Essen-Fulerum

At the beginning of April 1945, there was a tragedy over the Essen area caused by an American pilot. A column of several thousand forced laborers was mistakenly attacked by the crew of an American airplane, resulting in 54 people - 52 men and 2 women - killed or deceased as a result of injuries incurred. In the multinational column, there were also Poles, including forced labourers deported from the Warsaw district of Brudno during the Warsaw Uprising. First, they were buried provisionally at Schuirweg, and after the end of the warfare, from 24 April to 1 June 1945, they were exhumed by order of the American occupation administration. The deceased were buried in plot 23b, located in the northeastern part of the cemetery, far away from other war victims' plots. It is highly probable that many Polish citizens were also among them.

By the time of capitulation of German troops in the Ruhr area, over 300 people from several countries of conquered Europe were buried at the plot: foreigners, forced labourers and prisoners of war. The largest group were Russians and Poles. In 1963, as part of reorganisation of the war victims' plot, a dozen or so graves, originally located in different parts of the cemetery, were moved. At least four graves containing the remains of Poles were moved to plot 23b. After exhumation and transporting the remains to the allied home countries, 108 double graves remained in the plot, in which 210 World War II victims from the Essen area were buried. Only 34 deceased are known by their surname and other personal information, such as date and place of birth, date of death. 176 bodies remain anonymous.

The plot, which was made to look like a Russian plot due to an Orthodox cross placed there, today consist of four rows of 26 tombstones each. Based on the current list of names, there are 26 Polish men and women buried there, including 6 civilians and 2 prisoners of war - unknown by their first name and surname (unbekannt).

The list of names of Polish prisoners of war buried at the cemetery (original German spelling preserved):

BANACH JOZEF 13th Artillery Regiment

† 19.3.1943

CHAŁUPA STEFAN 11th Artillery Regiment

* 16.8.1917

† 19.3.1943

IWANICKI JÓSEF

† 19.3.1943

PAPIERNIK JOSEF WAWRZYNIEC Rifleman

* 17.8.1902 Jagielnica district Czortków

† 13.1.1944

WŁOSZYŃSKI KAZIMIERZ

* 26.1.1913

† 15.1.1944

Anonymous Polish prisoner of war

† 22.3.1945

Two unknown Polish prisoners of war who died the same day

† 22.3.1945