russkoepole.de
The restored cemetery of Russian prisoners of war of the First World War in Gronenfeld, the city of Frankfurt an der Oder was solemnly opened in the state of Brandenburg. A prisoner of war camp existed here from 1914 to 1921, the majority of its prisoners, this is more than 17.000 people (according to data of 1918), were soldiers and officers of the Russian army, Russkie Pole reports.
The history of the restoration of the Russian Forest Cemetery, as it is officially called, has stretched for more than a quarter of a century. In the early 1990s, local residents began to raise the question of granting the appropriate status to the cemetery. Five years ago, they were supported by representatives of the Russian diaspora in Berlin, through joint efforts managed to convince the authorities to allocate funds for the graves restoration. Meanwhile, search and archival work was carried out. It revealed a many details about specific soldiers, army units and events in Grönenfeld.
The event was attended by representatives of the Russian Embassy in Germany, the burgomaster of Frankfurt an der Oder, German and Russian volunteers, employees of the German People’s Union for the care of war graves in Brandenburg, representatives of the Cossack organizations of Germany and local residents.
After laying flowers and wreaths, the participants moved to a wooden church where a small local history conference was held - reports were made about the history of the First World War and the battles in which Russian soldiers participated.
The centenary of the end of the First World War is widely celebrated this year in different countries of the world. Burials and cemeteries, where the soldiers of the Russian army are buried, are being improved and restored by volunteers from the Russian diaspora in Germany, Poland, Moldova, the Baltic countries and other countries.
Russkiy Mir
