War Monument Weisten

In the small cemetery of Weisten is a monument that commemorates the victims, soldiers and civilians, from both world wars. Weisten is an unsightly village that today (2021) has only 54 inhabitants.

On May 18, 1940, Weisten, like all municipalities from the East Cantons, was incorporated into the Third Reich and conscription was introduced from 1941. In Weisten, 22 young men were called up. A young man resisted and emigrated abroad. Eight died at the front and an equal number returned home wounded.

On December 23, 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, German troops passed through the village over Commanster to Vielsalm. Three civilians were injured by shellfire and the houses were badly damaged. Two went up in flames. A month later, on January 23, 1945, American troops advanced. Citizens were notified by radio of an upcoming air raid. Due to the foggy weather, the bombs missed their target and ended up in the peat a kilometer west of the village. During this attack, two Allied aircraft were shot down. Eight German soldiers lost their lives in the immediate vicinity of the village. They were buried at the Heilige Hartkapel and later transferred to the German soldier cemetery in Lommel (Belgian Limburg).

Seven soldiers were killed during the First World War.
The first war memorial was inaugurated on May 5, 1968. However, it was replaced during the period of the 100th anniversary of the First World War. The original marbrite plates were applied to a sheet of cotton steel.

(Source: Martiny, M., Chronik der Ortschaft Weisten (Burg Reuland), 1997)

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Source

• Text: Jan Rymenams
• Photos: Jan Rymenams
• Martiny, M., Chronik der Ortschaft Weisten (Burg Reuland), 1997