Advertisement

Nazi tombstone stolen from Normandy cemetery

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Nazi tombstone stolen from Normandy cemetery
The grave of Nazi SS tank commander Michael Wittmann at La Cambe cemetery. Photo: David Zelden / Wikimedia Commons.

The gravestone of a formidable Nazi SS tank commander has been stolen from a German cemetery in the small Normandy town of La Cambe, municipal sources said on Tuesday.

Advertisement

"The tombstone will be replaced. Even if it was a German officer, we must respect the dead," La Cambe's mayor, Bernard Lenice, told AFP.

A German national from the area who preferred to remain anonymous identified the SS officer whose tombstone was stolen "a few days ago" as tank commander Michael Wittmann.

"It was a square tombstone bolted to the ground with his name engraved upon it, but without any other inscription," the source said, saying nothing on the stone indicated Wittmann's role in the SS.

The German said the grave attracted numerous visitors -- including Britons and Americans -- drawn by Wittman's reputation as having been one of the most daunting tank commanders in the German army.

The northwestern French region of Normandy was the theatre of fierce World War II battles between occupying Nazi forces and Allied armies that advanced eastward following the D-Day invasion.

The remains of soldiers from various countries involved in the fighting lie in graveyards across the area. The bodies of around 21,000 German soldiers are buried in La Cambe alone.

The theft of Wittmann's stone has been reported to local police officials for investigation.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also