German Soldiers Cemetery of Frasnoy

It is strange that a number of German Jewish soldiers are also buried here.

During World War I, German Jewish men were simply part of the German army. Approximately 96,000 Jewish soldiers actually fought for Germany. They were generally full citizens and were called up for military service during WWI, just like other Germans. There was some internal discrimination (for example, there were few Jewish officers, especially in the Prussian army), but their loyalty to the fatherland was officially recognized. Many were killed, which explains why German military cemeteries also contain graves of Jewish soldiers, sometimes identified by specific symbols or markings.

The situation changed completely after the rise of Hitler and National Socialism. From 1933 onward, the Nazi government systematically excluded all German Jews from social positions and later also from military service. The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 formally decreed that Jews were no longer part of the German people: they became second-class citizens, enjoyed increasingly fewer rights, and were deliberately excluded from the army. During World War II, German Jews were no longer drafted; instead, they became victims of severe discrimination, persecution, deportation, and ultimately the Holocaust.

Pascal Brackman