Military Cemetery Officially Handed Over to the Republic of Austria

Until now, the graves of the 7,297 primarily Wehrmacht soldiers were the responsibility of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge (VDK) association on behalf of the German federal government.

German Soldier Graves Handed Over to Austria

The "Group 97" at the Central Cemetery was deliberately designed uniformly to emphasize the common fate of the war dead. The appearance stands "exemplary for a now outdated culture of remembrance, in which the military service in the Wehrmacht was unreflectively positively recognized in the sense of a duty fulfillment," the Ministry of the Interior, responsible since January 1, shared during the handover.

Since the facility also includes graves of Wehrmacht soldiers, members of the Waffen-SS, the police, the Volkssturm, the Reich Labor Service, the German Red Cross, as well as anti-aircraft helpers, it can be assumed that among all those buried there are also individuals who were actively involved in war crimes or the Holocaust.

Still Burials of War Dead

Even today, war dead are found all over Austria during construction work or targeted investigations. Just this week, three more fallen were buried at the cemetery. The mortal remains of two men were found during construction work at Schwarzenbergplatz in Vienna, another man in Lilienfeld (Lower Austria).

The Republic of Austria is legally obliged to permanently maintain and dignify all war and victim graves of the First and Second World Wars located on federal territory. In Vienna, the Friedhöfe Wien GmbH is responsible for the maintenance of the facility.

(APA/Red)

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