The “first” house taken by the Red Army during their assault on Berlin
This house, known as the “Haus der Befreiung” (en: House of liberation), sits at Landsberger Allee 563 in Berlin on the north-eastern edge of the city in the district of Marzahn.
Built in the latest 1890s for a local farmer, this house marks the spot where on the 21st of April, 1945, the 5th Shock Army under Colonel General Nikolai Berzarin*, crossed the city limits and entered Berlin.
The Red Army had now officially reached the capital.
Of course, this might not have actually been the *first* house to be taken by the Soviets, but in 1985, in preparation for the 40th anniversary of the end of the war, the house was painted red, whilst also being adorned with the mural.
The words in Cyrillic commemorate the historic date of May 8th. Whilst the stone tablet below claims that Red Army soldiers raised the red flag of victory in Marzahn on their way to “liberate Berlin from Hitler fascism.”
The house is located on one of the main access routes into Berlin, so the mural is a daily reminder of the war for commuters.
In 1945, the outer-lying areas of Marzahn were still pretty rural, but nowadays, the area is full of communist-style apartment blocks and shopping centres…
*After the battle, Berzarin became the first Soviet commander of Berlin.