In Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, a memorial ceremony was held for about 65,000 Soviet prisoners of war who died in the “Stalag 326 (VI K) Senne” camp. The event at the Soviet memorial cemetery was timed to coincide with the 81st anniversary of the end of World War II.
The ceremony was attended by Russia’s ambassador to Germany, Sergey Nechaev, staff of the Russian diplomatic mission, representatives of public organizations, activists, compatriots, and German citizens. Participants laid wreaths and flowers at the central obelisk and honored the memory of the fallen with a minute of silence.
As part of the ceremony, representatives of German anti-fascist organizations also spoke. Political scientist Petra Erler and activists from the NGO “Flowers for Stukenbrock”, which has been preserving the memory of Soviet prisoners of war who died in “Stalag 326 (VI K)” for more than half a century, addressed those gathered.
Nechaev stated that, together with responsible German politicians in the postwar period, Russia and Germany paved the path to historical reconciliation and that this was “truly not easy”. According to him, the rapprochement between the two countries after Germany’s liberation brought much that was positive to the world and Europe, and a shared culture of remembrance can become the key to restoring normal relations.
The ambassador added that there are more than 4,000 military cemeteries and memorials in Germany, which are generally properly maintained, and noted good relations with the German War Graves Commission. The burial site in Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock holds the remains of 65,000 Soviet prisoners of war, of whom the names of 15,503 have been identified.
On the memorial grounds there is an obelisk with red stars and an Orthodox cross, a memorial pavilion, and 16 concrete steles with glass surfaces bearing the names of prisoners of war. The Documentation Center “Stalag 326 (VI K) Senne” oversees the burial site.
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