This cemetery is the final resting place of 2000 victims of World War Two who died in the area of Karlshagen and Trassenheide. About 700 victims fell during the air raids on Peenemünde and Karlshagen on the night of 17 to 18 August 1943 during Operation Hydra and on the 18th of July 1944.
Forced labour
The cemetery also holds a mass grave for 213 forced labourers who were put to work in and around the Heeresversuchsanstalt, the Army Experimental Institution of Peenemünde. These are of different nationalities; 21 Poles, 23 Ukrainians, 17 French, 66 of unknown nationality and 16 concentration camp prisoners. These came from the Karlshagen I and Karlshagen II concentration camps.
In the 1960s the remains of 56 victims who were discovered in a mass grave on the southside of the former village cemetery of Peenemunde (54.139934974629455, 13.771435789392005). Some of them had bullet holes in their skull, indicating that they had been executed. It is presumed these victims were slave labourers or prisoners of war, who were forced to work on the construction of the Peenemünde installations. They were reburied here at the cemetery. A plaque left of the memorial square next to the cemetery was placed there after the find to honour them.
Visit
The cemetery is located in between to the memorial square for the victims of World War Two in Karlshagen and Trassenheide and the municipal cemetery of the village of Karlshagen. The cemetery is freely accessible.
