Seeing OT in white nurses uniforms, nursing soldiers who had fought in East Prussia and OTMAA playing on the Dniepr riverside in the middle of the war which indirectly killed them made me think of this melancholic East Prussian folksong:
YouTube: Zogen einst fünf wilde SchwäneZogen einst fünf wilde Schwäne,
Schwäne leuchtend weiß und schön.
„Sing, sing, was geschah?“
Keiner ward mehr gesehn.
Wuchsen einst fünf junge Birken
grün und frisch an Bachesrand
„Sing, sing, was geschah!“
Keine in Blüten stand.
Zogen einst fünf junge Burschen
stolz und kühn zum Kampf hinaus.
„Sing, sing, was geschah?“
Keiner kehrt nach Haus.
Wuchsen einst fünf junge Mädchen
schlank und schön am Ostseestrand*.
„Sing, sing, was geschah?“
Keins den Brautkranz wand.=
Once five wild swans set out,
Swans bright white and beautiful.
"Sing, Sing, what happened?"
None was ever seen anymore.
There once grew five young birches
green and fresh by the riverside
"Sing, Sing, what happened!"
None of them reached their bloom.
Once five young boys set out
proud and eager to fight.
"Sing, Sing, what happened?"
None returned to his home.
There once grew up five young girls
slim and fair on the Baltic's shore.
"Sing, Sing, what happened?"
None did bind her bridal wreath.
The original version has
Ostseestrand, Baltic shore, but some, like the one on Youtube, has
Memelstrand, the shore of the river Memel / Nyeman, a river coming from Belarus and flowing close to the old Prussian-Russian border before it empties into the Batlic.