HALBE, Germany — In a forest near Berlin, the remains of 107 fallen Wehrmacht soldiers were ceremoniously interred last week. High school students placed white gerbera daisies on small black coffins, and German soldiers lowered them respectfully into a large, freshly dug grave as a military band played a solemn tune.
Small coffins with the remains of fallen German WWII soldiers are placed in a mass grave April 30 in Halbe, Germany.
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German soldiers carry small coffins with the remains of fallen German WWII soldiers during a funeral April 30 in Halbe, Germany.
A German soldier carries a box with the remains of fallen German World War II soldiers to the grave during a funeral April 30 at a memorial site for fallen soldiers in Halbe, Germany.
A student pays tribute to the small coffins with the remains of fallen German soldiers of WWII during a funeral service at a memorial site for fallen soldiers in Halbe, Germany, April 30.
German War Graves Commission workers exhume the remains of German WWII soldiers March 19 in Ostrołęka, Poland.
A worker of the German War Graves Commission works on the exhumation of remains of German WWII soldiers in Ostrołęka, Poland, March 19.
Photos: Germany still searching for fallen WWII soldiers
Workers of the German War Graves Commission exhume the remains of German WWII soldiers in Ostrołęka, Poland, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
A worker of the German War Graves Commission holds a dog tag of a fallen German WWII soldier in his hands during a exhumation of remains of German WWII soldiers in Ostrołęka, Poland, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
A worker of the German War Graves Commission works on the exhumation of fallen German WWII soldier in Bedgoszcz, near Szczecin, Poland, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
A worker of the German War Graves Commission works on the exhumation of remains of German WWII soldiers in Ostrołęka, Poland, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
The remains of a fallen German WWII soldier lay in a box after his exhumation by the German War Graves Commission in Bedgoszcz, near Szczecin, Poland, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
German soldiers bury small coffins with the remains of fallen German soldiers of WWII during a funeral service at a memorial site for fallen soldiers in Halbe, Germany, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Small coffins with the remains of fallen German soldiers of WWII are placed in the mass grave during a funeral service at a memorial site for fallen soldiers in Halbe, Germany, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
German soldiers carry the small coffins with the remains of fallen German soldiers of WWII to the grave during a funeral service at a memorial site for fallen soldiers in Halbe, Germany, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Crosses and grave stones stand on a war cemetery for more than 26.000 fallen German WWII soldiers in Stare Czarnowo, near Szczecin, Poland, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
A student pays tribute to the small coffins with the remains of fallen German soldiers of WWII during a funeral service at a memorial site for fallen soldiers in Halbe, Germany, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Small coffins with the remains of fallen German soldiers of WWII are placed in the mass grave during a funeral service at a memorial site for fallen soldiers in Halbe, Germany, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Workers of the German War Graves Commission work on the exhumation of remains of German WWII soldiers in Ostrołęka, Poland, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
A worker of the German War Graves Commission works on the exhumation of remains of German WWII soldiers in Ostrołęka, Poland, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
A worker of the German War Graves Commission holds a skull in his hands as he works on the exhumation of remains of German WWII soldiers in Ostrołęka, Poland, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Small coffins with the remains of fallen German soldiers of WWII are placed on the ground during a funeral service at a memorial site for fallen soldiers in Halbe, Germany, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Artur Berger, Tomasz Czabanski and Diane Tempel-Bornett of the German War Graves Commission inspect an area at a forest at the eve of the exhumation of German WWII soldiers in Bedgoszcz, near Szczecin, Poland, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Small coffins with the remains of fallen German soldiers of WWII are placed on the ground during a funeral service at a memorial site for fallen soldiers in Halbe, Germany, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
The remains of a German WWII soldiers are exhume in Ostrołęka, Poland, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Commission works on the exhumation of fallen German WWII soldier in Bedgoszcz, near Szczecin, Poland, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Workers of the German War Graves Commission exhume the remains of German WWII soldiers in Ostrołęka, Poland, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
with the remains of fallen German soldiers of WWII to the grave during a funeral service at a memorial site for fallen soldiers in Halbe, Germany, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A worker of the German War Graves Commission cleans a lower jaw of a German WWII soldier in his hands during a exhumation of remains of German WWII soldiers in Bedgoszcz, near Szczecin, Poland, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
German soldiers carry the small coffins with the remains of fallen German soldiers of WWII to the grave during a funeral service at a memorial site for fallen soldiers in Halbe, Germany, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
German soldiers carry the small coffins with the remains of fallen German soldiers of WWII to the grave during a funeral service at a memorial site for fallen soldiers in Halbe, Germany, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Small coffins with the remains of fallen German soldiers of WWII are placed in the mass grave during a funeral service at a memorial site for fallen soldiers in Halbe, Germany, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Gera reported from Ostrołęka, Poland.
