Battlefields of Ukraine

Discussion in 'WW2 Battlefields Today' started by Zilberman, Jun 26, 2011.

  1. PaulE

    PaulE Senior Member

    Great photos Zilberman. I thought I read somewhere that Stalin had ordered all German cemeteries to be plowed over as he did not want any signs of the German occupation. Obviously must have been a bad source.

    Just to bring back up an old thread , you actually heard correctly , post war many of the German Heldenfriedhof situated in Russia and the Soviet Bloc were destroyed and in some cases the remains disposed of , the wooden Grave markers were all used for firewood etc !!

    In the modern world the Russians have been most helpful with the Volksbund to locate the old Cemeteries , the Germans recordss still hold the locations and of course many of the old people still remember where they were , some have been ressurected others are new ones which are now the resting place of those recently recovered from the old Battlefields.

    Valeriy many thanks for posting the photos if it's okay with you i will pass them on to the OdR Suchdienst ?

    regards

    Paul
     
  2. stolpi

    stolpi Well-Known Member

    Are there any of you who would like to help?. If so I'd be very happy

    Great initiative, but looking at the web-site it seems that Valeriy could do with some help, anyone of the anglophone members ?
     
  3. PaulE

    PaulE Senior Member

    Very true Stolpi , i'll give him a hand if he needs it !!
     
  4. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Anyone planning on visiting in 2022 ?
     
  5. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    Now quite a few years ago I visited the Crimea, when it was part of the Ukraine, with Russian facilities at Sevastopol mainly by agreement.

    We visited one spot, near the destroyed Makim Gorky Battery and the German cemetery there had disappeared, except for one German style coloured post, which German members of our group laid a wreath. We asked our guide what would happen to the wreath, he / she explained it would be stolen or thrown away.

    Checking imagery online it appears that now there is a memorial at the spot. Quickly looking around it appears that Russia has spent £££ on new WW2 memorials. See: Where is Memorial German Fallen Crimea - Sevastopol - TracesOfWar.com

    On our travels we passed the entrance to a large formal entrance to a WW2 cemetery and our guide told us this was for the Italians, who had paid after the end of the USSR to restore the site. The memorial is to the Italians, who as Sardinia had fought in the Crimean War 1854 and in 2015 Putin and another visited. There is no photo easily found that I recognise. See: Category:Italian Cemetery in Sevastopol - Wikimedia Commons

    Hearing this explanation a German member later commented that the official German CWGC body had started to negotiate a similar deal to restore German cemeteries, but exited promptly when it became clear it was the local Mafia who were the other side negotiating.

    Publicly we met hostility only once in Feodosia, who shouted at us leaving a local museum and he was told off by others. Our group was mainly German and Swiss, with a handful of English-speakers. There were then direct flights from Germany for holidays @ Yalta.
     
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2022
    Owen likes this.
  6. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    nice one
     
  7. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    Putin :(

    EDIT:

    That one sailed over my head, darn it.
     

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