The Invalids' Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Berlin. It was the traditional resting place of the Prussian Army, and is regarded as particularly important as a memorial to the German Wars of Liberation of 1813–15.
Invalids' Cemetery
Tomb of General von Scharnhorst
Looking west to the Graves of Scharnhorst, Boyen and the Rauch family
Former death zone (Todesstreifen) in the cemetery with the rest of the Berlin Wall (Hinterlandmauer – left), right: the western wall of the cemetery
Gerhard Johann David von Scharnhorst was a Hanoverian-born general in Prussian service from 1801. As the first Chief of the Prussian General Staff, he was noted for his military theories, his reforms of the Prussian army, and his leadership during the Napoleonic Wars. Scharnhorst limited the use of corporal punishments, established promotion for merit, abolished the enrollment of foreigners, began the organization of a reserve army, and organized and simplified the military administration.
Gerhard von Scharnhorst
Scharnhorst's grave at the Invalidenfriedhof, Berlin
Statue of Scharnhorst on the Unter den Linden, Berlin