German field graves Amstelwijck

Amstelwijck May 1940. Four field graves of German paratroopers in the garden of Villa Amstelwijck. It was long believed that these were the graves of the four fallen paratroopers from 4./FJR 1 who died on May 10, 1940, during the attack on Amstelwijck. In fact, these are the graves of Gefreiter Hans Graband, Obergefreiter Josef Tillman, Gefreiter Johannes Barty, and Gefreiter Leonard Kramer. They all belonged to 11./FJR 1 and fell on May 12, 1940, at the viaduct over the Zeehavenlaan in a battle with Dutch Hussars of the 2nd Regiment Motorized Hussars. The paratroopers were given a temporary field grave in the garden at Amstelwijck and were later reburied at the general cemetery in Dordrecht. After the war, all German graves in Dordrecht were relocated to the Ysselsteyn military cemetery. There, these German paratroopers were given a permanent resting place. The villa itself served as a command post for I-28 R.I. There was a casemate park behind the villa. The villa and the casemate park were overrun by German paratroopers on the morning of May 10, 1940, after a poorly organized defense under the command of Major van Hoek.