Holding the Four Winds of Heaven on Earth: The Chapel at the German Military Cemetery in Menen (Belgium)

The German military cemetery in Menen was founded in 1917. Between 1955 and 1959, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge (VDK) reburied there the corpses of soldiers transferred from smaller cemeteries. Designed by the VDK’s chief architect Robert Tischler (1885–1959), the cemetery features a reception house at the entrance to the grounds, as well as an octagonal chapel located in the center of the lawn. The article focuses on the architectural layout and the decorative plan of the chapel. I argue that Tischler was inspired by medieval wind-rose diagrams and by the Hellenistic Tower of the Winds in Athens. Consequently, I suggest what kind of experience Tischler was planning for visitors, and reflect on the thoughts, sentiments, and intentions of the VDK after Germany lost World War II and had to face the mass reburial of the casualties from both World Wars.