Ernst Volland said the photo -- which depicts a Soviet soldier wielding his country's flag above the Reichstag building in Berlin May 2, 1945 -- went through several manipulations before it became an iconic image of the red army's victory, Der Spiegel reported Wednesday.

Volland said Khaldei first altered the photo to remove watches from the wrists of another soldier in the photograph to conceal the fact that the soldiers had been looting. The photographer then added dark clouds to the sky and the final alteration came when Khaldei replaced the flag in the picture.

The curator said the exhibit, which opens May 8 at Berlin's Martin Gropius Bau museum, will include several versions of the photograph -- Khaldei took 36 pictures of the scene atop the Reichstag, as well as several pictures before, during and after World War II.