Gardelegen Massacre 13 April 1945Gardelegen men forced to construct military cemetery On the orders of General Frank A. Keating, around 250 to 300 male citizens of the town of Gardelegen assembled in the town square on April 18, 1945, dressed in their Sunday best. They were then marched five kilometers to the barn, escorted by American soldiers and Sherman tanks. At the barn, soldiers of the 327th Engineer Combat Battalion stood guard with fixed bayonets while the Gardelegen men were forced to dig up the bodies from the trenches near the barn and to carry out the dead prisoners still inside the barn.  The two photographs above were taken on April 22, 1945 when the men of Gardelegen were ordered to assemble again, in front of the town hall, with white crosses, which they had to carry to the grave site. In the background of the photo above is a restaurant, also shown in the second photo below, which was still in business when I visited Gardelegen in May 2002. On the right in the photo above is the town hall, which is also shown in the first photo below, taken in May 2002.    Ceremony at the cemeteryPrisoners who escapedGerhard Thiele ordered the massacreOld Photos contributed by soldiersOld Photos contributed by Ethel B. StarkKarel Margry's account of the massacreText of Memorial Site PamphletGermans forced to see the barnPamphlet made by 102nd DivisionHome |