FLUGT - The Cemetery for German Refugees

When the World War II ended, Europe was flooded by an enormous amount of refugees escaping from the horrors of the war. A quarter of a million civilians fled to Denmark from Germany in the last months of the war. After the liberation came in May 1945, it was decided to round up the incoming refugees in big camps so they could be sent back to Germany as soon as the state of their nation got better. The biggest of these camps was placed right outside Oksbøl and with 36.000 refugees living there at once, the small town of Oksbøl essentially became the fifth​ largest city in Denmark.

The Cemetery for German Refugees in Oksbøl was established in order to have a place to bury the many dead German soldiers and refugees. Today, the cemetery serves as a memorial park with hundreds of crosses at the place where 1.797 people are buried. Especially in the early years of the camp the death rate was high and many of the casualties were children.

There are not many signs left of the existence of the refugee camp which is now mainly an overgrown plantation. However, there are still traces of the old road network as well as the hospital building that used to be part of the camp. In 2016, plans were made to turn the hospital building into a museum for refugees. The new museum will be named FLUGT.

• In the final months of WW2, 250.000 German refugees came to Denmark.
• 1.797 people are buried at the Cemetery for German Refugees in Oksbøl.
• By the end of the Second World War, May 4​th​ 1945, there were 1.100 interim refugee camps scattered all over Denmark. The biggest was placed at the small town of Oksbøl and housed up to 36.000 people at a time.
• The camp in Oksbøl had its own schools, churches, cinemas, theatres, hospitals and many other elements normally associated with a town.
• The plans for the upcoming museum for refugees, FLUGT, is designed by Bjarke Ingels Group.

Address

Den Tyske Flygtningekirkegård
Præstegårdsvej 21, 6840 Oksbøl