The POW graveyard was initially set up with simple wooden crosses by former inmates. In 1955-7, when the graveyard was redesigned, the first sign saying "Hier ruhen 1430 sowjetische Soldaten, die von den Faschisten ermordet wurden" ("here lie 1430 Soviet soldiers, murdered by the fascists") was removed due to complaints by locals. It was replaced with the sign still there today with the bland inscription: "Hier ruhen 1430 sowjetische Soldaten, die in schwerer Zeit fern der Heimat starben" ("here lie 1430 Soviet soldiers who died far from home in hard times").