Record-low Danube water levels caused by severe drought have exposed the remains of two Second World War German soldiers in Budapest, alongside a wartime motorcycle and personal items. The discovery may help establish what happened to men whose families never received official notice of their deaths, while also highlighting the effects of the river’s unusually low level.

The find was reported on 2 August after part of a motorcycle emerged near the downtown riverbank; anti-tank mines also prompted a temporary closure for bomb disposal. Items included identification tags, a wedding ring, a Kuban shield and a likely DKW NZ 350-1 military motorcycle, with one tag linked to a Wehrmacht soldier and another to a Waffen-SS member. The German War Graves Commission will use records and bone analysis to investigate identities before burying the soldiers at Budaörs German war cemetery.