Tending the graves of German soldiers and prisoners of war in British cemeteries during World War I and II was an act of reconciliation and acknowledgment of shared losses. British citizens showed their former foes respect by laying flowers and wreaths on graves, creating a common humanity that emerged after the war. Tim Grady, a professor of modern history, uncovered documents from the German War Graves Commission that showed more than 7,000 Germans were buried in British cemeteries. This relationship was not a straightforward reciprocal arrangement but a way for people to connect over their shared experiences of loss. Some British families even formed connections with German families of the buried soldiers, creating a foundation for reconciliation between the two nations.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/29/a-common-humanity-the-british-families-who-tended-graves-of-german-soldiers