Soviet War Memorial
Even though its on German soil, this isn't a memorial to Germans killed during World War II. This is a monument built by the Soviets to remember the heavy losses they suffered at the hands of Germany. It is the victor rubbing his vanquished foe's face in the mud and considering what Russia went through during the war its hard to blame them for doing this. Estimates of the number of Russians (both civilian and soldier) killed during the war have been given at up to twenty million. All over the country war memorials were erected with captions such as "We thank the heroic Soviet Army for saving us from our Fascist Oppressor." These monuments were not meant to serve the East German population, but to trivialize their losses and remind them who is now in charge. This is a moving memorial and is well designed to evoke a feeling of loss and remembrance. People were crying and flowers were everywhere. Unlike many other things in East Germany, this memorial is kept in immaculate condition. The memorial is rectangular in shape. At the entrance on one end of the rectangle are two identical statues facing each other of a Soviet soldier kneeling, head bowed in sorrow and submachine gun to his side. The visitor passes between the soldiers and then descends steps to the body of the memorial. It is made up of a series of carved stone relief panels that together tell the story of war against Germany from the Soviet point of view. These panels are mounted on rectangular structures that resemble crypts. There are two rows of these structures, each running the length of one side of the rectangle. The two long sides of the structure hold the same stone relief panel. The smaller wall of the structure that faces the interior of the square contains text that explains the war from the Soviet side and is attributed to "J. Stalin." One row of structures has captions in Russian, the other in German.
The main part of the memorial is at the far end of the rectangle. A huge statue of a Soviet soldier stands on top of a small chapel type building filled with flowers on a hill. The soldier is holding a sword with one hand and clutching a child with the other arm. He is standing on a broken swastika. |
 View from hilltop (under the main statue) looking across the memorial.
From the other side of the memorial, looking toward the main statue. Statue of kneeling Soviet Soldier at entrance of memorial. Focal point of the memorial, the statue of the victorious Soviet Soldier. Carved stone relief showing endless row of Soviet soldiers moving forward under a banner bearing Lenin's face.
Carved stone relief showing destruction caused by the Germans on the Russian homefront.
Carved stone relief showing man, woman, and child fighting an all out war against Germany for their homeland. Note the child with the hand grenade.
Even the trees appear to be weeping on the grounds of the memorial.
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