The fierce Battle of Berlin was the final fight at the end of World War II. The bloody confrontation, from mid-April to early May 1945, brought the Nazi regime to its knees and ended World War II. The Red Army crossed the Oder in mid-April and reached Berlin with loud roars. The Flakturms in Berlin were working overtime, providing shelter to the Berlin population. Berlin Flak towers in Berlin On the night of April 25 to 26, 1940, the British Royal Air Force bombed the German capital Berlin. For Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, it was unpalatable to have bombs hit the capital of his Third Reich. The Flakturms are not the only reminders of the heavy battle. Several bridges across the Spree, for instance, were blown up by the German army to slow down the Russian advance. The Brommybrücke is one of the few bridges that was never rebuilt after World War II. In the Spree, one of the pillars is still standing. Berlin Blown up bridge over the river Spree Hardly anything remains of the Brommy Bridge over the Spree today. In 1945, the bridge was blown up by the German army to prevent the Red Army's advance. Capitulation in KarlshorstIn Karlshorst, deep in the east of Berlin, Germany's signing of the capitulation marked the end of World War II. Outside, several tanks are still lined up with which the Soviets drove into Berlin in 1945. Berlin Russian traces in Karlshorst In Karlshorst, deep in the east of Berlin, the signing of the capitulation by Germany meant the end of the Second World War. Until late 1990, another such tank was displayed on a plinth west of Berlin, the so-called Panzerdenkmal, but it was removed after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Berlin A tank on a pedestal In the summer of 1945, only a few months after the Third Reich was removed from power, the Soviet government erected the Panzerdenkmal (German for 'Tank memorial') near the AVUS highway. Soviet monumentsAfter the Battle of Berlin ended, the Soviets erected several monuments to honour the fallen soldiers. For instance, in the heart of Berlin, right in front of Brandenburg Gate, the Sowjetisches Ehrenmal appeared. Berlin Soviet monument in the heart of Berlin On November 11, 1945, just six months after the end of the Second World War, the Red Army erected a series of Soviet monuments in the German capital Berlin. In Treptower Park, a Soviet cemetery was created. 7,000 Russian soldiers are buried there. Berlin Soviet monuments in Berlin In every district of Berlin, you will still come across Russian memorials for the soldiers of the Red Army who died in the Second World War. Several activities take place in Berlin every year to mark V-Day.
Berlin Flak towers in Berlin On the night of April 25 to 26, 1940, the British Royal Air Force bombed the German capital Berlin. For Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, it was unpalatable to have bombs hit the capital of his Third Reich.
Berlin Blown up bridge over the river Spree Hardly anything remains of the Brommy Bridge over the Spree today. In 1945, the bridge was blown up by the German army to prevent the Red Army's advance.
Berlin Russian traces in Karlshorst In Karlshorst, deep in the east of Berlin, the signing of the capitulation by Germany meant the end of the Second World War.
Berlin A tank on a pedestal In the summer of 1945, only a few months after the Third Reich was removed from power, the Soviet government erected the Panzerdenkmal (German for 'Tank memorial') near the AVUS highway.
Berlin Soviet monument in the heart of Berlin On November 11, 1945, just six months after the end of the Second World War, the Red Army erected a series of Soviet monuments in the German capital Berlin.
Berlin Soviet monuments in Berlin In every district of Berlin, you will still come across Russian memorials for the soldiers of the Red Army who died in the Second World War.
Six blast furnaces you can visit today In the early nineteenth century, the industrial revolution swept across continental Europe and one steelworks after another rose from the ground. Europe had hundreds of blast furnaces, but since the mid-twentieth century, Europe's steel industry has been slowly going downhill.