Peace Network |
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This Rheinwiesenlager is part of four Rheinwiesenlager, which are close to each
other located.
They are:
PWTE-A6 Winzenheim / Bretzenheim;
PWTE-A7 Biebelsheim;
PWTE-A15 Planig;
PWTE-A3 Bad Kreuznach and the Cemetery of Honour in the Lohrer Wald.
May 27, 2023
At first we could not find the fields of the Rheinwiesenlager at Biebelsheim.
The village is located on the east side of a hill. The former encampment is
located on the Schulstraße, according to information. Our GPS sent us
straight over a hill with grape bushes and we were not allowed to drive through.
A prohibition sign for all traffic made that clear to us.
We searched further for the Schulstraße and our GPS led us to the
Schulstraße in Planig. And there we did not find what we were looking for
and that was the Schulstraße in Biebelsheim.
Good advice was not available, we had to turn around .
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A7 Biebelsheim, among the vines |
September 9, 2024
It had been almost a year and a half since we had been looking for the
Rheinwiesenlager at Biebelsheim. We had not given up hope yet. At home I
started looking for new clues. And I found it. Some versions of
OpenStreetMaps showed more than other map programs on the Internet. There
were two map programs with aerial photo display (satellite photos). If you
zoom in a little, the message will appear "Kriegsgefangenenlager".
So that's what I was looking for. But I zoomed in even further and a
little later the shadow of a large cross appeared over the field and a
country road on the aerial photograph. So that was a very nice sign.
On this September day, we found the village of Biebelsheim without any
problems. We drove past the church on the Schulstraße through the
village and just outside the built-up village there was another road
sign, prohibited for all traffic.
We drove on, as we could already see the big cross in the distance. We
came across a dog walker and a sporty runner and both times we stopped
briefly to tell the locals what we were coming for. Both times that was
enough to turn a questioning look into a peace of mind from both
villagers. We were able to drive on.
It was an impressive cross, it could not be missed. A simple measurement and calculation told me that the cross was about 8 metres (26 feet) high. There was no other information on or near the cross. We were already happy to have found this memorial and thus we had found the Rheinwiesenlager.
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A7 Biebelsheim Rheinwiesenlager, Schulstraße |
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A7 Biebelsheim Rheinwiesenlager with memorial cross and shadow (aerial photo) |
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A7 Biebelsheim memorial cross |
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A7 Biebelsheim memorial cross |
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A7 Biebelsheim memorial cross |
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A7 Biebelsheim, field flower, Sept 9, 2024 |
A nice conclusion to this quest was my prayer for those who died in this Rheinwiesenlager. I turned to God, our Dear Lord and Almighty with the request to relieve the suffering of the deceased of this Rheinwiesenlager with Love, Light and Peace.