Polish graves at the Perlacher Forst cemetery in Munich

The cemetery at the Perlacher Forst, Munich
The cemetery at the Perlacher Forst, Munich 2018

The people executed in Stadelheim


Four years later, in 1954, a second Grove of Honour was created to contain the mortal remains of the 93 people executed in Stadelheim, who had originally been buried in various places in the cemetery. The names of all the victims are engraved on the memorial stone unveiled in 1996. One of the people who found his final resting place there was Henryk Pecak, a forced labourer who was executed for listening to the BBC news in Polish. Another victim was Jan Hebda, who fled with two Poles to join the Polish military. Although they managed to cross the Swiss border, they were arrested, extradited to the German authorities. and executed in 1943. Around this time Waldemar Schidhabel, a Pole of German descent accused of "high treason", was also executed.

 

The victims of forced labour


In 1960 a memorial complex for forced labourers, prisoners of war and prisoners of concentration camps (displaced persons) was built. 1,192 people from 12 countries who died between 1942 and 1946 were buried there. The second largest group buried here, after Russians from the former Soviet Union, are Poles (274 graves). People from Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Greece, Turkey, France, Belgium and the Netherlands have also found their final resting places here. A monument has been erected in the centre of the complex. On the lawn there are stone tablets bearing the names of the deceased. The grove was planted with birch trees symbolising life and rebirth.

 

Polish soldiers


In 1998 the coffins of nine Polish soldiers who died after the war, (including members of the Świętokrzyska brigade), were transferred from the crypts of the Munich West cemetery to the vicinity in order to bury them in a specially created area within the memorial complex. The memorial service took place in the presence of representatives from the Polish Consulate and the Council for the Preservation of Remembrance of Battle and Martyrdom (Rada Ochrony Pamięci Walk i Męczeństwa). The following inscription was engraved in Polish on a granite plaque with the Polish eagle: Tu spoczywają żołnierze polscy zmarli w drodze do Ojczyzny. Cześć Ich pamięci(Here rest Polish soldiers who died on their way back home. Honour their memory).

 

Krzysztof Ruchniewicz, March 2018

 

 

Further reading:

 

Irene Stuiber: Hingerichtet in München-Stadelheim. Opfer nationalsozialistischer Verfolgung auf dem Friedhof am Perlacher Forst, Kulturreferat der Landeshauptstadt München, 2004.

 

Internet (http://polskiegroby.pl/s/cmentarz.php?osobaok=13096&cmentarzok=455): Perlacher Forst cemetery, “Stiftung Polnisch-Deutsche Aussöhnung” (accessed on 13.03.2018). It also contains a map of the cemetery and the list of the names of the Polish soldiers.

 

______________________

Citation:

Krzysztof Ruchniewicz: Polish graves at the Perlacher Forst cemetery in Munich, in: "Porta Polonica“ (No. 592), 14.03.2018, url: www.porta-polonica.de/en/node/592

 

Media library
  • The Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich

    View of the Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich
  • Grave of Sophie and Hans Scholl

    Grave of Sophie and Hans Scholl. Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich
  • Grave of the victims of the Dachau concentration camp

    Grave of the victims of the Dachau concentration camp, Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich
  • Memorial stone for the 4092 buried victims of the Dachau concentration camp

    Memorial stone for the 4092 buried victims of the Dachau concentration camp, Am Perlacher Forst cemetery, Munich
  • Memorial at the Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich

    Memorial in memory of murdered forced laborers, prisoners of war and former concentration camp inmates, Am Perlacher Forst cemetery, Munich
  • Granite plate commemorating the fallen Polish soldiers

    Granite plate commemorating the fallen Polish soldiers, topped with an eagle. Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich
  • Das Gefängnis Stadelheim

    Das Gefängnis Stadelheim am Friedhof Am Perlacher Forst, München.
  • Grave of the murder victims of Dachau concentration camp

    Grave of the murder victims of Dachau concentration camp at the Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich.
  • View of the cemetery, on the right side the chapel

    View of the cemetery, on the right side the chapel. Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich.
  • View of the chapel

    View of the chapel. Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich.
  • A freestanding monument

    A freestanding monument. Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich
  • View of the chapel

    View of the chapel. Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich.
  • Graves of the members of the White Rose

    Graves of the members of the White Rose: Sophie and Hans Scholl (the Scholl siblings) and Christoph Probst at the Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich
  • Grave of 96 murdered inmates of Stadelheimer prison

    Grave of 96 murdered inmates of Stadelheimer prison. On the stone uncovered in 1996, the names of all the victims were displayed. Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich.
  • The names of the 96 murdered prisoners of the prison Stadelheim

    The names of the 96 murdered prisoners of the prison Stadelheim. Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich.
  • Grave of the murdered of Dachau concentration camp

    Grave of the murdered of Dachau concentration camp at the Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich.
  • Grave of the murdered of Dachau concentration camp

    Memorial stone: Grave of the murdered of Dachau concentration camp in the Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich.
  • Memorial for the murdered

    Memorial for Forced Laborers, Prisoners of War and former Displaced Persons. Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich.
  • Memorial for the murdered

    Memorial for Forced Laborers, Prisoners of War and former Displaced Persons. Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich.
  • Memorial for forced laborers, prisoners of war and former concentration camp inmates

    Memorial for forced laborers, prisoners of war and former concentration camp inmates (Displaced Persons) at the cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich.
  • Granite plate commemorating Polish soldiers

    Granite plate commemorating Polish soldiers topped with an eagle. Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich.
  • Granite plate commemorating the Polish soldiers

    Granite plate commemorating the Polish soldiers.The grave in the background. Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich.
  • Grave of Polish soldiers

    Grave of Polish soldiers. Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich.
  • Grave of 96 people who were murdered in Stadelheim prison

    Grave of 96 people who were murdered in Stadelheim prison. Cemetery Am Perlacher Forst, Munich.
  • View of the chapel

    View of the chapel, Cemetery at the Perlacher Forst, Munich