Vladimir Putin and Gerhard Schroeder both laid a wreath of red roses at the monument to the fallen soldiers.
On the wreath were ribbons of the Russian and German tricolours with the inscriptions “From the President of Russia” and “From the Federal Chancellor”. 386 people are buried at the cemetery. Most of them were Russian citizens.
Then Mr Putin and Mr Schroeder visited the Hannover town hall.
The guests were welcomed by Mayor of Hannover Herbert Schmalstieg. He told of the sad fate of the prisoners of war and their forced labour in the Hannover region during the years of Nazism.
Mr Schmalstieg gave a souvenir to the Russian President – a copy of the town clock Kropcke. The original has four dials and shows the time in the centre of Hannover, at a crossing of main streets.