This was a German Cemetery we had on our list to visit. It has over 20,000 burried and approx 13,000 are unknown graves. Dog tags were used to identify soldiers, but the Germans didn't put two tags on each chain like the Americans and other countries. So they would pull off the tag to notify family, but then the body was left unidentified. In a way this is very sad. Each grave marker has two names on it as well and then there are lines of trees with names of soldiers whose remains were not found. It was very humbling to visit this cemetery and see that those who died even on the German side are still being cared for today. The Germans do not provide funding for the upkeep of their cemeteries so it is not uncommon to see school children cleaning and caring for the flowers and grass. Donations by locals are used to pay for things so it is done very differently. Still these dead are honored and it was something I am glad we didn't miss.
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