Commemorating the dead of the Battle of Berlin (the Soviet way and the German way)
Once the guns had fallen silent across Berlin, the grim task of burying the dead began.
The battle had been bloody for the Red Army, but it had been successful. That’s all that mattered.
In any case, the Soviets are estimated to have lost at least 80,000 men in their assault on the city, thus showing the high price of victory.
For the Germans, there are no reliable numbers for the number of military casualties they suffered, though most estimates fall into the range of between 90,000 – 100,000 German troops being killed in the battle for Berlin.
The civilian losses, meanwhile, also ran into the thousands, with some historians estimating that at least 100,000 Berliners died during the battle.
The Soviets, keen to celebrate their victory over Nazism and seeking to lionise their fallen, built a series of grand memorials around the city, including this memorial at Treptower Park.
Here, 7000 Red Army soldiers are buried.
There are of course no grand memorials to the German dead, and the civilians who perished in the fighting can be found in cemeteries across the city, where their graves are marked with nothing more than a simple, somber, brownish plaque.
Out of interest, I took a walk around my local cemetery, and it didn’t take me long to find dozens of rows of graves belonging to Berliners who were killed during the war and during the battle of Berlin itself.
As a final, harrowing comment on the fighting, many of the dead from the battle remain unidentified to this day.
In the final episode of my series on the Battle of Berlin, I cover the situation Berliners found themselves in after the cessation of the fighting. Because once the battle ended, for many in the city, not least of all women, a new round of hardship and suffering was to begin…
You can find the final episode of the Battle of Berlin series below.
A weekly podcast exploring the lesser-known battles and stories of the Second World War, with a particular focus on the Eastern Front.
Next: The Battle of Leipzig.
If you have any comments or questions about the show, please get in touch via davidsumner.podcast@gmail.com or visit https://davidsumnerhistory.com/
You can also support me on Patreon via https://patreon.com/europeatwar
With defeat now inevitable for the Germans and the Soviet capture of Berlin all but complete, General Weidling enters into final surrender negotiations with the Soviets.
In the meantime, the breakout groups continue in their attempt to fight their way out of the capital.
Epilogue: Once the fighting ends, the victors, the defeated, and the people of Berlin, all take stock after the battle.
Berliners who survived the battle, are now subjected to a new struggle, as their city lies in ruins.
And from the rubble, a new Berlin will arise…
Map: Here is a map giving an overview of the important locations featured in the series.
Map: Here is a map showing the route taken by Mohnke’s breakout group. (Source: akg-images / Peter Palm).
Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/europeatwar
If you have any comments or questions about the show, please get in touch via davidsumner.podcast@gmail.com
You can also follow me on instagram at davidsumnerhistory or visit my site davidsumnerhistory.com
Sources used for the series:
Anonymous, A Woman In Berlin, Virago, 2011.
Anthony Beevor, Berlin: The Downfall 1945, Viking Penguin, 2002.
Tony Le Tissier, The Battle of Berlin, The History Press Ltd, 2008.
Roger Moorhouse, Berlin At War, Vintage, 2011.
Cornelius Ryan, The Last Battle, Simon & Schuster, 1966.
Volker Ulrich, 8 Days In May, Penguin, 2022.
