Memorial Cross and Memorial Stones on Storage Cemetery Kaisersteinbruch/Sommerain

In the Kaisersteinbruch prisoner of war camp, Stalag XVII A, prisoners were incarcerated from September 1939. The prisoners came from Poland, Belgium, France, Serbia, Italy, Great Britain, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and primarily from the Soviet Union. Due to overcrowding, food shortages, unhygienic living conditions, inadequate clothing, and a lack of medical care, around 10,000 prisoners died, with about 9,500 being from the Soviet Union. A memorial cemetery had to be established west of the camp at the community border between Kaisersteinbruch and Sommerein for the numerous deceased.

In 1989/90, extensive renovation or reconfiguration of the site was carried out in cooperation with the Red Cross, the Federal Ministry of Interior, and the State Government of Lower Austria. As part of this, a cross six meters high was erected near the entrance in the northern area. On both sides are two memorial stones with plaques that refer to the burial site and the renovation work from 1989/90.