Graves of German Soldiers near Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Spring 1942

September 25, 2025 - Reading time: 5 minutes

Graves of German soldiers killed near Kramatorsk, Ukraine, in March 1942, including Hellmut Litty, Herbert Gottschalk, and Hans Lang.

WWII photo of graves of German Wehrmacht soldiers near Kramatorsk, Ukraine, spring 1942, including Hellmut Litty, Herbert Gottschalk, and Hans Lang.

This World War II photograph shows the graves of German soldiers of the Wehrmacht, buried in the spring of 1942 on occupied Soviet territory near the town of Kramatorsk, Ukraine. These fallen soldiers were part of Hitler’s invading army, which had advanced deep into the Donbass region during Operation Barbarossa and the early stages of the 1942 campaign.

Identified Soldiers in the Photograph

The graves in the image are marked with names of German servicemen who died on March 13, 1942:

Hellmut Litty – buried near Kramatorsk, his grave reportedly still exists in the modern city.
Herbert Gottschalk – listed with the location Indjukovka, also tied to Kramatorsk; his burial site is likewise preserved.
Hans Lang, Private First Class – buried in Indjukovka, a small settlement about 10 km northwest of Kramatorsk. The village no longer exists today, having been incorporated into Oleksandrivka.

The Eastern Front in Early 1942

By the spring of 1942, the Eastern Front had stabilized after the failure of Germany’s rapid advance in 1941. Fierce battles were raging in Ukraine and along the Donbass industrial region, as both armies regrouped for the coming summer offensives. For many soldiers, including those shown in this photo, the war ended in nameless fields and improvised cemeteries far from home.

Legacy of War Graves

These graves stand as reminders of the enormous human cost of the war. While the German army sought to establish dominance in the East, it instead met stubborn Soviet resistance and attrition. Today, scattered cemeteries across Ukraine and Russia continue to testify to the scale of the Wehrmacht’s losses.

Technical photo data:
📍 Location: Indjukovka (now part of Oleksandrivka), near Kramatorsk, Ukraine, USSR
📅 Date: Spring 1942
📝 Event: Wehrmacht casualties on the Eastern Front, German graves near Kramatorsk
📷 Author: Unknown German military photographer