The Groterjan Brewery – My own local piece of battle of Berlin history
This is the former Groterjan* Brewery on Prinzenallee in Gesundbrunnen, and here, on the evening of the 2nd of May, 1945, Wilhelm Mohnke’s breakout group was forced to surrender to some nearby Red Army units, after realising that they had no hope of escaping Berlin. (The surrender was portrayed in one of the final scenes in the film Downfall @war.movie.blog).
However, surrendering to the Soviets wasn’t exactly a straightforward matter. After all, if a Waffen SS officer tried to make first contact with the Russians, then that would all but guarantee a rather grizzly end for the breakout group…
Thus a lowly Wehrmacht Colonel was chosen instead, and after *he* had successfully secured the Soviet acceptance of the breakout group’s surrender (and a Soviet promise that their lives would be spared), Mohnke’s group were taken into custody, where most would spend years in Soviet captivity.
The site of the old Groterjan Brewery is less than a kilometre from my flat in Berlin, so I’m slightly chuffed to have such an iconic location from the battle of Berlin in my neighbourhood!
Tried to find battle damage, and all I could find were a handful of “round holes,” which may or may not be from 1945.
You can hear all about Mohnke’s breakout attempt and other notable breakout attempts by listening to the final episode of the Battle of Berlin, which you can find below.
*In the early 1960s, the Brewery was bought by the Berlin Schultheiss brewing company, hence the Schultheiss logo on the side of the building. Nowadays, a bioengineering company owns the site.
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.
