ST DESIR-DE-LISIEUX GERMAN CEMETERY

HISTORY

The German war dead from the Normandy campaign were scattered over a wide area, many of them buried in isolated or field graves - or small battlefield cemeteries. In the years following WW2, the German War Graves Commission, Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge, decided to establish six main German cemeteries in the Normandy area, with the one here at St Desir de Lisieux containing graves from the June to August 1944 period. Many died of their wounds in the nearby German hospital at Lisieux, while others were killed in the fighting around Falaise.

In total there are 3,735 German soldiers buried here. The cemetery was made in 1957/58 and was officially inaugurated on 21st September 1961.

©Paul Reed 2002-2006