Inscriptions on the Reichstag. Reichstag from the inside. How I made my way to the inscriptions of Soviet soldiers for the fourth time - Interesting life

In May 1945, heavy fighting took place in Berlin. Despite Hitler's order “Berlin will not capitulate,” the city fell to the combined forces of the Soviet army and allies 70 years ago - on May 2, 1945.

For the anniversary of this significant event, German photographer Fabrizio Bensch has prepared a photo project, thanks to which you can compare Berlin, destroyed 70 years ago, with what it looks like now. Fabrizio used archival photographs taken in 1945 by Soviet photographer Georgy Samsonov.

(Total 11 photos)

1. The Reichstag building, where the parliament of the Third Reich was located 70 years ago and where the German Bundestag now sits. (Photo: FABRIZIO BENSCH / REUTERS / REUTERS).

2. Soviet soldiers on the roof of the Reichstag. Below is the same view today. (Photo: FABRIZIO BENSCH / REUTERS / REUTERS).

3. Neighborhood of the Reichstag. (Photo: FABRIZIO BENSCH / REUTERS / REUTERS).

4. The building of the German parliament. (Photo: FABRIZIO BENSCH / REUTERS / REUTERS).

5. Using the captions on the photographs and information about the operations of the Red Army in Berlin, the photographer found the same places on the city map and photographed them. (Photo: FABRIZIO BENSCH / REUTERS / REUTERS).

6. These photographs remind us of how tanks and heavy artillery moved through today’s peaceful streets and squares 70 years ago. (Photo: FABRIZIO BENSCH / REUTERS / REUTERS).

7. According to Fabrizio, it was very difficult to find the same places and prospects. Street names changed and many buildings were never restored. (Photo: FABRIZIO BENSCH / REUTERS / REUTERS).

8. At some point, according to Fabrizio, he felt the presence of Georgy Samsonov next to him: “I could accurately imagine the battle taking place nearby, explosions, shots.” (Photo: FABRIZIO BENSCH / REUTERS / REUTERS).

9. To give his photographs authenticity, the German photographer took them with the same model of camera that Samsonov used - a Soviet FED camera. (Photo: FABRIZIO BENSCH / REUTERS / REUTERS).

10. Comparison of photographs of modern Berlin with photographs taken 70 years ago, shortly before the city’s surrender in 1945. (Photo: FABRIZIO BENSCH / REUTERS / REUTERS).

11. Comparison of photographs of modern Berlin with photographs taken 70 years ago, shortly before the city’s surrender in 1945. (Photo: FABRIZIO BENSCH / REUTERS / REUTERS).

The Reichstag building or Reichstag (Reichstagsgebäude (inf.) - “state assembly building”) is a famous historical building in Berlin, where in 1894-1933 the German state body of the same name met - the Reichstag of the German Empire and the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic, and since 1999 the Bundestag has been located .
Story
The building was designed by Frankfurt architect Paul Wallot in the Italian High Renaissance style.
The foundation stone of the German parliament building was laid on June 9, 1884 by Kaiser Wilhelm I.
Construction lasted ten years and was completed under Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Inscriptions on the walls of the Reichstag. May, 1945.
"The heart was still beating with the heat of battle,
And silence had already entered the world,
It's as if time has stopped here
Suddenly not believing who the war was over.
Under the arches of the charred vault,
In some pristine silence,
Soldiers of the greatest campaign
They signed it right on the wall.
The Reichstag ruin was breathing
To all the fumes of the world battle,
And it is more sonorous than any chorale
A choir of names sang, growing like the surf.
He sang, flying over fire and blood,
Before the war, a defeated face,
As if overshadowing the headboard
The last dying soldiers.
Everyone wrote their name openly,
So that people of future times know,
So that this feat, accomplished by all of them,
Done in the name of humanity!"
Nikolai Tikhonov.
Reichstagsgebäude
The Reichstag building in Berlin is a most interesting monument in every sense.
Its walls remember as much as other houses and buildings do not “make money” for centuries.
But he is only a century and a half old!
History of construction
The “Iron Chancellor” of Prussia and then Germany, Otto Bismarck, united the scattered German duchies and principalities into one, and, naturally, the question arose about where the government of the newly born state would sit. It was decided to build a building that would reflect the greatness and power of the new country.
The place was quickly chosen: on Republic Square (then Kaiser Square), not far from the river, almost on its bank.
But suddenly the Prussian diplomat and collector of Polish origin, Count Rachinsky, who owned the land, sharply opposed construction.
The German government announced a competition for projects in the hope that the unyielding count would change his will: the Kaiser really did not want to take away the land by force.
But this measure did not have any effect; construction was delayed for several more years, until the son of the now deceased Rachinsky sold the site for development.
The first stone was laid in 1884 by William I, the first meeting of parliament took place 10 years later, when William II reigned.
Architectural appearance
The main idea of the architectural project developed by Paul Wallot was simple: the new Germany, reflected in stone, was supposed to give the impression of strength, sovereign power and statehood.
This style of architecture is called imperial. The architect deliberately “weighted” the building, making it massive, large, solid.
The Reichstag is made in the shape of a square, in the corners of which there are four towers topped with the national flags of Germany. They symbolize the 4 German states, which became the basis for the unification of the country. In the center of the building there is a glass dome (it became such as a result of reconstruction after the Second World War, since the previous one was destroyed). Initially, Emperor Wilhelm did not like the dome very much, because it was taller than all the other domes in the city, and the Kaiser perceived this fact as an attack on the symbols of his power, but still gave in to the author of the project. Today, the height of the dome is 75 meters; at the top there is an observation deck, which offers a magnificent view of the surrounding area.
The central entrance is designed in the form of a solemn ancient Roman portal with 6 pairs of columns, above which there is a portico with a bas-relief depicting the triumph of a united Germany. On both sides of the portico there are turrets of a carillon - a mechanical musical instrument, but today there are no bells on it, the instrument does not work.
On the towers there are allegorical statues, symbolizing all aspects of life in the state: industry, agriculture, army, art, and so on. There are 16 of them in total. It is curious that among the statues there is an allegory of the brewing industry as the basis for the well-being of Germany and its people.
On the portico, in addition to the bas-relief, there is the inscription “Dem deutsche Volke” (“To the German people”). The letters are cast from guns from the Napoleonic Wars. It appeared on the pediment in 1916.
The interiors, the design of which was also developed by Vallot, included the decoration of meeting rooms from wood (mainly to increase acoustic effects), a lot of stucco, designed to copy the style of decoration of city administrative buildings of the 16th-17th centuries: garlands, rosettes, bas-reliefs.
The most unusual thing in the Reichstag building today is the dome. During the Second World War it was completely destroyed, and the building itself was severely damaged. After the war, it ended up in West Berlin (the parliament sat in Bonn). Restoration of the historical monument began in the 60s, and work on the dome began in the 90s. The construction of the dome, designed by architect Foster, included its installation on the roof of the building, which was made of glass and concrete. It was a grandiose idea to implement: weighing 1200 tons, 23.5 m high and 38 m in diameter, the dome was not only a decoration, an observation deck, but also a ventilation device, as well as a dimmer.
There are two paths along the dome: one for ascending to the observation deck, the second for descending. In the center there is a structure of mirrors controlled by a computer. This is a giant funnel that provides ventilation to the plenary hall and regulates the supply of daylight depending on its brightness: the mirrors rotate at a certain angle and thus increase or decrease the illumination.
Practical Germans provided environmentally friendly energy supply for the building. Part of it is supplied by thermal springs, part by solar panels. This is how the current owners of the building combined history and modern technology.
History of the Reichstag

At the beginning of its existence it was the building of the parliament, then of the Weimar Republic. The Nazis (they came to power legally through elections) did not move the work of parliament to another place.
On the night of February 28, 1933, the Reichstag was damaged by fire. The symbol of the state was burning. The arson was blamed on the communists, and this served as the pretext for a large-scale wave of repression and terror unleashed by the Nazis. Dark times were beginning in Germany.
They ended in 1945, when Berlin was captured by Soviet troops.
One of the main characters in the film “Only Old Men Go to Battle” dreamed of leaving his painting on the Reichstag. The whole world has seen photographs of a dilapidated building with inscriptions on the walls left by such ordinary wars. It was like a victory over Nazi Germany: we signed the main building of the country, we won, fascism was destroyed.
And the red banner of the Great Victory was also hoisted on the Reichstag, on the right turret of the carillon.
What happened to these inscriptions after the war? It would seem that it would be natural for the defeated side to destroy even a hint of violated statehood.
But no. Honor and praise to the Germans: they do not want to forget what their compatriots have done, they do not want the world to forget about the danger that fascism poses.
And they left inscriptions. They are in the large meeting room, in some rooms, on the roof.
From the steps of the destroyed Reichstag, Berliners addressed humanity: “Peoples of the world! Look at this city..." And don’t repeat our mistakes - I really want to continue this emotional appeal.
Today you can come to the Reichstag on a tour by pre-registering on the website. This excursion will remain in the memory for a long time, because the Reichstag is not just a building, it is a living history.
In the first weeks after the capture of the Reichstag, thousands of Soviet soldiers signed there.

Story
On the Reichstag the word "Vasya"
(Right above the swastika-cross)
All glowing with soldier's happiness,
Knocked out the soldier with a bayonet.
Well, you are clever, little soldier,
Winner and hero!
At the Reichstag taken by storm,
Well, he included his autograph!
Look, read, Europe,
And America - dare
Whose infantry took the Reichstag!?
Who destroyed the "spider paradise"!?
She walked here from the Volga in battles,
She died, and again...
She continued her long journey,
To take the damned Reichstag!
Here, read, Berlin, and remember,
Remember in your heart - forever!
In the conquered Reichstag
Painting of a Russian bayonet!
Name Vasya for all Vasya,
What lies in the damp ground,
On the wall of the Reichstag imperiously,
Painted a soldier with a bayonet!
(Masasin Mikhail Vasilievich)
He signed on the wall
He signed on the wall
I, Ivanov N.N. from Penza
And above, the lines, in the depths...
Victory! Alive! And here is my monogram...
I sat down by the wall and took out my pouch
There was a smell of smoke above the soldier
Hands were shaking... for so many years
He went to Berlin for this date
And how many roads there were
And pain, and blood, and fear, and troubles
Oh, how hard the threshold of war is
How high is the price of Victory...
All the snows of Moscow remember you
The walls of Stalingrad remember you
Where there is a backbone, you broke
The enemy, in the crucible of terrible hell
Odessa remembers you, and Kerch
And Brest, and Kursk, and Rzhev and Prague
War bloody creepy tornado
Brought you to the lair of the Reichstag
And the Volga cries, the Don cries
Both the Dnieper and the Vistula echo
And the bells are ringing
And life is noisy with cheerful laughter...
Soviet soldiers left many inscriptions on the walls of the Reichstag, some of which (including in the meeting room) were preserved and left during the restoration of the building.
In 1947, by order of the Soviet commandant’s office, the inscriptions were “censored”, that is, inscriptions of an obscene nature were removed and several “ideologically consistent” ones were added.
The issue of preserving the inscriptions on the Reichstag was raised in the 1990s during its reconstruction (with the initial stages of renovation revealing many inscriptions hidden by the previous restoration in the 1960s). By agreement of the President of the Bundestag R. Süssmuth (English) Russian. and the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Germany in 1996, statements of obscene and racist content were removed and only 159 graffiti were left. In 2002, the question of removing the inscriptions was raised in the Bundestag, but the proposal was rejected by a majority vote. Most of the surviving inscriptions of Soviet soldiers are located in the interior of the Reichstag, now accessible only with a guide by appointment. At the top, on the right pediment on the inside, the inscription: “Astrakhan Makarov” is preserved.
There are also bullet marks on the inside of the left pediment.

One of the walls with inscriptions left during the restoration of the Reichstag
On September 9, 1948, during the blockade of Berlin, a rally was held in front of the Reichstag building, attracting over 350 thousand Berliners. Against the backdrop of the destroyed Reichstag with the now famous call to the world community “Peoples of the world... Look at this city!” Mayor Ernst Reiter addressed.
The Berlin Wall, erected on August 13, 1961, was located in close proximity to the Reichstag building. It ended up in West Berlin. Subsequently, the building was restored and since 1973 it has been used for the exhibition of a historical exhibition and as a meeting room for the bodies and factions of the Bundestag.
After the reunification of Germany on October 4, 1990, the day after the actual date of German unification, the first meeting of the first all-German Bundestag took place in the Reichstag. On June 20, 1991, the Bundestag in Bonn decided by 338 votes to 320 to move to Berlin to the Reichstag building. After a competition, the reconstruction of the Reichstag was entrusted to the English architect Lord Norman Foster. In May 1995, the Council of Elders of the Bundestag, after lengthy debate, decided to build a modern glass dome, inside which people can walk.
Norman Foster managed to preserve the historical appearance of the Reichstag building and at the same time create a room for a modern parliament, open to the outside world. The building is divided into levels based on the principle of transparency and expediency. The structures of the parliamentary secretariat, as well as technical devices and life support systems are located in the basement and on the first floor. Above is the plenary level with a large meeting room, above which is the visitor level. Even higher is the presidium level, above it is the faction level and, finally, the roof terrace and the impressive dome of the building. The transparency of the building is ensured by modern building materials: light steel structures and large glazed areas, decorative concrete, matte white or beige natural stone give the massive building a silvery hue. For orientation, the color concept of the Danish artist Per Arnoldi is used: the doors of each level are painted a certain color.
Today the Reichstag building is one of Berlin's tourist attractions. Until November 2010, free access to the building's dome and the observation deck on the roof of the Bundestag was open, but tourists must first register on the Bundestag website. The German Bundestag is the most visited parliament in the world. Since the Bundestag moved to Berlin in 1999, over 13 million people from all over the world have visited the Reichstag building. For comparison: during the stay of the German Bundestag in Bonn in 1949-1997, about 11.5 million people visited it. After Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière declared an increased terrorist threat on November 17 due to the possibility of Islamists infiltrating Germany to carry out attacks on Christmas Day, the building was surrounded by temporary metal barriers and the dome was closed to tourists. Currently
The dome is open to tourists by appointment on the Bundestag website.

However, it is inside the Reichstag that some inscriptions of Soviet soldiers still remain. Today, May 9, I propose to honor the memory of the victims and see what the main government building of modern Germany has now become

In 2008, when I first came to Berlin for half a day, I encountered a kilometer-long queue at the Reichstag, and even in the rain, we left with nothing. When I returned there in 2011, it turned out that you can only get inside the building by pre-registration via the Internet. In 2012, I supposedly signed up, but it turned out that the registration was only for a tour of the dome of the building. It turns out that you can visit the corridors of the Reichstag only by signing up for a tour, which is conducted only in German.
Late in the evening, March 4, we arrived on the excursion as part of a small group of Germans; we waited a very long time for the guide, who turned out to be terribly boring and even spoke rather incomprehensible (to me) German.
The excursion itself lasts one hour, and about half of this time you will stay in the meeting room, where they will talk for a long time about the procedure of these very meetings, the composition of the parties, the activities of the government... The lonely grandfather from the excursion will be politically active and ask the guide many questions

And the guide spent only 5 minutes on the inscriptions of Soviet soldiers. During the total reconstruction of the building, it was planned to completely remove all the inscriptions, since the building was completely covered in them. But the Russian embassy demanded that the memory be left at least partially. As a result, the inscriptions fit quite harmoniously into the updated interior of the Reichstag

If someone says that the Germans are great and honor the memory so much, then I would not say that this is actually the case. The guide (by the way, a real employee of the Bundestag) expressed the general opinion that they should have been removed from the walls a long time ago, that no one needed them, and that in general there were Russian obscenities written there. People generally approve. I corrected him, kindly translating some of the inscriptions, which made Monsieur a little embarrassed, obviously not expecting to see a descendant of a Soviet soldier among the excursion group. My great-grandfather took part in the storming of Berlin as part of the 216th Infantry Regiment of the 47th Army. And although he did not take part in the battles for the Reichstag buildings, he left his autograph there afterwards, if only I knew where...

Apparently, sometimes Russians also come on the excursion, since some “fighter” tried not so long ago to leave his autograph there with a felt-tip pen, now there are surveillance cameras there

In fact, there are not many inscriptions left

By the way, I found some inscriptions from Anglo-American soldiers, apparently they managed to sign before they divided Berlin into sectors

In some places there were traces of bullets, and there were bloody battles inside the building.

Unfortunately, you can’t walk freely everywhere; the excursion route is directed in a slightly different direction

We cross the underground bridge to the new Bundestag building

This part reminds me of the Senate from Star Wars. In fact, these are separate rooms where party members hold their closed meetings

By the way, these green men (not to be confused with the Crimean ones) on the stairs symbolize the laundering of these very inscriptions as a symbol of the rebirth of the new Germany. Well that's what we were told

We walk past the dome, a good night shot without a tripod

Conference room. I'm giving an interview

Now we will introduce sanctions against Russia

How often it happens in life that you don’t know something, don’t notice something, don’t attach importance to something, and suddenly a moment comes when you seem to see the light.

Several years ago, my good friend, the German Ruth Walter, told me what an indelible impression a tour of the Reichstag building in Berlin made on her. No, she was shocked not by the building itself with its unusual architectural structures, not by its scale, but by just a few walls and niches of corridors with numerous inscriptions of Soviet soldiers, left there by them at the end of the war, in May 1945. When she showed me photographs of the Reichstag walls with inscriptions in Russian, there were tears in her eyes: “They fought not only for their Motherland, but for us too. By risking their lives, they gave us peace.” And I, in turn, was shocked not so much by the fact of the inscriptions left, but by the way a German woman who survived the war spoke about it.

Then I forgot about it, there were things to do, work and many other things that seemed more important at that time. But a few years later, a series of events brought me back to this topic, and I met Karin Felix, an employee of the Reichstag.

Karin is an amazing person. She knows by heart almost everything that is written on the walls of the Reichstag. He can tell with accuracy where this or that surname is located. For her, these are not just inscriptions. Behind every name, behind every phrase, she sees a soldier, a man who had to endure God knows what in those terrible years of the war. She told me and provided materials about several veterans who visited Berlin after the war, visited the Reichstag building and found their names there.

The first Soviet soldier to find his signature was Boris Sapunov in 2001. The then President of the Bundestag, Wolfgang Thierse, ordered this case, the first at that time, to be documented in the Reichstag archives.
Today Boris Sapunov, Karin Felix’s “Russian dad” as she calls him, is eighty-eight years old. He is a Doctor of Historical Sciences, chief researcher of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

On April 2, 2004, Boris Zolotarevsky found his signature. At the age of 15 he went to the front, at 17 he reached the Reichstag, became an engineer and now lives in Israel. In his letter to Karin Felix he wrote:

“My recent visit to the Bundestag made such a strong impression on me that I did not find the right words to express my feelings and thoughts.
I am very touched by the tact and aesthetic taste with which Germany preserved the autographs of Soviet soldiers on the walls of the Reichstag in memory of the war, which became a tragedy for many peoples...
... It was a very exciting surprise for me to be able to see my autograph and the autographs of my friends Matyash, Shpakov, Fortel and Kvasha, lovingly preserved on the former smoky walls of the Reichstag.
With deep gratitude and respect
B. Zolotarevsky"

Lyudmila Nosova visited Berlin in April 2005, in honor of the 60th anniversary of liberation from a concentration camp. She came with a group of women from Ukraine who had survived Ravensbrück. She is over eighty, she is disabled, and uses a wheelchair.

During a visit to the Reichstag, she found herself near the wall of the northern wing of the building on the first floor and told Karin Felix that her husband had also signed there. During the storming of the Reichstag, he, Alexei Nosov, was barely nineteen. After some searching, Karin Felix was able to show the widow his name. “Nosov” was written on the wall in large letters in Cyrillic.

In December 2008, when I visited the Bundestag myself and saw these inscriptions, they made a huge impression on me. But I was even more impressed by Karin Felix’s attitude towards these inscriptions and towards our veterans who visit there. With tenderness and words of gratitude, she shakes hands with each of them.

“Thank you for what you did for us. Thank you that we can live peacefully", she tells them in Russian.

Communication with Ruth Walter and Karin Felix, their attitude towards autographs on the walls of the Reichstag, could not leave me indifferent. Having taken photographs of the walls on which the inscriptions were preserved, I compiled a list of all readable names and phrases. There are more than 300 of them.

This is a historically unique memory of the soldiers and officers of the Soviet army who reached Berlin itself. Unfortunately, many of these soldiers may never have known that their names on the Reichstag were preserved and still read 65 years later. Others do not know about it simply due to lack of information. After all, you can see these autographs only by visiting the Reichstag building itself.

Now I am compiling a catalog with the names of soldiers in Russian and German. I am collecting materials about those who have already found their surnames or the surnames of their relatives.
Perhaps one of the readers will recognize someone's name and respond. Then the catalog of victorious soldiers who reached Berlin and endorsed the Victory with their autographs on the walls of the Reichstag will be replenished with new stories.

So, here is a list of inscriptions.

Kasyanov
Boris T.
Stalingrad

May 9, 1945 Stalingraders in Berlin!!!
Captain Chistyakov
captain Rubtsov P.A.
l-t. Cherk(a) (G)
l-t. Gabidulin
l-t. Less(in)
serge. Popov
serge. Serk(p)ov
serge. Mukhin

Chekanov Ivan
......................
Stalingrad

Stalingraders
Shpakov P.
Matyash
Zolotarevsky

Stalingrad-Berlin
captain
Shahray

Was here
Leonov Ivan Borisovich
Stalingrad
.............
...................
Write

Stalingraders Popov, Dushkova,
9.5.45

Moscow - Berlin
Z.N. P.S. Sokolov

Yufa from Moscow

Romashkov
Moscow

Schumann N.K.
Moscow

Moscow - Smolensk - Berlin gvr. Mukhin A. A. born 1923
9/V 45

Moscow - Kaluga
Erokhin V. Kalinin S.P.

Moscow Kantselyarsky 30.5.45

Moscow
Pokhodaev
Remanchikov
Modzhitov
Kesey...
10-06-45

Pavlov P(?) N.
Moscow-Berlin and back Berlin-Moscow

There was a guy from Kuskov - Mezentsev D.A. (?)

Moscow-Berlin distance traveled l-t (K?)avid.....in

Was here on 9/V 45.
from Leningrad Chi(e)(a)lkov, Valens
Alex

Leningrad was fully paid for
Sapozhkov I.
...yechishin

Panfilov (Tikhvin)
2-5-45 Leningrad 2-5-45
Koso(u)rov Yudichev Beskrovny

Leningrad-Berlin
Pogrosyan Ivan.....
13.5.45

Glory to the Stormtroopers

2 -ml- sergeant. Nadtafov Baku

4 Sgt. Tatarkin Kursk

The Slav brothers paid in full for Leningrad I.G. Maximov

There was a guard here - .............
Ba(o)la(o)banov
Leningrad - Berlin

Vyborg - Berlin
Prilutsky

Glory to Stalin
to his officers and soldiers
Romashenko(?) Boyko
Kyiv.... 45

Kyiv May 13
Dvorn... V.T.

Tula - Bochkov
Kyiv - Fedorov

Donbass
Todorov V. A.(?)

Donbass-Koshik
Gradina.. in Poltava region
G.K. Pereverzev Kursk

Demin
from Kharkov

Kharkov Nosik

Zaitsev Grigory is here
Kharkov - Berlin

Saratov-Berlin Faki.. 9/5

Berlin May 31, 1945
Odessa resident Pechkin G.
Leningradets Zhitmarev
visited the ruins of Berlin and were very pleased

Odessa - Berlin Greenberg

Varvarov V.A.
Radiation beam

(N)ebchenko from Ukraine

Dnepropetrovsk
Sher(e)(s)tyukov A(?)

Dnepropetrovsk
Pototsky

Chkalov
Timokhin
24.5.45 Krivoy Rog-Ordzhinikidze-Berlin
Girol M.L(?)

Levi
Michael)
Kerch

Lida Antonova, Yalta

Constipated...
Musya

Shutyaev V.V.F. from Kursk

Brest-Lutsk-Lvov-Berlin 5/V
Serge Popov A.V.

Belarusian Vankevets K.L. was here.

Tokin Vasil Gomel

Nersesyan N.G.
3.5.45
Yerevan

I'm also from Yerevan
Komsomol member

Grozny
Khrustalev

Caucasus-Berlin
Torasenko Konstantin Fedotovich

There were.....
Akhvetsiani - Caucasus

Andreev
Caucasus+Berlin

Sokolov Yalda
Caucasus

Caucasus Berlin Reistakh Malchenko
Ivan

Burrs. Grozny-Berlin

Caucasus - Chityan

Major Likhnenko's signalmen were here
Caucasus - Sochi - Warsaw - Berlin - Elbe

Came from the Caucasus

Mago Aliev from Kislovodsk

N.T.
Dolzhenko.Vladimir
Nalchik

Tbilisi - Berlin
Kolesnikov

Margirut
Tehran-Baku-Berlin

Glory to the Stormtroopers
1- ml - l-t Ivanov E. Leningrad
2 -ml- sergeant. Nadtafov Baku
3 - ......Mar(she)inenko.... Priluk.
4 Sgt. Tatarkin Kursk

Dzhilinbaev A.
Almaty - Berlin
Savelyev

Simono(?) from Tataria

G. Mary Kobee

Masharipov(?) from Turkmenistan 6/5 45

Salsk
Berlin
Taek...
Fedor...
Rostov
Rosino...

From the Artyom Mine to Berlin
Vinokurova T.V.

More
Klimenko
Rostov

There were Siberians
Borisenko P.F.
Fidoseev S.N.

Sidor(?)enko(?)
g. ..... Siberia

Kvashnin
Siberia

T.A. was here. Zhuko....
from Altai

Chita
Radishevsky
9/v 45

Novosibirsk-Kharkov-Odessa
Lieutenant Colonel Cool...
22/V 45

Military railway workers from Khabarovsk to Berlin
1. Stuzhnev
2. Additional(n)ov
3. Ermolenko
4. Sounds
(1)6.5.45

We were here from Orel
Gaponov
Kanichev
Savoy

Toropov
from Orel to Berlin

Golubev A.A. - Kalinin

Streltsova - Ural
Burobina - (?)Kazan(?)

Mordovia
Abramov(?)

Tuapse-Berlin
Kod(l)onsky B.Yu.

1949 (painted)

Omsk
Berlin
Shvets

Taraburin Gorky

Satarov was here
Gorky

Astrakhan
Shevele(v) P.A.(?) May 20

Zaitsev Grigory is here
Kharkov - Berlin
Saratov-Berlin Faki... 9/5

Today, 21-5-48, we were here again: Laptev Yu.A. from Sverdlovsk
Shutyaev V.V.F. from Kursk

From April 28 to May 2, 1945, forces The 150th and 171st rifle divisions of the 79th rifle corps of the 3rd shock army of the 1st Belorussian Front carried out an operation to capture the Reichstag. To this event, my friends, I dedicate this photo collection.
_______________________

1. View of the Reichstag after the end of hostilities.

2. Fireworks in honor of the Victory on the roof of the Reichstag. Soldiers of the battalion under the command of Hero of the Soviet Union S. Neustroev.

3. Soviet trucks and cars on a destroyed street in Berlin. The Reichstag building can be seen behind the ruins.

4. The head of the River Emergency Rescue Department of the USSR Navy, Rear Admiral Fotiy Ivanovich Krylov (1896-1948), awards a diver with an order for clearing mines from the Spree River in Berlin. In the background is the Reichstag building.

6. View of the Reichstag after the end of hostilities.

7. A group of Soviet officers inside the Reichstag.

8. Soviet soldiers with a banner on the roof of the Reichstag.

9. The Soviet assault group with a banner is moving towards the Reichstag.

10. The Soviet assault group with a banner is moving towards the Reichstag.

11. Commander of the 23rd Guards Rifle Division, Major General P.M. Shafarenko in the Reichstag with colleagues.

12. Heavy tank IS-2 against the backdrop of the Reichstag

13. Soldiers of the 150th Idritsko-Berlin Rifle, Order of Kutuzov 2nd degree division on the steps of the Reichstag (among those depicted are scouts M. Kantaria, M. Egorov and the division’s Komsomol organizer Captain M. Zholudev). In the foreground is the 14-year-old son of the regiment, Zhora Artemenkov.

14. The Reichstag building in July 1945.

15. Interior of the Reichstag building after Germany’s defeat in the war. On the walls and columns are inscriptions left by Soviet soldiers.

16. Interior of the Reichstag building after Germany's defeat in the war. On the walls and columns are inscriptions left by Soviet soldiers. The photo shows the southern entrance of the building.

17. Soviet photojournalists and cameramen near the Reichstag building.

18. The wreckage of an inverted German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter with the Reichstag in the background.

19. Autograph of Soviet soldiers on the Reichstag column: “We are in Berlin! Nikolai, Peter, Nina and Sashka. 11.05.45.”

20. A group of political workers of the 385th Infantry Division, led by the head of the political department, Colonel Mikhailov, at the Reichstag.

21. German anti-aircraft guns and a dead German soldier at the Reichstag.

23. Soviet soldiers on the square near the Reichstag.

24. Red Army signalman Mikhail Usachev leaves his autograph on the wall of the Reichstag.

25. A British soldier leaves his autograph among the autographs of Soviet soldiers inside the Reichstag.

26. Mikhail Egorov and Meliton Kantaria come out with a banner onto the roof of the Reichstag.

27. Soviet soldiers hoist the banner over the Reichstag on May 2, 1945. This is one of the banners installed on the Reistag in addition to the official hoisting of the banner by Egorov and Kantaria.

28. The famous Soviet singer Lydia Ruslanova performs “Katyusha” against the backdrop of the destroyed Reichstag.

29. The son of the regiment, Volodya Tarnovsky, signs an autograph on a Reichstag column.

30. Heavy tank IS-2 against the backdrop of the Reichstag.

31. Captured German soldier at the Reichstag. A famous photograph often published in books and on posters in the USSR under the title "Ende" (German: "The End").

32. Fellow soldiers of the 88th Separate Guards Heavy Tank Regiment near the Reichstag wall, in the assault of which the regiment took part.

33. Banner of Victory over the Reichstag.

34. Two Soviet officers on the steps of the Reichstag.

35. Two Soviet officers on the square in front of the Reichstag building.

36. Soviet mortar soldier Sergei Ivanovich Platov leaves his autograph on a Reichstag column.

37. Banner of Victory over the Reichstag. A photograph of a Soviet soldier hoisting the Red Banner over the captured Reichstag, which later became known as the Victory Banner - one of the main symbols of the Great Patriotic War.

38. Commander of the 88th separate heavy tank regiment P.G. Mzhachikh against the backdrop of the Reichstag, in the storming of which his regiment also took part.