Westfriedhof (Munich)

The Westfriedhof (West Cemetery) in Munich is situated in the south of the city district of Moosach. The main entrance is at Baldurstraße 28. The cemetery was laid out in 1898; the buildings, by the architect Hans Grässel, were completed in 1902. The Westfriedhof contains over 40,000 grave plots. The monuments in the principal avenue, many of them by the Munich sculptor Heinrich Waderé, are especially imposing.

Westfriedhof, east side
Crucifixion group by Thomas Buscher
Grave of Princess Soraya and the Esfandiary family
Monument to officers of the Bavarian Police killed in the line of duty

Graves of notable individuals
  • Alexandra (stage name of Doris Nefedov) (1942–1969), singer (Zigeunerjunge)
  • Hans Baur (1897–1993), chief pilot of Adolf Hitler
  • Bernhard Borst (1883–1963), architect of the Borstei estate
  • Karl-Heinz Borutta (1935–2002), footballer
  • Jakob Bradl (1864–1919), sculptor
  • Tilli Breidenbach (1910–1994), actress
  • Michl Ehbauer (1899–1964), writer, humorist
  • Maxl Graf (1933–1996), folk actor
  • Gebhard Greiling (1910–2008), army doctor
  • Adolf Hartmann (1900–1972), painter
  • Hugo Hartung (1902–1972), writer
  • Ursula Herking (1912–1974), actress and cabaret artist (grave levelled)
  • Toni Hiebeler (1930–1984), first man to climb the north-west wall of Monte Civetta in winter (1963) and author of various books about the Alps
  • Michael Hinz (1939–2008), theatre and film actor
  • Markus Koch (1879–1948), composer
  • Robert Lembke (1913–1989), journalist and quizmaster
  • Franz von Lenbach (1836–1904), artist
  • Rudolf Maison (1854–1904), sculptor
  • Karl Meitinger (1882–1970), architect
  • Edmund Nick (1891–1974), composer
  • Alexander Pfänder (1870–1941), philosopher
  • Timofei Prochorow (1894–2004), known as Väterchen Timofei, founder of the Ost-West-Friedenskirche ("East-West Peace Church") in Wiesenfeld, on the site of the present Olympiapark
  • Ernst Röhm (1887–1934), Chief of Staff of the SA, in a small family grave
  • Günther J. Schmidt (1918–2009), entrepreneur, owner of the TOGAL Works[1]
  • Hans Schuberth (1897–1976), Bundesminister for posts and telecommunications
  • Hanns Seidel (1901–1961), Minister-President of Bavaria
  • Princess Soraya (Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari) (1932–2001), former wife of the Shah of Iran
  • Eberhard Stanjek (1935–2001), sports reporter
  • Günther Storck (1938–1993), priest, bishop sede vacante
  • Wolfgang Unzicker (1925–2006), chess grand master
  • Max Valier (1895–1930), rocket pioneer, author of science fiction novels
  • Otto Voisard (1927–1992), chairman of MAN SE, general director of Steyr-Daimler-Puch
  • Karl Schmitt-Walter (1900–1985), opera and lieder singer

Two graves recall the terror of the period of the Bavarian Soviet Republic. Countess Hella von Westarp (1887–1919; grave 9-6-12), secretary of the Thule Society, was shot in the hostage murders. The other gravestone is known as the "Pals' Grave" (Gesellengrab) and commemorates 22 young men, members of the Roman Catholic St. Joseph's Social Club (Gesellenverein St. Joseph) who in May 1919 were drinking in their local and thus missed the curfew. They were apprehended by a Berlin regiment, who took them for Spartacists. The young men were unable to convince their captors otherwise, it was popularly believed because of the difficulties of mutual understanding between Bavarians and Prussians, and all were shot.

Notes and references
  1. Nina Bautz: Togal-Boss ein Jahr nicht beigesetzt!. In: tz, Jahrgang 41, Nr. 290, 15 December 2010, p. 3

Literature
  • Erich Scheibmayr (self-published, Munich):
    • Letzte Heimat, 1985
    • Wer? Wann? Wo? (3 parts), 1989, 1997, 2002

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