Sandweiler German war cemetery, the other side of the story

Most people who come to Luxembourg for its war history head straight for Patton’s grave. To my mind the visit is only half done if you don’t then cross to Sandweiler. There, on Rue d’Itzig, the German military cemetery holds 10,913 soldiers from the same winter, more than twice as many as its American neighbour.

Who lies here

According to the Luxembourg City Tourist Office, these are German soldiers killed in the hard fighting of winter 1944-45 in the border country of Luxembourg, Belgium and Germany, which means the Ardennes offensive and its aftermath. There’s one odd exception too, since a soldier who fell in the First World War also lies here among them.

My Battle of the Bulge in Luxembourg page tells those months village by village. Here the focus is the place and how it feels.

Germany’s first war cemetery abroad

The Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge, the association that looks after German war graves, laid the site out in the post-war years, and it was the first German cemetery outside Germany. That detail, which the tourist office highlights, says a lot about reconciliation in a country that had been annexed in all but name during the occupation. The wider story is in Luxembourg in the Second World War.

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How does it compare with the American cemetery?

In almost every way except the date. Hamm is a memorial with a chapel, fountains, bronze maps and white crosses laid out in a fan, run by a US government agency with staff who greet families. Sandweiler is a sober enclosure, a central avenue between rows of headstones leading to a tall cross, and the tourist office doesn’t even list opening hours. The American cemetery holds 5,070 service members according to the ABMC; this one, 10,913.

For a British visitor, used to the Commonwealth cemeteries of Flanders and Normandy, the contrast is worth the short drive. You don’t have to take sides to feel the weight of the two numbers together, and seeing them the same morning drives home that the Ardennes were a slaughter for both armies.

Getting there and combining the two

The cemetery lies in the commune of Sandweiler, close to Luxembourg airport. Drivers come off the motorway at exit 7 of the E25/E44, where the «cimetières militaires» signs begin; they also point to Luxembourg American Cemetery. Public transport is free; check the exact bus on mobiliteit.lu first.

Since no opening hours are published, only a contact number in Germany, I’d come mid-morning, after the American cemetery opens at 9am, rather than late in the afternoon, which leaves time for both of them before lunch.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Luxembourg before prices climb.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in German war cemetery and choose by the reviews.

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