| Hooglede German war cemetery | |
|---|---|
| German War Graves Commission Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge. |
|
| Used for those deceased 1917-1918 | |
| Established | 1917 |
| Location | near Hooglede |
| Total burials | 8,247 |
| Burials by nation | |
| Imperial Germany | |
| Burials by war | |
| World War I | |
The Hooglede German war cemetery (Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof Hooglede in German) is a military cemetery in the Belgian town of Hooglede which contains more than 8,000 buried German soldiers from World War I.
It is one of the four main German cemeteries in Belgium, the others being in Langemark, Vladslo, Menen
On October 19, 1914, Hooglede was occupied by German soldiers. The Hooglede cemetery arose in 1917 when the cemetery in Hooglede was no longer sufficient for the mounting deathtoll. There were some new cemeteries, including "Ehrenfriedhof Hooglede Ost Beveren" along the street. After the liberation by the French, approximately 4100 German soldiers were buried here.
The German cemeteries were supervised by the Belgian military service of tombs, but in 1926 all the cemeteries were the responsibility of the Amtlicher Deutschen Grabendienst. Between 1932 and 1937, this service was responsible for the German cemetery in the Beverenstraat. Many graves in various cemeteries in Hooglede, Gits, Handzame, Torhout, and Lichtervelde were sent to Hooglede. The graves consist of crosses.
In 1937, a chapel was built using stones from a German pavilion at the World Exhibition in Paris. During World War II, an addition 29 German soldiers were buried at the cemetery. These soldiers were later sent to another cemetery.
After the Second World War, the supervision of the cemetery was again in the hands of the Belgian organization "Nos Tombs". Not much later, in 1954, the monitoring was taken over by the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge in German). This organization built the cemetery. During the renovation works in 1957-58, the entrance arches of the chapel were reduced to 9. This change came in two phases. The crosses were also replaced by nameplates. After 1960, no more major works were performed.
The German War Graves Commission sometimes organizes youth camps under the motto "Reconciliation among the graves, work for peace". These people are sent abroad in order to learn about the war and care for the graves.