Oberer Katholischer Friedhof

Cemetery description

The Catholic Cemetery (Oberer Katholischer Friedhof) in Regensburg holds three war burial sections where almost 1,600 victims of both World War I and World War II are buried. The first burial site was established as early as in 1939 and it contains the graves of soldiers who fell in World War II but also in World War I, as well as civilian victims of forced labour from Eastern Europe. The next site was created at the end of World War II and it holds the graves of soldiers who fell in the war, in addition to German and foreign victims of the Allied bombings of the city and the nearby industrial plants. The third burial section is the final resting place for foreign victims from the USSR, Italy, Yugoslavia and Poland.
The majority of the victims from Poland are buried in a large section No. 25, located in the north-eastern part of the cemetery. The section can be entered through a gate in the form of a small chapel. Inside, the terracotta tiles bear the plan of the cemetery and some information that states: ‘This war cemetery was established in the last years of the 1939-1945 war. Apart from 101 German soldiers from World War I, buried here are 717 those who fell in World War II and 396 civilians, including women and children, who were killed by bombs.’ The site is marked by a large basalt cross, and the individual names of the deceased are found in the form of cross-shaped ceramic plaques.
The Polish victims are also buried in a burial section for foreign victims No. 20 b, located in the southern part of the cemetery. It is a small area fenced off with a hedgerow that holds the collective graves of citizens of several European countries - civilian victims of the war. The site is marked by a cross, five plaques with the victims’ names and a brass memorial plaque bearing this information: ‘Here, far from their homelands rest victims of the 1939-1945 war - citizens of Eastern European countries.’
The available data implies that, in total, approximately 139 victims from Poland are buried in the cemetery.

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