German War Cemetery Niederbronn-les-Bains

The German military cemetery in Niederbronn-les-Bains was created in the winter of 1944/45 during Operation Nordwind, the last German counter-offensive of the Second World War.

Both the Germans and the Americans buried their fallen soldiers on the "Eyler" hill, slightly out of town. The American army also buried its soldiers a few dozen metres away. As a result, a small German cemetery was created, which remained until the end of the 1950’s.

At the beginning of the next decade, the decision was taken to transfer the American soldiers to the cemetery at Saint-Avold in Lorraine, and to bring together the German soldiers who had fallen in north-eastern France to Niederbronn-les-Bains, where the German military cemetery was finally officially opened on 1 October 1966.

15835 people who died as a result of the Second World War, both soldiers and civilians, now lie in the cemetery. More than 400 of them have been found and buried since the opening. The burials include soldiers of the Wehrmacht, the SS, war criminals or simple "followers", civilians, mostly Germans of course, but also representatives of 13 other countries.