The German war cemetery in the Sardinian capital of Gagliari - in the municipal cemetery in the San Michele district - contains the remains of the Second World War.
Description of the cemetery
The approximately 1,500 square meter war cemetery is located near the main entrance. Two open entrances opposite each other, marked by stone posts, provide access to the site. The main path divides the cemetery into two blocks, each with four rows of graves. Travertine crosses on both sides are inscribed with the names and dates of two war dead each.
The memorial square forms the center of the complex. There is a tree at each corner. A metal cross is mounted on a large, light-colored stone block. The block bears the five crosses of the Volksbund logo on one side and inscriptions and memorial lines on the other sides. The inscriptions refer to the German soldiers who were reburied on the island of Malta and to the Germans who died in Sardinia as a result of illness or the effects of war.
Occupancy
During the First World War, the fighting was largely confined to northern Italy. Following the conclusion of a war graves agreement between the Kingdom of Italy and the German Reich in 1937, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V. (German War Graves Commission) established seven war cemeteries for more than 16,000 German war dead. The sites were inaugurated in 1939.
After the Second World War, more than 100,000 German war dead were buried in around 3,000 locations in Italy in field graves, smaller temporary sites or in cemeteries established by the Wehrmacht.
More than 400 German soldiers of the Second World War have found their final resting place at the war cemetery in Cagliari.
History
The War Graves Agreement concluded between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Italian Republic on December 22, 1955 guarantees the German dead a permanent resting place. At the same time, it made it possible for the more than 100,000 war dead from the Second World War to be buried together in permanent war cemeteries yet to be established. in 1956, the Volksbund began the reburials, which lasted until 1964.
In Cagliari, the city council provided an area in the municipal cemetery of San Michele, which had been opened in 1940. The first people buried there were civilian war victims and soldiers. in 1960, the Volksbund had well over 100 German soldiers reburied there, who had initially been buried in the British military cemetery in Malta. This was followed by over 300 war dead who had lost their lives in Sardinia due to illness or combat. On June 3, 1961, the Volksbund opened the war cemetery to the public.
Special feature
The British military cemetery of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is located directly next to the German war cemetery. In front of it are the graves of the Italian war dead. There is also the "Sacrario Militare", a military sacristy built by the Italian Ministry of Defense to commemorate the dead of the Second World War. The imposing building is modeled on the Bronze Age conical towers of the Nuraghe culture, which once inhabited Sardinia.
