Military Memorial and Graves at Rottenburg/Kiebingen
Picture and text by Mark R. Hatlie
This picture was taken on the early morning of 20 March, 2006 at the small city cemetery of Kiebingen, part of Rottenburg.
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The cemetery is fairly empty. The memorial is off to the right against the wall. |
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The front of the stone reads, "The community of Kiebingen for its fallen and missing sons. Their bodies rest in peace. Their names will live on from generation to generation." The wreath reads, "In honoring memory / The city of Kiebingen". |
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The left side of the stone shows the years of World War One... |
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...while the right side shows the years from World War Two. |
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Behind the central stone, there are seven tall steles. |
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The central one depicts a woman with a halo holding up a (mortally) wounded man. |
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The first two steles list the fallen from World War One by the countries in which they fell. The whole first stele is France, the second is Russia and those that died in hospitals in Germany, followed by the missing. |
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The other stones are for the Second World War. The next stone over starts with one killed in the Balkans and then a long list of those who fell in Russia. |
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The next stone is all Russia. |
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This one lists one dead for the air war, then fallen for France, Hungary, Austria and, again, more who died in Russia. |
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This stone lists one killed in an air attack, one missing in Serbia, and a list of those missing in Russia. |
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To the left of the memorial marker, there are two military graves. The first is a typical soldier's grave and lists a casualty from the final month of the war, perhaps someone who died nearby. |
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The other is for a 27-year-old first lieutenant who died in air combat in January, 1944. |
