Historical information (Source: CWGC)

The cemetery was begun by the Germans in 1915 for the burial of prisoners of war who died at the local camp. During the war almost 3,000 Allied soldiers and civilians, including French, Russian and Commonwealth, were buried there.

In 1922-23 it was decided that the graves of Commonwealth servicemen who had died all over Germany should be brought together into four permanent cemeteries. Niederzwehren was one of those chosen and in the following four years, more than 1,500 graves were brought into the cemetery from 190 burial grounds in Baden, Bavaria, Hanover, Hesse and Saxony.

There are now 1,796 First World War servicemen buried or commemorated in the Commonwealth plot at Niederzwehren. This total includes special memorials to 13 casualties buried in other cemeteries in Germany whose graves could not be found.  In addition, in June 2018, five special memorial headstones were erected to five Second World War airmen who were known to have been buried in Ohrdruf Cemetery, but whose graves were later lost.

James Robert „Jim“ Dennistoun - Born 7. March 1883 in Peel Forest, Canterbury, New Zealand and died 9. August 1916 as a POW in KZ Ohrdruf. He was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and soldier in World War I. He is particularly known as the first person to climb Mitre Peak.

With a height of 1692 m, Mitre Peak is one of the highest mountains around Milford Sound/Piopiotahi in Fiordland National Park in the southwest of the South Island of New Zealand.  The first attempts to climb the mountain were made by the artist Samuel Horatio Moreton (≈1843–1923) in 1883. The ascent failed due to adverse weather conditions.

The first ascent was made 28 years later by New Zealander James Robert Dennistoun, who attempted the ascent together with fellow countryman Joe Beaglehole (1875-1962) on March 13, 1911. After Beaglehole abandoned the ascent on a steep section, Dennistoun climbed the rest of the way to the summit alone. Three years later, Jack Murrell and Edgar Williams climbed Mitre Peak, confirming that an ascent was possible.

five Second World War airmen who were known to have been buried in Ohrdruf Cemetery