The Dettensee memorial was original erected for the fallen and missed of World War I. The consecration took place after covering a prolonged planning and financing period on 4 August 1929. The probable donor of the memorial was the Dettensee Kriegerverein, what was founded in 1878. The memorial was financed by donations from the general public as well as by the municipality.
The memorial was badly damaged by shelling during the invasion of French troops in April 1945. The repair followed in 1959 and was also expanded by two panels for the fallen and missing persons of World War II.
The progressive weathering over the years had made the inscriptions hard to read. The village council discussed a further repair since the year 2000. The repair took place in 2005 and in course of that was the memorial moved to another place within the churchyard.