German Soldiers Cemetery Baghdad Walkthrough
German Soldiers Cemetery • 1 April 2026 • 4 min 42 sec
Full walkthrough film of German Soldiers Cemetery, Iraq, recorded on site during the Commonwealth war graves field survey. The footage records the condition of the headstones, memorial panels, grounds and boundary walls.
The film was recorded at German Soldiers Cemetery as part of the independent field survey of Commonwealth war graves in Iraq. It is published here as a permanent visual record of the site for families, researchers and journalists who cannot travel to Iraq.
Full transcript of German Soldiers Cemetery Baghdad Walkthrough
This film was recorded on site without spoken narration. The transcript below is a descriptive, timecoded account of what the camera records in each section of the film, compiled from the field survey notes for this site.
- 00:00
Entrance and first view of the site. The film opens at German Soldiers Cemetery, Al-Rusafa (Waziriyah/Sheikh Omar vicinity), east bank of the Tigris, Baghdad. A small cemetery commemorating German military personnel who served in Mesopotamia, primarily as advisors to Ottoman forces during WWI.
- 00:56
Walk along the burial rows. The camera moves through the site, past the grave rows that hold 55 recorded burials, 45 from the First World War and 10 from the Second World War. The German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge) lists this military cemetery in Baghdad as a "central facility in Iraq." It holds 45 German war dead from WWI and 10 from WWII.
- 01:53
Close views of headstones and inscriptions. Closer views follow of individual headstones, panel faces and inscriptions, recording how legible the names and regimental badges still are. German military personnel who died in Mesopotamia during WWI, primarily advisors and technical specialists.
- 02:49
Grounds, paths, planting and boundary walls. The camera records the paths, planting, boundary walls and general upkeep of the grounds. Recorded condition at the time of the survey: Good Condition. The cemetery was restored in 1973 and again in 1989 with funds from the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge.
- 03:46
Closing wide view before the film ends. The film closes on a wide view of the site. This cemetery acknowledges the international dimensions of WWI in Mesopotamia.