Vladslo German war cemetery is about three kilometres north east of

Vladslo Vladslo is a village in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders and a part ("deelgemeente") of the municipality of Diksmuide. The rural village has slightly over 1,200 inhabitants. Attractions * The church of St Martin has a Romanesque t ...

, near

Diksmuide (; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, Nieuwkapelle, Oostkerke ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Established during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the cemetery originally held 3,233 wartime burials. In 1956, burials from many smaller surrounding cemeteries were concentrated in Vladslo, and it now contains the remains of 25,644 soldiers. Each stone bears the name of twenty soldiers, with just their name, rank, and date of death specified. The cemetery is administered by the

German War Graves Commission The German War Graves Commission (, ) is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of German war graves in Europe and North Africa. Its objectives are acquisition, maintenance and care of German war graves; tending to next of kin; youth and ed ...

(''Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge''). They also look after the three other German war cemeteries in Belgium:

Langemark Langemark is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders, and a subdivision of the municipality of Langemark-Poelkapelle. The village has about 5,000 inhabitants. Besides the village center, there are also three smaller hamlets on the ...

Menen Menen (; ; or ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Menen proper and the towns of Lauwe (Belgium), Lau ...

and

Hooglede Hooglede (; ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of and Hooglede proper. On January 1, 2006, Hooglede had a total population of 9,831. The total area is 37.84 km2 which gi ...

The Grieving Parents

The cemetery also contains a pair of statues – ''The Grieving Parents'' – by

Käthe Kollwitz Käthe Kollwitz ( born Schmidt; 8 July 186722 April 1945) was a German artist who worked with painting, printmaking (including etching, lithography and woodcuts) and sculpture. Her most famous art cycles, including ''The Weavers'' and ''The Peasa ...

, a noted German sculptor. She made the statues in the 1930s as a tribute to her youngest son, Peter, who was killed in October 1914 and is buried in the cemetery. The eyes on the father-figure gaze on the stone directly in front of him, on which Kollwitz's son's name is engraved.

References/notes

External links

*
Ieper (Ypres) – Belgium. Nearby site: Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof 1914–1918 (German military cemetery), Vladslo.

* (de

on website of Volksbund. * (nl
Duitse militaire begraafplaats Vladslo (German military cemetery Vladslo)
on WO1.be {{commons category, Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof Vladslo Diksmuide German War Graves Commission World War I memorials in Belgium World War I cemeteries in Belgium Cemeteries and memorials in West Flanders Funerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front)