How Berlin was taken, and why the Soviet army did not frighten, but surprised the Germans

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

When only a few days remained before the long-awaited Victory, and it was clear to everyone on whose side she would be, the battles became more and more fierce. The Nazis were, elite units flocked to Berlin, they were in no hurry to give up their lair without a fight. Much has been written about how the Nazis behaved in the occupied territories during the Second World War. Did the Red Army soldiers, who had already entered Berlin not as occupiers, but as victors, allowed themselves too much?

The Berlin offensive operation was perhaps the most coveted by all the Red Army soldiers, because it was the culmination of the entire war. The assault on the Reichstag was not easy, the Nazis gathered the best forces to protect their lair, all the paths were littered with reinforced concrete structures. The offensive itself on the German capital began on April 16. An army of almost a million was gathered in Berlin, eight thousand guns, more than a thousand tanks, 3, 5 thousand aircraft were brought in.

The German plan assumed the division of the city into sectors, which were additionally fortified and defended. The plan was simple - such a division would not allow taking the city completely, making the approaches to the Wehrmacht many times more difficult. Particularly important objects were surrounded by ditches, bunkers and bunkers were built. The Nazis fought for every street and every house, while the attacks continued day and night.

But the Soviet fighters, who had extensive experience in fighting in the city, had no equal. They did not go on the offensive along the streets - they were all shot by machine guns, but occupied house after house, starting their capture from the basements and lower floors. The forward detachments, meanwhile, were moving forward, they were clearing bridges and access routes.

Nerves on both sides were on edge. If the Germans defended their home and their own honor, then the Soviet soldiers were so close to the desired victory that they were in a hurry to bring it closer. At the end of November 1944, there was talk in Moscow about a red banner that would be installed after the complete capture of Berlin over the Reichstag. However, the building over which the Soviet flag was supposed to be hung was being specified. Initially, it was assumed that this would be the Reich Chancellery, but the Reichstag building was better suited for this, since it was taller and more massive.

The storming of the Reichstag

The heart of Berlin was strengthened the most by the Reichstag, the building itself and the surrounding area were full of soldiers, most of whom were officers. It was simply not possible to approach the building, all access roads were fortified, a ditch was dug into which water was poured, which made it impossible to use tanks. Nearby houses were full of snipers and machine gunners, even marines were brought in.

However, the onslaught of the Soviet army was stronger, and this was clear to both sides. Chief of the General Staff Hans Krebs entered negotiations with the enemy. He handed over a written agreement signed by Goebbels and Bormann, which said that Hitler committed suicide, and therefore the German side is asking for an armistice. Stalin most of all regretted that it was not possible to take Hitler alive, but there could be no talk of any negotiations, the Soviet side was waiting for an exclusively complete surrender.

Hostilities intensified again. The assault was decisive and effective. The soldiers of the 756th Infantry Regiment were the first to break into the Reichstag building, the Nazis in despair set fire to the building. The soldiers were suffocating from the fire, heavy fire hit them, bombs were thrown endlessly, but the regiment of Sergeant Ilya Syanov did not give up the building, and stood until the arrival of reinforcements for almost a whole day. A battle began for every room and every floor. Here the Germans had an unconditional advantage, because they were guided in the building, in contrast to the Red Army. The Reichstag was full of various passages, balconies and secret doors.

At the same time, Moscow was extremely worried about an event important for history - the hoisting of a red banner on the roof of a building. After all, this would mean victory. Each division had its own flag, there were nine of them in total, however, many soldiers had the symbols of the USSR with them in order to be able to touch history personally.

On April 30, at about half past eight in the evening, the artillery regiment, under the command of Vladimir Makov, was the first to reach the roof of the Reichstag and managed to install the canvas there. At three o'clock in the morning, Sergeant Mikhail Yegorov and Junior Sergeant Meliton Kantaria hoisted flag number five, this flag went down in history as the Banner of Victory.

On the same day, more than 70 thousand soldiers laid down their arms, and the Soviet Red Army men began a real pilgrimage to the Reichstag, for them it became a symbol of victory. Then they left inscriptions on it: with chalk, paint, bayonet. Many, tired of round-the-clock fighting, went to bed right on the steps.

Whose will Berlin be?

At the beginning of 1945, when the question of who the victory would be behind was practically nonexistent, the main problem that worried the allies was who would be the first to enter Berlin. By that time, already in February, Zhukov's troops had not reached Berlin only 60 km. At the same time, the Soviet state began to understand that the English-speaking allies were not at all averse to seizing Berlin on their own, in order to belittle the role of the Red Army in this event, and then, to play a decisive role in the post-war “carve-up” of Europe. Churchill wrote to Roosevelt that they should move deeper to the east, then Berlin will be closer and they will "take" it.

It was too trivial to take Berlin just like that, then it was proposed to attack at night, and for this to use hundreds of searchlights, which would sharply illuminate the city from all sides, suddenly making the enemy visible and discouraging him. The very troops of Zhukov, who had almost come close to Berlin, had to go on the offensive first, then Rokossovsky's troops would have come to their aid.

For the attack, Soviet troops attracted a huge number of air forces, many times greater than the number of enemy aircraft. This is understandable, it was more convenient, safer and more effective to attack a closed city from the air. Moreover, the artillery also exceeded the enemy's forces; it was this destructive force that was planned to be used to destroy the fortifications that the Germans had set up throughout the city.

Despite the fact that it is in principle impossible to calculate everything in advance, the Soviet command made the most detailed plan of the offensive and instructions for each commander, therefore the capture plan was planned in detail.

How the winners treated the losers

It would seem that the city was taken and the winners had the right to establish their own legal order here, but foreshadowing the events, on April 20, a directive was already issued, which forbade the Red Army soldiers to engage in arbitrariness both in relation to the local population and to the prisoners. Moreover, they were supposed to be provided with medical care, for this they even built three hospitals, each of them was designed for five thousand people.

Special field kitchens appeared on the streets of Berlin, in which they fed the Germans and prisoners, if not for this measure, then most of Berlin would have been waiting for starvation. But the Soviet leadership was concerned not only with the safety of lives, buildings that were of cultural value began to be protected. Thanks to this measure, the canvases of world classics have survived for the public.

The first commandant of the city, from among the Soviet soldiers, was Colonel-General Berzarin, who ordered not only to feed local residents according to the standard, so that they would be sufficient, as much as possible in the current conditions, but also began to clear the city from rubble and destroyed debris. On the streets, inscriptions began to appear that expressed a deep understanding of the situation and humanity, they say, Hitlers come and go, but the people remain. That is why much was done to ensure that the German people, who were also considered the allies of the injured party, remained.

At that time, there was not enough food in the USSR, for the Germans, free meals were provided for 600 grams of bread, 80 grams of cereals, 100 grams of meat, even fats and sugar - this is for those who were engaged in hard physical work, the rest are slightly less. The Germans were extremely surprised by what was happening. This is evidenced by one case, at the end of May in the already peaceful Berlin a shot rang out, they shot at a Soviet soldier who was walking around the city. To clarify the circumstances, the residents of the house were taken for interrogation.

After a while, the Germans began to approach the building of the commandant's office with a request to demonstratively shoot the perpetrators, but not to deprive the townspeople of food support. The Soviet side declared that it was not waging a war with the civilian population and would not shoot anyone. This case is significant in terms of the fact that the Germans were by this time so adapted to Hitler's regime that capture and execution were in the order of things for them.

What surprised the Germans the most?

Fascist propaganda was doing its job, the Russian invasion was awaited with horror, preparing for defeat as inevitable death. “The Russians came half a day ago, and I'm still alive,” one old German woman said, and her phrase became legendary, colorfully describing all the German fears at that time. And their Fuhrer, whom they believed, preferred to shoot himself, and not to meet defeat with his people and answer for his actions and beliefs.

However, Hitler was not alone in his attempt to escape responsibility. The Nazi elite, who were too well aware of all the crimes against humanity that were committed by their own hands, preferred to avoid punishment by suicide, and prepared the same fate for their families.

Many Germans chose to flee their homes so as not to meet with the Russians, however, after realizing that nothing threatened their lives and safety, they returned home. So, the small village of Ilnau, at the time of the seizure, was practically empty, there were only an elderly couple, and the next evening more than two hundred people returned to it. Information that the Red Army soldiers not only do no evil, but also feed the Germans spread with incredible speed.

It is impossible to imagine how at this moment the Germans felt the complexity of life, but this is exactly how the victors behave, who fought not with the Germans, but with fascism and having defeated it could not continue to spread this wave of cruelty.

Women for the winners

The fact that women living in the territories occupied by the enemy are becoming victims of violence is no surprise. Immediately after the end of the war, more than 2 million German women were allegedly raped by soldiers of the Soviet army. These data were the first to appear in the history book of the British scientist.

To be completely frank, then, of course, it is worth admitting that there were rapes of German women by the Red Army. After all, it was about a million-strong army, and one cannot even assume that all soldiers would have high moral values. However, the Soviet leadership in every possible way suppressed such behavior and severely punished.

However, we cannot talk about the fabulous 2 million, where did this figure come from? The historian relied on a document that he received in one of the clinics in Berlin, based on it, he learned that in 45-46 years more than 30 children were born from Russian fathers and, based on this figure, draws further conclusions.

Allegedly, 5 percent of children in 1945 were Russian, and in 1946 - 3, 5. Comparing with the total number of children born, he gets another figure, for some reason multiplies it by 10, believing that most of the German women had an abortion after the rape. and then another five, believing that not every relationship ends in pregnancy. As a result of his strange manipulations and multiplication by fictitious circumstances, this figure was obtained, which has nothing to do with reality. However, the historian's theory is scattered to smithereens already at the initial stage, because in the same clinic, childbirth as a result of rape is said in 9 cases out of 32.

Soviet soldier and bicycle

A photograph in which a Red Army soldier takes a bicycle from a German woman was widely disseminated, allegedly becoming evidence of the lawlessness that the Russians were doing in Germany. Considering the camps, millions of deaths, genocide and invasion of foreign countries, a bicycle, even if such a situation actually took place, is more puzzling than negative.

However, even in the original version, in the publication of the magazine, the inscription says that an awkward situation occurred between the German woman and the soldier, because he wanted to buy a bicycle, but a language barrier arose between them.

In addition, the soldier is wearing a Yugoslav garrison cap, the roll is not worn in the Russian manner, the material is also not Soviet. Most likely, the photo is either staged, or it is not a Russian soldier at all. In the background there are Soviet soldiers who are acting rather strange. From complete indifference to laughter. On the main character, the clothes are clearly not in size, he is unarmed (looting in a strange city without weapons), but at the same time next to the occupation post and his fellow soldiers. At the same time, the soldier does not react in any way to the fact that he is being photographed, continuing to pull the transport towards themselves.

The conclusion suggests itself that this is such a fiery greeting from former allies, and the shot itself is staged. The soldier is played by a figurehead who is dressed so that he resembles a Soviet soldier as much as possible, at least for a foreign viewer. Therefore, it has elements of different shapes, which are usually not worn together, there are no weapons and symbols - stripes, shoulder straps, insignia. In any case, this single fact cannot in any way cast a shadow of doubt on the behavior of Russian soldiers in the conquered territory. Even without having high moral qualities, the soldiers obeyed their command, and the order was short and clear - no arbitrariness.

Why did the Soviet government decide once again to treat foreign citizens better? Than to your own - a rhetorical question and the answer to it lies somewhere in the vastness of the Russian soul, but the fact remains - one wave of cruelty cannot be stopped by another. With the same brutal destructive force, and therefore fascism could be defeated by precisely such a magnanimous in its power community of the peoples of the USSR.