Kortemark - Tombs of prisoners of war and partisans dead in Belgium during World War II
List of Soviet military graves in Belgium
- Arlon
- Awenne
- Balen
- Bruxelles, Etterbeek
- Bruxelles, Evere
- Bruxelles, Ixelles
- Champlon
- Chapelle-lez-Herlaimont
- Chimay
- Comblain-au-Pont
- Dotsenko Tree (Bois de Stepennes)
- Engreux
- Flawinne
- Fleurus (Vieux-Campinaire)
- Genk
- Gent
- Han-sur-Lesse
- Han-sur-Lesse
- Hannut
- Houthalen
- Hoves /Silly
- Jumet-Gohyssart
- Koersel
- Kortemark
- Lanklaar
- Leopoldsburg
- Les Villettes
- Leuven
- Linden
- Liège, Citadelle
- Liège, Cointe
- Liège, Robermont
- Liège, Saint-Walburge
- Marchienne-au-Pont
- Maurage
- Montignies-sur-Sambre
- Morlanwez
- Mussy-la-Ville
- Namur, Belgrad
- Nidrum
- Peissant
- Proven
- Quévy
- Rebecq
- Reninge
- Robertville (Orthodox cross)
- Sougné-Remouchamps
- Sprimont (Dotsenko Monument)
- Stal-Koersel
- Tessenderlo
- Trois Ponts
- Westvleteren
- Zolder
Kortemark
Three Soviet prisoners of war, who died in July-August 1944 during the construction of a secret facility of Wehrmacht, codenamed “V1”, were buried at the municipal cemetery of Kortemark (West Flanders province).
In total, at least six Soviet citizens died in this area during the period from July to September 1944. They mere members of the construction crew transferred to Belgium and created by the SS from among the prisoners of Sylt concentration camp, which was located on the Alderney Island occupied by German troops. Graves of other members of the crew are located in the settlements of Westvleteren, Proven and Reninge.
The burial is located in the center of the cemetery. This is, most likely, a mass grave, but with individual concrete crosses, each of which has a name and date of death in Flemish. In total, the ashes of seven prisoners of war rest at the site, but only three were citizens of the USSR, the rest – from Poland and the Czech Republic.
It is possible that some of the buried are listed in archival documents as those who died in the Buchenwald camp.
The grave was discovered in June 2010 with the assistance of Luc Vanackere from the Free Technical School in Ypres
(Special thanks to Luc Vanacker, Free Technical School of Ieper)
List of the buried
| First and last name | Date of birth | Date of death | Nationality | Cause of death |
| Wladislaw Lubecki | 1896 | 28.07.1944 | Poland | gunshot wound |
| Sergey Masliy |
| 03.08.1944 | USSR (Ukrainian) | tuberculosis |
| Sergey Bondar |
| 07.08.1944 | USSR (Ukrainian) | tuberculosis |
| Grigoriy Alesenko |
| 14.08.1944 | USSR (Belorussian) | tuberculosis |
| Rudi Busch | 1898 | 01.09.1944 | Germany | shot while trying to escape |
| Josef Lammel | 1900 | 01.09.1944 | Sudeten German | shot while trying to escape |
| Stanislas Mroz |
| 01.09.1944 | Poland | shot after trying to escape |
Annual memorial ceremonies
2023
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2014
2013
2012
Dear visitors,
We would like to draw your attention to the fact that spelling of the names, surnames and places of birth of Soviet citizens buried in Belgium may be distorted due to the fact that they are quite often written only in Flemish and French in registration books and on monuments.
We thank the Brussels-Belgian Archdiocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, the organizations of Russian compatriots and Russian foreign institutions accredited in Belgium for providing photos and their efforts to preserve the memory of the heroism of the Soviet soldiers who fell in the Great Patriotic War.
The Embassy will be grateful for providing any information and photos of Soviet military graves of the Second World War in Belgium and the ceremonies held on them. Please send material to the email address of the Embassy amrusbel@skynet.be with the note «War Graves».