War Memorials in Muehlacker/Lomersheim

Pictures and text by Mark R. Hatlie

These pictures were taken on December 25th, 2005 at the Protestant church in Lomersheim, a part of Muehlacker/Enz near Stuttgart. It is an ensemble of two memorials for the fallen from the congregation - an obelisk for World War One and a row of stone tablets for World War Two.

	This is the view coming up the stairs to the main entrance of the church from the road. The obelisk for World War One is already visible on the left.
	Both memorials are right next to each other. It is very reminiscent of the two memorials in Tuebingen/Weilheim. The obelisk has been recently marked with a wreath from the city of Muehlacker, probably on the national day of mourning in November.
	The obelisk is decorated with Iron Crosses and oak leaves. The names of the fallen are listed alphabetically with the dates of death.
	Around the top, the text reads, In memory of our dead in the World War of 1914-1918 in thankfulness
	Each of the eight sides lists five names. (This photo was taken two days later, on the 27th.)
	One side has the names of three men with the same last name, all with the same middle name, "Jakob". It is probably safe to assume that they were brothers.
	The four stone tablets for the Second World War are placed against the hedge surrounding the church, but are well kept clear of brush. The first one reads, I live and you should also live. The Lomersheim congregation to its war victims, 1939-1945. Note that the wording is not war "heros" or "dead" or even "fallen", but war "victims".
	The dead are listed by the year they fell. This community lost none in 1939 and only one each in 1940 and 1941. The mass death, as usual, is in the closing years of the war.
	The stone on the right lists the missing in action and has a special section for those who died "as a consequence of the war", probably meaning dead of wounds in some cases. But those who died in Soviet POW camps might also be included.