Herford

Names of 35 polish soldiers that died on 27.01.1945 during the bombing of Brake

The common grave of Polish prisoners of war is located on a slight hill in the northeastern part of the cemetery. On both sides of the stone cross, there are tombstones with the names and surnames of 35 Polish soldiers who died on the 27th of January 1945 during the bombing of Brake between Bielefeld and Herford.

Nearby, there is a stone commemorating an unknown number of buried Russian prisoners of war with inscriptions in German, Russian and English:

HERE

LIE SOVIET CITIZENS

WHO DIED

IN FASCIST SLAVERY

1941–1945

[translated from Polish]

In the northwestern part of the cemetery, there is a plot of forced labour victims. At its entrance, a stele with an inscription in German was placed on the right-hand side:

DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, SEVERAL THOUSAND PEOPLE WERE EXPELLED FROM THEIR COUNTRIES AND FORCED TO WORK IN HERFORD. 58 OF THEM WERE BURIED HERE. THEY WERE VICTIMS OF MURDERS, THEY DIED OF DISEASES, HUNGER AND EXHAUSTION. [translated from Polish]

The following are the names of Poles copied from the tombstones (original spelling preserved):

PETRO JAROSZENKO † 23.11.1944 POLE

BOLESLAW CHABROWSKI * 27.10.1914 † 3.3.1945 POLE

HENRYK BOTWINOWSKI * 6.4.1901 † 14.4.1945 POLE

STANISLAW JANOVIK * 1900 † 14.4.1945 POLE

ALEXSANDER ANDRZEJEWSKI * 1900 † 15.4.1945 POLE

FRANZISZEK FRICKOWSKI * 1890 † 27.4.1945 POLE

PIOTR POLEIN * 15.3.1906 † 25.4.1945 POLE

ROMAN * 1897 † 4.10.1945 POLE

GENOWEFA WERBNK * 1905 † 20.7.1945 POLIN

ANNA DRZGEK * 1925 † 20.6.1945 POLIN

STEFANIE INRRES * 15.4.1866 † 26.5.1945 POLIN