Soviet War Memorial

Anne stayed the night with her friend last night and said she would meet us in time for our visit to the roof of the Reichstag. Rob, Anita and I had a slow, lazy start to the day then got the train to Hauptbahnhof, (Berlin Central Station). It is an amazing place, and enormous. it has three different levels, lots of shops and is very busy, it is a modern architectural and engineering masterpiece, much of which is probably lost on busy travellers focused on catching their train on time.

We wandered over towards the river and wound our way around to the Motke Bridge, which points directly to the Reichstag, it was from this very spot that the Soviet 3rd Shock Army began their final assault on Berlin in the early hours of the 30th of April 1945 heading for the Reichstag, the fighting was so fierce that it was not until the 2nd of May that it was finally captured. It's capture was more symbolic than anything else as it had not been in use since it was burned in 1933 in an arson attack that Hitler blamed on communists.

From there we wandered down towards Tiergarten and walked through the park coming out at the main road that runs from the Brandenburg Gate to the Victory Column. As we walked towards the Reichstag again, we came across the Soviet War Memorial, but it was closed off with security fencing. I noticed that the gate wasn't locked and so we broke in, 2 minutes later about 40 other tourists came in after us. For some reason I thought of Kathleen ringing a bell. Fortunately we discovered that it was open from the other side so we were not going to get hauled off by security.

It was everything you imagine a Soviet memorial to be. Apparently it was built just a few months after the capture of Berlin from stonework taken from the destroyed Reich Chancellery.
According to Google translate, the inscription on the memorial says "Eternal glory to heroes who fell in battle with the German fascist invaders for the freedom and independence of the Soviet Union". I couldn't help but think of Wilfred Owen's great poem, Dulce et Decorum Est:

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.

Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

The Latin phrase is from the Roman poet Horace and translates as “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.”

As I said it was everything you imagine a Soviet war memorial to be, and in the same style as Soviet memorials all over Eastern Europe. I've posted a picture of it on this footprint. It is a curved stoa topped by a large statue of a Soviet soldier. The landscaped garden is simple but compliments the design of the memorial, with two Soviet howitzer artillery guns flanking the memorial and two T-34 tanks at the gates. when you walk through the memorial there is a museum behind it with photographs of its construction. I found it quite beautiful.

We left and continued on to the Reichstag and had coffee and a pastry (I had a berliner) and then Anne arrived and we went into the Reichstag - I was questioned at security about the Epi-Pen in my bag. I am glad we went up to the dome, via a long spiral walkway - not only did I get a lovely photo of me with the very lovely Anne, but also the views of Berlin were fantastic.

After a quick lunch of excellent tomato soup in a restaurant where we sat at a table literally on top of the Berlin Wall, we wandered down towards the cathedral. The architecture all around us was beautiful and exactly what you imagine a great European city from the 18th century would look like.

In the evening we met with Mirjam, who walked us along the East Side Gallery, a section of the Berlin Wall 1316 metres long, with graffiti on one side and on the other artworks by artists from all over the world. It was interesting, and Mirjam obviously loved it. She is a real foodie and wanted to take us to a branch of Mustaphas, apparently they serve the best donner in Berlin, so we walked and walked and walked with Mirjam constantly checking Google Maps. Eventually, we realised that the branch in question had closed down, and so following Mirjam we went to the main branch by which time we were all quite hungry I think. There was a decent queue outside but it only took about 20 minutes, Mirjam ordered for me, with my food allergy in mind. As I said, Mirjam is a foodie and I would always trust her recommendations and let me tell you reader, it was fabulous. we went back to the apartment full, and very happy after another great day in Berlin.Read more