The municipalities have the task of caring for war graves as memorial sites. It hasn't gone well everywhere in the country recently. In some cities, improvements were made after criticism from the state audit office.
Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - The state audit office of Saxony-Anhalt has reprimanded the way municipalities deal with war graves. The location of the graves was only marked on plans and information boards in 15 of 52 cemeteries, as an examination in 14 municipalities revealed. In addition, not all graves were in a dignified condition, criticized the inspectors. They are partly overgrown with weeds, partly inscriptions and grave markers are completely weathered.
The task must have a high priority locally, demanded the President of the State Audit Office, Kay Bartel. The war graves were intended to serve as a memorial and place of remembrance.
The legal basis for the care of war graves is the German Graves Act. According to this, the municipalities are responsible for all graves of the victims of war and tyranny in their municipal area, regardless of the ownership of the property. The municipalities receive funds from the state for this.
The inspectors complained about deficiencies in the signage in the cities of Bernburg, Schönebeck, Dessau-Roßlau and Stendal, among others.
On request, the Hanseatic city of Stendal stated that there was no legally standardized obligation for signage. It was assumed that the plant could be found sufficiently in the municipal cemetery. However, after the test report has been submitted, signage is planned. Implementation is scheduled for 2023.
Other municipalities have already reacted. The city of Schönebeck has published a cemetery guide showing the war graves. In addition, boards were set up at the entrances to the cemeteries, as the city announced.
In Dessau-Roßlau, a cemetery with war cemeteries was integrated into a nationwide cemetery app, as a city spokeswoman said. In addition, church cemetery operators were asked to improve care.
