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Memorials & Monuments
Germany's eventful history is reflected in Berlin's many memorials, monuments and cemeteries. These places in the capital are dedicated to remembrance and commemoration of past events. more
Located on Straße des 17. Juni and close to the Brandenburg Gate, the Soviet War Memorial commemorates the Soviet soldiers who died during the Second World War.
The Tiergarten Soviet War Memorial is located in the center of Berlin on Straße des 17. Juni. The memorial was built after the end of the war in 1945 and was inaugurated in November of the same year. It commemorates the Soviet soldiers who died during the Second World War.
Along with the larger Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park and a third one in Pankow, the monuments commemorate the central role of the Soviet Army soldiers who fought and fell in the last bitter days of the battle for Berlin just before Hitler’s death on April 30, 1945 and Germany’s final surrender on May 8 - remembered today as VE or Victory in Europe Day. The Red Army soldier hoisting the hammer-and-sickle flag on the Reichstag was Khadley’s iconic image of the surrender of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II.
Flanked by two "T 34" tanks, a bronze statue of a Red Army soldier carrying his rifle on his shoulder stands in the middle of the square. Texts with the names of fallen Soviet soldiers are attached to the pillars behind it. The graves of around 2,500 soldiers lie at the back of the memorial.
A total of four large Soviet memorials were erected in Berlin in the post-war period, which, in addition to their function as memorials, are also military cemeteries. The Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park is the central memorial in Berlin. In addition to the memorial in Tiergarten and Treptow, memorials were also erected in Schönholzer Heide and Bucher Schlosspark.
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Germany's eventful history is reflected in Berlin's many memorials, monuments and cemeteries. These places in the capital are dedicated to remembrance and commemoration of past events. more
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From Alexanderplatz to Zoo: the most important attractions and sights in Berlin from A to Z. more