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Origin and history

The German cemetery in Rancourt, located in the Somme Valley, was created in 1921 by the French authorities to consolidate the burials of German soldiers who had fallen during the First World War. The Treaty of Versailles (1919) then placed these cemeteries under French supervision, before their transfer to Germany in 1926. The interview was given to the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge, an association founded in 1919 to preserve German war graves. The distinctive symbol of German necropolises – four black crosses dominated by a larger one – was installed in the same year.

With 11,422 bodies, including 3,930 in individual graves and 7,492 in ossuary, Rancourt is one of the largest German cemeteries in France. The brick chapel, inaugurated on 17 September 1933, is distinguished by a wrought iron gate and a bas-relief evoking mourning. Its sober architecture, marked by black crosses and tree plantations, reflects the style of German military necropolises. The Oratory was inscribed in the historical monuments by order of 14 September 2016.

Close to the French National Necropolis and the British cemetery in Rancourt, this memorial site illustrates the magnitude of the battle of the Somme (1916). Its management, initially French, went to Germany in 1926, marking a step in the mutual recognition of the losses of the Great War. Today, there remains a symbol of memory shared among the former enemy nations.

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