War Cemetery

Initiated by

Holtmann family, called "Große Jüdefeld".

Design

Cross on a sandstone pedestal from 1884 and in front of it war graves with sandstone crosses, names and dates of life of the fallen German soldiers.

Installation

April 1945

Historical context

This site is the resting place of ten German soldiers from the Second World War (1939-1945). They died at nearby locations on Easter Monday, April 2, 1945. The exact circumstances of their deaths are not known. A few days after their deaths, local residents created a war grave for them at the foot of an existing cross marking the entrance to the Holtmann family farm, known as Große Jüdefeld.

As members of the German armed forces, the men were tasked with halting the advance of the Allied forces at the gates of the city. British and American troops were advancing towards Münster from the south and west. The inevitability of a German defeat had by this time long been clear. Large areas of the city had been destroyed by allied air raids. Münster was occupied by the Allies just hours after the soldiers’ deaths.

At least two of the soldiers died by the Germania brewery on Grevener Straße, others in defensive positions between Nienberge and the city centre. At least 50 people died in these final battles for Münster. The German authorities and military had previously declined to surrender the city peacefully.

The men were from various cities, including Dortmund and Cologne. Some were married with children. Leonhard Bezold was a forester from the Nuremberg area. Heinz Happe was a school pupil from Paderborn. Heinrich Wilhelm Kottmann lived locally on Gasselstiege. Three of the ten soldiers who died were aged 18 or younger.

Today, in addition to German soldiers, war graves also commemorate civilian air raid victims and forced labourers who were transported to Münster and died there during the Second World War. Germany’s War Graves Act ensures that these war graves will be preserved in perpetuity. The act makes no distinction between perpetrators and victims. All war graves are required to “specifically commemorate the victims of war and tyranny and keep alive the memory of the terrible consequences of war and tyranny for future generations.”

Until 1960, the graves were maintained by the Holtmann family from Große Jüdefeld farm on a voluntary basis. Thereafter responsibility for the cemetery and for maintaining the graves was transferred to Münster City Council.

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Inscriptions

• Georg Arnold 1898-1945
• Leonard Bezold 1905-1945
• Christian Brings 1898-1945
• Heinz Happe 1928-1945
• Kurt Hielscher 1899-1945
• Heinz Kottmann 1927-1945
• Matthias Lindemann 1927-1945
• Matthias Müller 1919-1945
• Karl Schneider 1900-1945
• Georg Wachtel 1904-1945

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