The Faces of Margraten

Row after row, cross after cross. There are names on all these 8,289 crosses and Stars of David at the American Cemetery in Margraten. You read this one and you will wonder: who were these soldiers? Where did they come from? What did they do before the war?

With The Faces of Margraten, they finally get a face. During this two-year tribute at the cemetery, the personal photos of thousands of soldiers can be seen at their graves and on the Walls of the Missing.

You look deep into the eyes of the liberators and stare at young, carefree faces. Often the family members can also be seen in these photos. They were just as much victims of the war. All are met during this tribute.

In this way, the memory of the American soldiers who died during World War II is kept alive. 8,291 of them are buried at the American Cemetery in Margraten; another 1,722 missing soldiers are commemorated on the Walls of the Missing.

Both in Europe and in the United States, many people are working to locate the missing photographs, ultimately hoping to give each soldier a face. More than 7,500 faces have already been found.

But the tribute does more than that. The Faces of Margraten is also a message for the future. If the photos make one thing clear, it is that the soldiers who are buried and commemorated in Margraten were people like everyone else.

People with family, friends, a job, a sport, a hobby and a pet. And so the photos show you that anyone can become a victim of war, just like they were. As a result, the tribute inevitably raises questions. How can peace and freedom be preserved? And to whom do people pass it on?

The Faces of Margraten is therefore a powerful encounter with the past, but also a clear signal for the future. A moment of remembrance, but also of reflection.

Tourist Board South Limburg (Visit Zuid-Limburg)