Restoration

Gries soldier’s grave now a case for the Ministry of the Interior

(Bild: zVg)

The soldier's cross that the Tyrolean municipality disposed of in scrap iron in the summer - as reported by the "Krone" - is now to be returned to its original location - with one condition.

It has recently become official: the grave removed by the municipality at the local cemetery in Vinaders is actually a soldier's grave. It is therefore under special legal protection by the federal government. This was announced by the Ministry of the Interior to the municipality and also to the province of Tyrol, which enforces the War Graves Act on behalf of the federal government.

Task for historians
It is therefore clear that the grave of the Italian World War II soldier with the rank of colonel, which stood on this site, must be re-erected. However, no one wants to see the SS inscription on the grave plaque or the fascist insignia. "That's why historians have been commissioned to draw up a text for the grave plaque," says Thomas Huter, who is in charge of the case as head of property management.

It is also the family's wish that the original cross be reinstalled, only with a modified inscription.

Amtsleiter Martin Renzler

Family reunion at the grave before Corona
The cross and the grave will therefore be reinstalled as they were originally. As reported, the municipality had disposed of the cross in the scrap iron after no relatives could be found within two months. However, it later transpired that they had regularly visited the grave before corona, but not in the years with travel restrictions. "We are in good contact with the relatives in Italy," reports Martin Renzler, head of the municipality of Gries a. Br. "It is also the family's wish that the original cross be put up again, only with a different inscription," says Renzler.

Family thanked the municipality for maintaining the grave
The municipality has now put up a wooden cross again. For a while, it was said that a memorial plaque on the cemetery wall would suffice. The grave field has also been measured: "We have recorded all the graves with GPS data," says the head of the office. This ensures exact restoration.

(Bild: ZVG)

The grave site is even decorated with flowers, as a local inspection on Saturday showed. "The family has already expressly thanked us for looking after the grave, which we do on a voluntary basis," says Renzler. They are now waiting for further instructions from the ministry. "We've never had a case like this before," say Renzler and Huter. It will probably not be possible to restore the grave by All Saints' Day.