is a graveyard where 799 military personnel and 1 civilian were buried, who died during the invasion of the Netherlands by the Germans in May 1940. The cemetery is located on the Grebbeberg near Rhenen. More than 400 of the military interred here fell during the Battle of the Grebbeberg.

History

Immediately after the surrender of the Netherlands, a cemetery was laid out at the Grebbeberg for both Dutch and German dead. On 20 May 1940, the cemetery was completed and all the dead were buried. On 27 May all field graves were cleared from the perimeter of the Grebbeberg and the remains were reburied in the cemetery. The cemetery then contained 380 Dutch graves and about 150 German graves. The graves were marked with wooden signs with the name of the military personnel, if known. In 1942, a stone wall was built around the cemetery and all tombstones were replaced with standardized stones. Until that time, many family members or relatives had their own headstone placed on the grave. After the German surrender, all German graves were moved to the Ysselsteyn German war cemetery. Until 1 January 1952 the cemetery was maintained by the Ministry of Defense, which at that date, transferred it to the Netherlands War Graves Foundation.[1]

The reconstruction of the history of the National Army Monument Grebbeberg shows how the designer, architect J.J.P. Oud, in 1948–1953 conducted intensive consultations with the client about the meaning and symbolism of the monument.[2]

Since the 1960s, many soldiers were moved from local graves to the cemetery, so now nearly 850 people are buried here.

Special significance

The cemetery has a special significance because it is located exactly at the point in the Netherlands where the fiercest fighting took place during the Second World War. After the surrender, it became the first official Dutch war cemetery. After the fighting (and the Dutch capitulation) the German occupiers ordered a search for victims from both sides to have them properly buried.[1]

Commemoration

Since 1946, this cemetery serves as a national memorial site. Here the military memorial ceremony held on Remembrance of the Dead, 4 May. In addition, on Whit, a commemoration of the former Eighth Regiment Infantry takes place, where all the colleagues who died during the May days are commemorated.

Notable burials

References

  1. 1 2 Military War Cemetery Grebbeberg
  2. ↑ (Dutch) Broekhuizen, Dolf, De Stijl toen / J.J.P. Oud nu. De bijdrage van architect J.J.P. Oud aan herdenken, herstellen en bouwen in Nederland (1938–1963), Rotterdam: NAi uitgevers 2000, pp. 150–65 (ISBN 90-5662-193-9)
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Coordinates: 51°57′21″N 5°36′1″E / 51.95583°N 5.60028°E / 51.95583; 5.60028

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