Ohlsdorf Cemetery, Hamburg, Germany – Part 2

Ohlsdorf Cemetery is bigger than Central Park in New York. It gets a lot of traffic, living and dead with about 7000 burials a year. It’s been around since the late 1800s and is still an active, non-denominational burial site.

I wrote earlier about the war memorials and perhaps it’s indicative of the state of the world right now that its such memorials I’m drawn to.

Granite block with the inscription - POLSKA KWATERA WOJENNA 1939--1945 POLNISCHE KRIEGSGEDENKSTÄTTE in the foreground - sitting on green grass with horizontal stone gravemarkers in the back - over to the left there's a lone cross and the promise of more

Inside Ohlsdorf, the Polish War Graves Cemetery is the final resting place of 1,256 Polish citizens.

Among them were prisoners of the Neuengamme concentration camp (417), prisoners of war (34), civilian forced labourers (563) as well as those who died after the war (24), those whose graves were crossed out of the cemetery registry book in 1962 (20), and unidentified Polish citizens – probably victims of air bombardments (12).

Bronze statue of a man standing but leaning back as if he's been shot - arms are outstretched for balance. To the right are neat rows of white tombstones and in front, stone having with shallow steps leading up to the cemetery. Lots of trees and grass and hedges in the cemetery too.

Called the Dutch Field of Honour, this part of the cemetery was consecrated in 1953 and is home to some 350 Dutch people who died in and around the city. The names of a further 99 are inscribed on three panels. The majority died in concentration or forced labour camps and there’s a special memorial to those who died at Neuengamme.

A marble plaque on a stone wall with the inscription: HERE REST SOLDIERS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE WHO DIED IN GERMANY DURING THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918. THE LAND WHICH IS CONSECRATED BY THEIR GRAVES HAS BEEN ACQUIRED IN PERPETUITY BY AGREEMENT WITH THE GERMAN PEOPLE AND THE CITY OF HAMBURG SO THAT THEIR REMIIAS MAY BE HONOURED FOR EVER. To the left four white gravemarkers stand in a row

Two granite grave markers. On the left the inscription reads - AN AIRMAN OF THE 1939-1945 WAR. ROYAL AIR FORCE 30TH SEPTEMBER 1940. Above is an eagle with wings outstretched in a circle. Above the circle sits a crown. Beneath the inscription is a cross. On the left, the inscriptions reads 14637642 PRIVATE A GIBBS THE GREEN HOWARDS 1ST MAY 1945 AGE 22. Beneath the inscription is a cross into which is cut a crown over yet another cross

In the foreground is a granite marker with a crest of the Royal Corps Army Ordnance. The inscription reads 2590532 WO (RSM) A.F. CRISP ROYAL ARMY ORDNANCE CORPS. 14TH FEBRUARY 1949 AGED 41. Beneath the inscription is a simple cross under which is written ALWAYS REMEMBERED BY WIFE AND FAMILY IN THE GRACE OF GOD RIP. Set in front are what look like artificial poppies. Behind are at least six rows of white markers with grass paths between them and a hedge in the back.

Ohlsdorf is home to not one, but three Commonwealth war grave plots: Hamburg Cemetery Ohlsdorf 1914-1918,  Hamburg Cemetery Ohlsdorf 1939-1945, and Hamburg Cemetery Ohlsdorf Post War. As always, when I see a grave without a name, I wonder about the families they left behind who would never know where their husband, son or grandson, their brother, father, or friend were buried. And then I wonder if it’s important. So many graves these days are neglected, relatives too busy to visit, perhaps no one left at all. Does it matter? Would I care were I buried and no one knew I was there or no one cared enough to visit? Would those I leave behind see it as a chore?

A complete aside here, but somewhat related – if you’ve not seen Ricky Gervais’s After Life, you’re missing something.

Lichen covered tombstone with moss growing on top. A crude carving of a fish under which are the words WILHELM BERGMANN. Set in a cemetery with grass and trees and other graves in the background.

There’s also a section for seamen, cleverly noted by the anchors or fish carved into the headstones. And on for poets and writers. And another for police officers. And another for firefighters. The most vibrant of all though, was from Iran.

Montage of photos showing Iranian gravestones - all are black marble with gold lettering. L to R - 1. Image of a woman in a black veil with two small white angels flanking a red candle. Script is not Roman. 2. Six white plastic chairs set around a new grave with fresh flowers and a photo of a young man with short black hair and a mustache. 3 Photo of older man with moustaches and black hair set on a grave with a black marble marker - other graves visible in the background. 4 Gold script on black marble marker reflected in shiney marble tomb cover. 5. Six wooden markers on what appear to be children's graves covered in flowering plants. Photo of young boy sits on grave on left.

It started in 1941, when Abbasali Pyrchad, a merchant, died in the city. His marked the first burial in what would become a Muslim burial ground in Hamburg. In December 1941, the Iranian-Moslem community bought 102 more burial plots, financed by four other merchants. In 1952, when the Iranian consulate opened in Hamburg, the rights were transferred over. More graves were added until the 150 allocated spaces near Chapel II were filled. Another plot was started near Chapel XIII. I’m not sure which one I was in, but it was full of colour and the remnants of life. Freshly planted flowers, large photographs, and garden chairs, all spoke of graves well tended and often visited.

Large sculpture in three parts. Flat roofed niche in which sits a statue of the madonna and chile. Arched niched in which sit statues of a man kneeling before an older man with a winged angel in the background. Another flat roofed niche with a stature of a bare chested man standing, hands on a staff.

There are literally thousands of sculptures and statues in this huge expanse of land. It would take days to visit each part of it. We had mere hours.

If you’re in the city and fancy a stroll in the park, you could do worse.

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 

@ 2024 Mary Murphy

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