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Origin and history

The French National Necropolis and the German Cemetery of Thiescourt, located in the Oise (Hauts-de-France), are military cemeteries of the First World War. Created in 1920 on the site of a 50-body Franco-German mass grave, they symbolize a grave shared by former enemies. These sites commemorate soldiers who died during the 1918 offensives, including the Battle of Noyon (June) and the Matz (August), in an area marked by German occupation from 1914 to 1917.

The church of Thiescourt, used as a military hospital for both camps until 1916, was severely damaged during the 1918 offensives. The French necropolis, designed as a group of 16 temporary cemeteries, hosts 1,266 bodies (547 of them in ossuary), as well as 4 British and 2 French soldiers from the Second World War. Its symmetrical layout, typical of the French necropolis, contrasts with the "natural" layout of the German cemetery, inspired by architect Robert Tischler.

The German cemetery, adjacent to the French necropolis without physical separation, houses 1,095 bodies (including 707 in individual graves and 388 in ossuary). The steles, each bearing four names, reflect a Germanic approach combining mourning and communion with nature. Jewish soldiers are distinguished by round-top steles. Together, classified as a historical monument in 2016, recalls the intensity of the 1918 fighting and the desire for post-conflict reconciliation.

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