You notice one giant difference immediately. It's lack of structure and facade. It is located two kilometers from the American cemetary down a small two lane road that follows along the perimeter of the American cemetary. Regular sized white road signs with black lettering point the way, but there is no flag on the sign, only black crosses. When you finally arrive, the parking lot is a quarter of the size of the American cemetary's lot. It is a beautiful little spot. Most of the parking lot is shaded by trees and there is a small crushed gravel path a couple of hundred yards long that leads you to the entrance.
The entrance is nothing more than a small stone building with an open doorway that leads you into a small porch in front of the cemetary. There is a small room that explains the cemetary, with a very rudimentary map and a listing of the dead and their location on the cemetary grounds.
As you walk onto the grounds you notice immediately the upkeep is nowhere near the level of the other cemetaries. The grass is not like a golf course; it is green, but it does not appear to be cut regularly because it was longer than most cemetaries I've seen. There are ant hills in several areas and a couple of moles or gopher holes were evident too. There was bird crap on several of the bronze name plaques and the crosses were looking weathered even though they are not more than 65 years old.
The most startling difference is the lack of any identification of who is buried in the cemetary. Had I dropped you off and no sign existed, you wouldn't be able to tell it's a German cemetary unless you could identify German names. There is no flag anywhere on the grounds save for a blue flag of the German war graves commission, which oversees German cemetaries in 100 countries. There is no grave of any of the thousands of graves with an iron cross, or rank, just the names and dates of death. The dead are buried three and four to a grave and the cemetary has one monument. It is a large stone cross upon a pedestal at the back of the cemetary. No writing on the stone cross whatsoever. On the pedestal there is a memorial to the war dead who fell during the Battle of the Bulge; they call it the Winter Campaign. There are just stark black bronze plaques to mark these men's passing. There are very few flowers and no sculptures. No maps. No prayers chiseled in stone. The crosses are dark and small.
There is a good reason for the lack of care and accoutraments. These men fought on the loosing side. The people of Luxembourg lived under the Reich's oppressive hand for five long years; it is evident that the German flag will not fly on Luxembourg soil as an official symbol. These men are literally exiled in death to be eternally punished for crimes against humanity.
I am not saying they don't deserve to be buried this way. At some point in many of their lives they had a choice to make. Many people knew soon after Hitler took Germany to war that it was folly. Many Germans were aware of the existence of the concentration and work camps, no matter well hidden they were; a captured German map on display at the National Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. shows the thousands of locations around Germany that these camps were established at. There were also the mass executions of Jews and I'm sure that many of the SS troops told friends and relatives of their deeds. Many nations put up with Germany taking their wealth and resources and treating them like slaves. Whether you chose to believe it or not, the rest of the world knows. These soldiers aren't on the side of good, or right. They fell on the side of evil and they will be remembered for it.
In spite of this, as a matter of reconciliation, and perhaps the recognition that some had no choice and others should be forgiven, this cemetary remains on Luxembourg soil. It is obvious that it gets very few visitors. It is not well maintained and it offers no thanks for faithful service and courage under fire. I have no doubt many of those soldiers showed extreme courage while in the course of following orders. I am sure that some showed compassion to the civilians they came in contact with and mercy toward the allies they fought. I think it is a shame that they will be remembered as villians and that they will rest in eternity with little care or honor. I sincerely feel bad for their families, especially the future generations that have had to bear their burden of shame. But if I was in a position to change it all, I would bury them in the same nondescript cemetary, with very little pomp and circumstance and no trappings of any kind. I would not even put a sign on the trail explaining what was there. The sign at the entrance to the parking lot would say it all: Cemetary for German war dead.
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