Great Patriotic War claimed the lives of more than 8.6 million. Soldier of the Soviet Army.Of these, about 75 thousand soldiers were killed during the storming of Berlin, which resulted in our troops entered the city and forced the surrender of Hitler.In memory of Soviet soldiers who gave their lives in the decisive battle for the victory, after the war in the German capital was built 3 large monument.One of them is a memorial to the fallen Soviet soldiers in Tiergarten, a photo which you can see in this article.
location and a brief description of
place of erection of the monument was elected as the second largest fleet of the German capital's Tiergarten Great.Its name translates from German as "a zoo."Himself a memorial to Soviet soldiers in Tiergarten is located next to the Brandenburg Gate, in the street on 17 June.
It represents the architectural and sculptural complex on the territory of which is not only a monument, but a large mass grave.It buried the remains of the officers and soldiers of the Soviet Army who died in Berlin in the last days of the Great Patriotic War.
history of erecting a monument
idea to erect a monument in memory of those killed in the storming of Berlin Soviet soldiers expressed teams first Belorussian Front, Marshal Zhukov.It happened in May 1945 in the capital of defeated Germany.The idea of the famous marshal supported by the Soviet military leadership, and work began on the construction of the monument.The authors of the project were appointed young and still little-known sculptor Vladimir Tsigal and Lev Kerbel, in collaboration with the architect Nicholas Sergius.The creators have traveled the whole of Berlin in search of a suitable site for the monument and chose the Tiergarten park, located near the Reichstag.This is the place they liked for two reasons.Firstly, it was perfect from the architectural point of view, and secondly, there were the most brutal battles of Berlin.
Soviet leadership the idea of erecting a memorial in the Tiergarten approved, but there was one problem.Berlin was divided between the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition (the USSR, France, Britain and the United States), 4 zones of occupation, and the park was located in the British zone of influence.Churchill had already resigned as British prime minister.Soviet diplomats have applied for permission to erect a monument to Soviet soldiers who died in the British commandant of Berlin, Major General Line.The negotiations were successful, and in the territory of the British occupation zone in 1945, the Soviet Union began to build a memorial to the fallen Soviet soldiers in Tiergarten.
managed to erect a monument as soon as possible.Its grand opening was held on November 11, 1945 In addition to the Soviet side, the ceremony was attended by commanders of the English, French and American sectors of the German capital.In honor of the opening at the base of the memorial complex was held a parade of the allied forces.
Description
Memorial monument to the fallen soldiers of the Soviet Union in the Tiergarten included today in the list of the main attractions of the park.It is a monumental composition, centered at a height of 8 meters towering bronze statue of a Soviet soldier in full uniform.Hanging behind him rifle indicates the end of hostilities and the onset of the long-awaited peace.But the soldier does not sleep, his tense posture indicates that if necessary, he is ready to get back to defend their homeland.
around the pedestal with the figure of a soldier exposed semicircle located and connected to the top of the smaller tower light gray.A total of 6, as the years that lasted the Second World War.On the surface colonnades carved death toll during the storming of Berlin, the Soviet military and the inscription telling about the kinds of forces that took part in the battle.Monument framed by gun-howitzer model ML-20 and T-34 tanks.This military equipment is not for nothing is present here, as she passed through the war and, together with the forces of the Red Army reached Berlin.For the colonnades can be seen 2 fountain.Water bubbling from them, represents the tears of the Soviet people, grieving for the dead.
graves on the territory of the memorial
As already stated above, the memorial to the fallen Soviet soldiers in Tiergarten - is not just a monument.On its territory there are graves of soldiers killed on the outskirts of Berlin.The graves of Soviet army officers lined up in front of the monument, on each side of the track leading to it.Behind the memorial is a small park, where the remains of fallen soldiers.The total number buried in the complex of the Soviet Army soldiers from different sources ranging from 2 to 2.5 thousand people.In memory of the fallen soldiers and officers every year on May 8 passes ceremony of laying flowers and wreaths on the graves of them.
Sentry and care
For decades, remained in the British occupation zone Tiergarten.Memorial to soldiers was a kind of island of the Soviet presence in West Berlin.Until 1994, near the monument honor guard carried the army infantry battalion of the Soviet and then the Russian army.After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the withdrawal of our troops from Germany, the monument was transferred to Berlin.
Care monument and the graves of fallen soldiers today carried out jointly by Germany and Russia on the basis of signed bilateral agreements between them.Last time the memorial complex was renovated in the end of April 2008. Today he is in excellent condition.
incident
Memorial monument to fallen Soviet soldiers in Tiergarten in 2010 was desecrated.Unidentified persons inflicted on him a red indelible paint a swastika and the inscription on the offensive against German soldiers dead.The incident happened at night on May 9.On the destruction of the inscriptions did not have time, so the local authorities were forced to hide them for the two rectangular strips.Russian-speaking veterans, who came to the memorial to honor the memory of those killed were saddened by what he saw.Due to the incident the Russian Embassy has sent a protest note to the German authorities.The incident was settled, but he left in the hearts of many of our compatriots unpleasant aftertaste.
