A war memorial and military cemetery, the Soviet War Memorial (Sowjetisches Ehrenmal) is located in Treptower Park in former East Berlin. It was designed by Soviet architect Yakov Belopolsky to honor 5,000 of the 80,000 Soviet soldiers who died in the Battle of Berlin in April-May 1945. It opened four years after the end of the Second World War, on May 8, 1949, and was the main war memorial in the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
Symbolism created in socialist realism
The memorial was designed in socialist realism style. The primary focus is a massive work by Soviet sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich: a 12-meter tall statue of a Soviet soldier with a sword holding a German child. The soldier has a pleasant but determined look on his face, and the child holds on pressed firmly against his savior's shoulder.
Smashed swastika represents crushing Nazi Germany
Perhaps the child represented the "new" Germany that the Soviet Union has saved from fascism, and will now "care for" the child as it grows. The large sword in his hand has smashed a swastika, which the soldier stands upon, representing the crushing of Nazi Germany by the Red Army. This statue is quite striking and moving when seen in person. One cannot take their eyes off of it for a while.
Soviet soldiers brought small children to orphanages during Battle of Berlin
The sculptor's inspiration for the monument was Red Army soldier Nikolai Masalov (1922-2001). On April 30, 1945, he saw a little German girl wandering around the Potsdamer Platz during the Battle of Berlin and brought her to safety. Despite rumors that this episode was Soviet propaganda, documents exist that substantiate at least five cases of Russian solders delivering small German children to orphanages during the Battle of Berlin. The base of the statue contains a small room lined in mosaics, in which wreaths are usually laid to honor the fallen soldiers.
5,000 Red Army soldiers buried in Treptower Park, Berlin
Below and on both sides of the statue are found 16 stone sarcophagi, one for each of the former Soviet Republics. Each one has a different relief carving in socialist realism style of military scenes along with quotations of Joseph Stalin. One side is in Russian and the other in German. It is here where the 5,000 Red Army soldiers are buried.
A portal with a pair of stylized Soviet flags crafted from red granite stand at the opposite end of the central area. Flanking the flags are two statues of kneeling soldiers. There is also a statue of Mother Russia weeping for the loss of her brave sons.
This memorial can be seen as a reminder to the East Germans that they should not forget that it was the Soviet Union that liberated them from the Nazis. The Soviet War Memorial serves as a living memorial for Red Army veterans who regularly hold ceremonies there and lay wreaths at the mausoleum to honor their fallen comrades.
Source
Brothers, Eric. Berlin Journals. 1988, 1992, 1993. Unpublished.
Eric Brothers - Eric Brothers' forthcoming book,The Berlin Ghetto, will be published by The History Press in the U.K. in 2012.
