How many stories lie beneath this soil? The Opfer 2. Weltkrieg is more than just a cemetery. It is a place of remembrance for the countless victims of World War II in Berlin.
The battle for Berlin marked the end of the Third Reich. It began on April 16 1945. Soviet Red Army forces attacked from the east. What followed was intense fighting. The German defenders included old men and young boys.
Berlin was reduced to rubble. Women were targeted. Businesses were looted. Civilians scavenged meat from dead horses. Adolf Hitler hid in his bunker. He moved imaginary armies on maps. He planned a massive German empire called Germania.
After marrying Eva Braun he committed suicide. Their bodies were burned. German radio falsely reported Hitler had died in battle. When the city fell on May 2 1945 over 300000 Berliners and 80000 Red Army soldiers were dead.
Before the year ended the Soviets built a monument in Tiergarten. This park was burned out and pockmarked. It became the final resting place for over 2000 Red Army soldiers. Hitler planned to redesign this area as part of Germania. The Reichstag ruins were visible from the Soviet memorial.
The war memorial is stoa-shaped. It features gray and black marble from destroyed Nazi buildings including Hitler’s Chancellery. A brass statue of a Red Army soldier stands on top. His hand casts over a Cyrillic inscription. It commemorates the eternal glory of fallen comrades. They fought against the Nazi invaders to preserve the Soviet Union.
A T-34 tank and a Red Army howitzer flank the memorial. The Tiergarten is now green. The tank and howitzer blend into the park. Imagine how different it looked in 1945. Behind the Red Army soldier is a small open museum. It tells the story of the monument’s construction. White columns and black iron gates mark the cemetery entrance. Over 2000 Red Army soldiers rest here. They are eternal witnesses to the last battle.
VE-Day ceremonies occur here annually on May 8. This marks Nazi Germany’s surrender to the Soviet Union in 1945. The memorial is a pilgrimage site. Red Army veterans and families visit. The US UK and France supported the memorial’s construction. Even during the Cold War Soviet honor guards stood duty here.
Splashes of color stand out against the gray and black marble. Yellow pink orange red and violet flowers adorn the monument. Mementos are left for the fallen. The Opfer 2. Weltkrieg is a living memory of the battle against Hitler. It marks the terrible cost to end his regime forever.