Soviet War Memorial (Tiergarten)

After the Second World War three official Russian war memorials were established in Berlin. These were the Russian War Memorial (Treptower Park), the Russian War Memorial (Schönholzer Heide) and the Russian War Memorial (Tiergarten). Since the Russian War Memorial (Tiergarten) is located in Berlin's city center, this is the most visited Russian war memorial in Berlin.

The Russian war memorials are not only monuments but also war cemeteries. In the backyard of the Russian War Memorial (Tiergarten) rest an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 Soviet soldiers. Thus the Russian War Memorial (Tiergarten) not only commemorates victory but especially the approximately 80,000 Soviet soldiers that did not survive the Battle for Berlin.

The war memorial was inaugurated on November 11, 1945. Left and right of the war memorial are T-34/76 tanks and ML -20 152mm howitzers. The tanks would have been the first tanks to reach Berlin. The war memorial itself is made of marble blocks. According to unconfirmed sources these marble blocks would have been put out of the remnants of the Old Reich Chancellery and the New Reich Chancellery.

The war memorial is located on the Strasse des 17. Juni at walking distance of the Siegessäule and the Brandenburger Tor. This is the location were the East-West-Axis and the North-South-Axis of World Capital Germania designed by Albert Speer would cross each other.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

• Text: Mario Huinink
• Photos: Rob Vogels (1), Mario Huinink (2), Fedor de Vries (3, 4, 5)