German Military Cemetery in Tallinn
Pictures and text by Mark R. Hatlie
These pictures were taken on 27 June, 2006. This cemetery is adjacent to the Maarjamae memorial complex which is located on the coast northeast of Tallinn. There are two parts to it. Adjoining the Maarjamae complex on two sides, there is the cemetery proper. It bears all the normal marks of the work of the Volksbund Deutscher Kriegsgraeberfuersorge, the German organization reponsible for maintaining German military cemeteries. On another side of the Soviet memorial, there is a small group of crosses and flag poles that serves as a military memorial to the 1944 battles against the Red Army.
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The stone reads, "German Soldier's Cemetery" and gives the dates of the entire war in Europe, not the dates immediately relevant to the fighting in Tallinn or Estonia. The five crosses are the logo of the Volksbund Deutscher Kriegsgraeberfuersorge. |
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This is the centerpiece of the cemetery. But the cemetery is very large. It extends over all the mown area in the background and much more acreage over to the right. |
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The stone under the cross reads, "In this cemetery rest German and Estonian soldiers of the war 1939-1945. Remember them and the victims of all wars." |
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This view of the cross clearly shows the Maarjamae memorial complex in the background. |
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The cemetery is very large. The graves are not marked individually. The groups of crosses are placed, as is often the case in German post-World War Two cemeteries, in an artistic-haphazard manner throughout the burial area. Again, part of the Maarjamae memorial complex is visible in the background. |
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The stone plates list the names and dates of birth and death of many of the dead. |
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You can walk from the cemetery to the Maarjamae memorial complex... |
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....or walk past it (go to that site for a description and more photos). |
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If you walk on past the Maarjamae memorial complex, a few more meters, you get to another element in the German cemetery complex. |
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The central stone is a battle map showing the routes of Soviet advance or German retreat in 1944. |
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The plate below the crosses reads, "In remembrance of the soldiers who took part in the defensive battles in Estonia in 1944". |
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The other plates list in German and Estonian the German and Estonian units which took part in the battle. |
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