The monument to Soviet soldiers in Berlin, opened in Treptower Park four years after the Great Victory, stands there today. The world has changed a lot over the years. Earlier, in the days of the GDR, many events were held here, government delegations visiting Germany certainly came here, tourists and locals came.
Today there are few visitors, and, despite disagreements in society regarding the assessment of “Russian issues,” a soldier with a girl in her arms proudly stands in a place of honor in the German capital.
Start of work on the monument
The assault on Berlin at the end of April 1945 - the last spurt to victory - cost the lives of many Soviet soldiers. More than 20 thousand soldiers died here in the last days of the war and remained lying in the ground on the outskirts of the German capital. The solution to the question of their burial with perpetuation of memory was resolved in this way: places were allocated for mass graves with the creation of memorial complexes. Treptow Park has become one of them.
About seven thousand soldiers and officers were buried in this place, and therefore they approached the decision to construct a memorial memorial very responsibly. A competition for the best monument was announced, in which 33 projects took part. The work of E.V. Vuchetich and Ya. B. Belopolsky was recognized as the best and approved for execution.
The central place in the composition was occupied by the figure of a man standing on a high pedestal. Immediately after the Potsdam conference, at which the question of creating a memory complex was decided, Vuchetich summoned Marshal Voroshilov to his place and offered to work on the project. He saw in the central figure a sculpture of I.V. Stalin with a globe in his hands, which symbolized the freedom granted to the world by the Soviet people, or a demonstration that the whole world was in the hands of the Soviet leader. The interpretation of this symbol in different sources is not the same.
But just in case, an experienced person and a front-line soldier Vuchetich prepared a backup version, where the central sculpture of the monument to Soviet soldiers was the figure of a Soviet soldier with a child in her arms. Stalin approved the second option.
Monument Symbols
The author of the monument to the soldier-liberator in Berlin managed to create the image of a soldier who protected all people from fascism. While working on the monument, E.V. Vuchetich, perhaps already then, assumed that the memorial in Germany would become part of a series of conceived works on the victory of the Soviet people.
A change was made to the type of weapon that a soldier holds in his lowered hand. At first it was an automaton. But I.V. Stalin proposed strengthening symbolism by putting an old Russian sword in the hands of the winner. It was with such weapons that our ancestors defended their lands from enemies. Every Russian person knows the words spoken by Alexander Nevsky: “Whoever comes to us with a sword will perish by the sword!” And here, in Berlin, the warrior lowered his weapon, cutting down the fascist swastika. But at the same time he did not release his sword, his hand grips the hilt firmly.
Another symbolism was created over the years. E.V. Vuchetich is also the author of the memorial complex in Volgograd, on Mamaev Kurgan. His sculpture "Motherland Calls" is known throughout the world. And after his death in Magnitogorsk there was a memorial “Rear to the front!”, Which completed, or rather, began the triptych of Victory. The symbol is this: the Magnitogorsk sword, forged by the rear workers, was raised high by the Motherland, the mother to defend the Soviet country, and its soldier was lowered only in Berlin, destroying fascism.
Sculpting
The Soviet and German specialists worked together to create a monument to the Soviet soldier in Treptower Park, realizing the author’s project. The 27th Department of Defense Structures supervised the construction. German companies were involved: a Noack foundry, Puhl & Wagner mosaic and stained glass workshops, and Shpet garden associations. 1200 large-scale German workers took part in large-scale works, and in total seven thousand people.
The very figure of a soldier was made in Leningrad, at the Monumental Sculpture factory. Its height is 12 meters and its weight is 70 tons. For ease of transportation, it was divided into twelve components and delivered to Berlin by sea. During installation, all parts came up with high accuracy, which caused surprise and delight of German colleagues.
The memorial covers an area of almost 300 thousand square meters. In the postwar years, collecting the necessary amount of materials, thousands of cubic meters of granite and marble was unrealistic. The case helped. Having learned about the upcoming construction, the former Gestapo prisoner, a German, showed the place where the Nazis stored building material for the construction of the memorial to the victory over the USSR. Symbolically. Honored builder G. Kravtsov recalls this.
Feat of a soldier
During the war years, Soviet soldiers accomplished thousands of feats. Someone was awarded, someone remained unknown. But to die in the last battle was incomparably harder.
About Sergeant Nikolai Masalov, who became the prototype of a soldier when creating a monument to Soviet soldiers, Marshal V. I. Chuykov wrote in his book “Storming Berlin”.
In April 1945, our advanced troops reached Berlin. The 220th rifle regiment, where Nikolai fought, advanced along the right bank of the Spree River. Street fighting was fierce and bloody.
The soldiers were preparing for a new attack, advanced to the frontiers in small groups. It was necessary to force the river differently. Someone had to cross at the means at hand, and someone had to break through the bridge. Before the attack was 50 minutes.
Before the fight, there was a lull, everyone was waiting intensely for the upcoming team. And suddenly in this silence the soldiers heard a low voice. A child in distress cried. Nikolai Masalov rushed to the commander asking for permission to try to get to the child. Having received permission, he moved to the bridge. Crawled along the shot ground, among mines, hiding in the craters from enemy bullets.
Later N.I. Masalov said that he saw a little girl under the bridge who was crying near her dead mother. Grabbing the child, the soldier rushed back, but the frightened little girl began to scream and break free, which attracted the attention of the Germans. The Nazis opened frantic fire, and the sergeant would not have broken through if not for his fellow comrades. They covered the soldier with the child with return fire. At the same time, artillery bombardment before the attack began.
The sergeant with the child moved to the neutral zone, wanted to give the girl to one of the civilians, but found no one. Then he came straight to the headquarters and handed it to the captain, and he himself - to the front line. The comrades made fun of him for a long time, asking them to tell them how they got the “tongue”.
The meeting of the sculptor and the soldier
Front-line artist E.V. Vuchetich, fulfilling the task of the newspaper, arrived in the regiment a few days later. He made sketches for a poster dedicated to the imminent victory. Having met with a sergeant, the artist made several sketches. Neither Nikolai nor the sculptor knew then that this material would become the basis for creating a monument to Soviet soldiers in Berlin.
Starting work on the main figure, E.V. Vuchetich made sketches that were praised by both colleagues and the military. But the sculptor was not happy with the result. Remembering the meeting with the warrior who brought the German child out of the fire, he made a decision.
Ivan Odarchenko and Victor Gunaza
These are Soviet soldiers, with whose name the monument to the soldier-liberator is associated. According to information from various sources, the sculptor attracted more people to this work than two famous soldiers. Experts believe that this does not contradict the facts, since the sculpture was created more than one year.
In Berlin for a year and a half, the sculptor was posed by I. S. Odarchenko, who served in the Berlin commandant’s office. Vuchetich met him during a sporting event and was brought to work. The girl, who the soldier held for many hours in his arms, was the daughter of the commandant of Berlin, Kotikov Svetlana.
An interesting fact is that after the opening of the memorial, Ivan Odarchenko repeatedly stood in the guard of honor at the figure of the hero. Attentive visitors noted the similarities, but Ivan tried not to talk about it. He returned to Tambov, where he lived until 86 years. Died in 2013.
V. M. Gunaza also posed for the sculptor in 1945, in the Austrian city, where part of it was housed.
Memorial Complex
At the entrance to the complex, symbolic gates are installed. These are banners from red granite, lowered in a sign of grief. Nearby are two kneeling figures of fighters, young and old, who pay tribute to the memory of fallen comrades in arms.
The sculpture “Mourning Mother” evokes a burning sense of compassion. A woman sits holding her hand to her heart and leaning on a pedestal. She really needs some support now in order to survive the terrible grief. An alley of Russian birches leads to mass graves. Monument to the Soviet soldier-liberator in Berlin - the dominant of the memorial.
The alley is a solemn place, in the center of which are the burials of seven thousand soldiers in five mass graves. Along the alley are marble cubes that tell of the feat of warriors. In post-war Berlin, stone was dismantled from the administrative buildings of the city to make these symbolic sarcophagi.
Pedestal of central sculpture
A wide staircase leads to the monument to the Soviet soldier-liberator, since its pedestal is mounted on a high man-made mound. Inside is a memory room. Its walls are decorated with mosaic paintings on which Soviet soldiers of different nationalities lay wreaths at the graves of fallen comrades.
The walls are immortalized quote by JV Stalin about the exploit of the Soviet people. And in the center of the hall on a black cube lies a book with the names of all the soldiers and officers who fell near Berlin.
On the ceiling is a huge chandelier, made in the form of the Order of Victory. Rhinestone and rubies of the highest quality were used for its manufacture.
The opening of the memorial
Four years after the end of the war, the unveiling of a monument to Soviet soldiers in Treptower Park took place. This event took place on May 8, on the eve of Victory Day. The park, which was the resting place of citizens before the war, again became the most visited place. Residents of the GDR carefully treated the complex located here.
Immediately a bilateral indefinite agreement was concluded, according to which the city authorities must maintain order and engage in restoration work on the territory of the complex. In addition, they did not have the right to change anything.
The park itself was gradually being restored. In the fifties, a rose garden and a sunflower garden appeared here.
Commemorative events of the complex
As mentioned earlier, during the GDR, various events were often held on the territory of the complex dedicated to the liberation activities of the USSR. Now it is very clean and not crowded. Citizens who come here walk in another part of the park, only occasionally looking at the monument to the soldiers of the Soviet army.
More often here you can see tourist groups, especially travelers from the countries of the former Soviet Union tend to get here. Members of anti-fascist organizations in Germany also hold their camps here.
Of course, before the Victory Day, the complex is still crowded. The tradition of laying wreaths is respected by representatives of embassies, city authorities and simply caring people.
Return after restoration
In 2003, a monument to Soviet soldiers in Germany was sent for restoration work. For half a century that he stood on top of the mound, clutching a rescued girl to his chest, the material worn out and needed repair. The figure was disassembled into 35 parts and sent to the island of Rügen in the company “Metallbau GmbH”. In addition to restoring the surface of the stone, a metal frame was made, which was installed inside the monument. During the restoration, the latest technologies were used. The monument was handled professionally and carefully. Steel frame and reinforced pedestal. In its place, the monument was floating on the water, as many years ago from Leningrad.
In Treptower Park itself at this time, restoration work was also underway: stone slabs were updated, the cladding of structures changed. 200 poplars were planted on the central alley leading to the monument.
Memorials and modern Germany
The reconstruction of the monument cost the national budget 2.5 million euros. City officials believe that this monument, like other monuments to Soviet soldiers, is important for the capital of Germany. They recall that Soviet soldiers saved German soil from fascism.
Now, any tourist who visited the memorial in Treptower Park can take a memory photo of the monument to Soviet soldiers after the update.