The mass grave in Villeneuve-Loubet, full details

[VonLuck]

Jean-Loup,

Found one of your videos on youtube by chance and now I just ran into this revived thread. Keep up the good work and thanks for making sure these soldiers get treated with the respect they deserve.
Best regards

[hanswurst18]

Well done

Well done Sir !

[tubist73]

What an enthralling tale. Thank you for the obvious time and effort spent in not only researching and completing this dig but in documenting the story and sharing it here. A true commitment to history.

tubist73

[Henry Jones]

Hi Jean-Loup,

thanks for you fantastic, hard work, to give this young boys a correct grave. I hope that they can identify the bones to gave them back their real names, because the cousin of my grandmother is also missed in this region (Area of Marseille).

His last message came from 28.08.1944 from this Area, i think he was defender of Marseille (4. Kompanie - Marine-Schiffstamm-Abteilung 18).

Did you find the Dog Tag with this number ?

-N.32126/44- this is a dog tag from the marine!

Can you pls. asked Mr. Julien Hauser if he has informations about my relative.

Karl Eugen Bidlingmaier
* 06.02.1927 in Straßdorf
rank: Matrose
Dog Tag: N.32126/44
Unit: 4. Kompanie - Marine-Schiffstamm-Abteilung 18
Missing: since 28.08.1944 in Area of Marseille

It is possible that he was exumed and transferd to an cementery of the VDK as unidentified soldier.

Thanks for your help,

best regards,
Alex

[Jean-Loup]

Thanks for all the comments that were added during the last months. I answered the questions asked to me by PM to keep the thread on tracks.

Anyhow, I was unable to go the june 23rd 2007 funeral as I had planed because I spent the day in the hospital instead after having some kind of cerebral attack. However I managed to get a bit of information about what happened, and some pictures.

[Jean-Loup]

4 of the 14 bodies have now been identified, though their names have not yet been released; and no familly members have yet been found. 2 of those 4 were from Prussia, and the other 2 are from Saxony. The only name that has been released unofficialy is that of Hubert Pilch: he is the yougest of the 4 identified men, and he was killed the day before his 18th birthday! He was from Prussia, so if any of you guys have any ideas of how to contact his familly, go right ahead and try, as I am sure some of the people on this forum can do much better work then the Volksbund. I guess Hubert Pilch was born on august 27th 1926, and KIA on august 26th 1944.

There is still hope to identify some of the other bodies from their damaged dog tags, or by checking out lists of MIA's.

[Jean-Loup]

At the ceremony, there were about 400 people present, including several high officials, and 60 german famillies who have a relative buried in the cemetery.
I would have liked to carry one of those boxes myself, but instead it was high officials who got to carry them to their grave, just like it was high officials who sent them to their deaths in 1944. The more things change, the less they change.

[Jean-Loup]

10 boxes had been put in he ground before the ceremony, and only 4 were buried during the ceremony. A catholic and a protestant chapelin were present, as you can see in the pictures.

I was very disapointed to not be present for the final chapter of this story, but at least I am still alive, not like those poor soldiers; so I wont complain to much!
Hopefully one day I will be able to contact the famillies of some of these men, or obtain pictures of them. I will keep you guys posted with any new information.

[Jean-Loup]

In the meantime, 800 km away, the area where men rested for 62 years has once again become a silent and peacefull part of the forest.

The town hall said that they would take care of closing the grave, but of course three months latter I went there and saw nobody had closed anything up. So I closed the grave up myself by hand, but not completely, so that the trace will remain visible in the ground.

I am planing on installing a cross here with a german helmet on top, but have to find a helmet shell first. I have already allerted the local collectors, so I should be getting one soon.

[Santi]

Great thread!
Im sure that was a very nice ceremony, well deserved for those guys.
Thanks for the pics Jean.

[Jean-Loup]

This is what the grave looked like when I first started looking for it several years ago. There was nothing to indicate any grave existed there... When I took this picture, I had already cleared up the area quite a bit. The grave itself was completely overgrown with prickly vines (taken away before the picture was taken). Now in retrospect, maybe those vines were the only sign of the presence of the grave: they are known to grow where there is iron in the earth.
The ground was so saturated with modern trash that using a metal detector was virtualy useless. Anyways, a large metalic pipe passed directly above the grave, hidding any signal that my detector may have been able to pick up from the depth of one meter. In the end I found the grave by digging multiple holes blindly, never knowing if I would ever find anything of course.

[Jean-Loup]

The trees marked in red are recognisable in the pictures of the grave taken today. The trees with the red cross on them had to be cut down, they were above the grave, with their roots among the bones of the soldiers!
The ouline of the grave is marked in brown on this pircture. It is hard to believe there were 14 guys hidding uder there. Next time you are in a public place, count out 14 people, and imagine them all dead in a grave. It sure makes a lot of people, and a lot of destinies cut short.

[Theodor]

Just an idea: a helmet shell may be easily taken by someone. Or will rot with time. Better make a fake shell, from epoxy, it will be unattractive to relic hunters and also will last forever.

[mott5ranch]

This thread upset me in the begining . . . . . I didn't know how it would turn out. I have always been taught to not disturb a grave.


I am so proud of how our fellow member Jean-Loupe conducted this endeavour with respect and dignity for the fallen soldiers. The ceremony photos of returning the dead with military honors was impressive.

I am humbled by this . . . . . .

Thanks for sharing this and educating me.... this was so professional.

I tip my hat to you and your team.

[Hank C.]

Big . Keep up the good work. It's admirable to know there are still people who care enough to give soldiers an honest burial.

best
Hank