The German War Cemetery became a separate site, isolated from the municipal burial ground, with boundary plantings and stone fences and with its own entrance from Strømsveien - it was established in 1952. Here there are 3207 graves, of which 2956 have been moved from Ekeberg.



Some of the German soldiers who fell in Norway immediately after Germany's invasion of the country were first placed in "makeshift" graves on Vestre gravlund. The coffins were placed two in height due to lack of space. This had fallen after the sinking of "Blücher" in the Drøbaksundet on the morning of April 9, 1940 when Germany attacked Norway. During the 16th and 19th of April, a total of 320 German soldiers were buried.



It did not take the German military leadership long to decide where the permanent German war cemetery should be; namely in one of Oslo's free areas, Ekeberg. The City of Oslo tried to get the cemetery out of the city, but the Germans did as they pleased - it was they who sat in power. When this cemetery was completed, the buried German soldiers on Vestre gavlund were moved. The transfer to Ekeberg took place in late May and early June 1940. The work was carried out at night, including the lorry driving.



Soldiers who died "without honor", which means almost without exception those who were sentenced to death by a German court martial, were not buried at Ekeberg. 105 such Germans and Austrians were placed under such circumstances at Vestre gravlund and 68 at Grefsen Cemetery.



The earliest date of death found in the cemetery is April 8, 1940, the day before the attack on Norway. This is probably about soldiers who perished when "Rio de Janeiro" was torpedoed and sank outside Lillesand. The dead were first buried in Farsund, then moved to Ekeberg in February 1941. The last to be buried were 39 soldiers who were buried in a common grave after they were killed in an explosion accident on Grønlibrygga on 17 August 1945, that is, more than three months after the German capitulation.



After the liberation, there was a strong desire to relocate the war cemetery. This is both because they did not want such a great location for a German war cemetery, and that they wanted to take back the free areas that had been used for the cemetery. The relocation from Ekeberg was made in September and October 1952, while the war graves at Vestre gravlund and Grefsen cemetery were moved in 1953. After the relocation of the graves, the cemetery at Ekeberg was erased, the area is today called Hundesletta.



It must be said, without exaggeration, that there was great resistance in the Norwegian population against having German soldiers buried in exactly "their" cemetery. Thus, all 11,500 named Germans were gathered in 5 war cemeteries, one of which was Alfaset. The other 4 are in Narvik, Bergen, Trondheim and Botn in Saltdal.