Soviet War Memorial T-34 Tanks - Tiergarten - Berlin, Germany
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Chasing Blue Sky
N 52° 30.965 E 013° 22.286
33U E 389491 N 5819687
These two Soviet T-34 Tanks flank the Soviet War Memorial, in Berlin Germany, erected by the Soviet Union to commemorate its war dead, particularly the 80,000 Soviet Soldiers who died during the Battle of Berlin in April and May 1945.
Waymark Code: WMFNY6
Location: Berlin, Germany
Date Posted: 11/10/2012
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member GEO*Trailblazer 1
Views: 63
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"This war memorial was built to honour the Soviet soldiers that fell in the battles against the German army in the Second World War. It was located at the 17 June Street very close to the German parliament - the Reichstag - in what would soon become West-Germany which meant that it was beyond everyday reach for the Soviet Army. To be able to visit the memorial it was agreed that Red Army troops had free passage to the memorial on certain days of remembrance. Around the time in the early 1960ies when the Berlin Wall was erected the presence of Soviet troops on the streets of Berlin awoke much anger among the West-Berliners and Soviet military veichles was on many occassions bombarded with stones from angry protestors.

The memorial is constructed as an arch with a bronze soldier on top pf it. The design actually resembles the Brandenburger Gate which is located only 100 metres away.

The inscription on the side of the memorial reads:

ETERNAL GLORY TO HEROES WHO FELL IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST THE GERMAN FASCIST INVADERS FOR THE FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCE OF THE SOVIET UNION" (visit link)

"Built in a style similar to other Soviet World War II monuments once found all over the former Eastern bloc, the memorial takes the form of a curved stoa topped by a large statue of a Soviet soldier. It is set in landscaped gardens and flanked by two Red Army ML-20 152mm gun-howitzer artillery pieces and two T-34 tanks. Behind the memorial is an outdoor museum showing photographs of the memorial's construction and giving a guide to other memorials in the Berlin area. A large Cyrillic inscription is written underneath the soldier statue, which is translated as "Eternal glory to heroes who fell in battle with the German fascist invaders for the freedom and independence of the Soviet Union". The Soviets built the statue with the soldier's arm in a position to symbolize the Red Army's putting down of the German National Socialist state.

The memorial was designed by architect Mikhail Gorvits with the monument of the Soviet soldier by sculptors Vladimir Tsigal and Lev Kerbel." (visit link)

"The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II. First produced at the KhPZ factory in Kharkov (Kharkiv, Ukraine), it was the mainstay of Soviet armoured forces throughout World War II, and widely exported afterwards. It was the most-produced tank of the war, and the second most-produced tank of all time, after its successor, the T-54/55 series. In 1996, T-34 variants were still in service in at least 27 countries.

The T-34 was the most important weapon fielded by the Red Army in World War II. When first produced in 1940, commentators considered it one of the finest tank designs in the world. Sloping armour increased protection, the V-2 diesel engine used a less flammable fuel, the Christie suspension was fast on rough terrain and wide tracks gave low ground pressure for good mobility in mud and snow, in theory at least, although reliability and manufacturing issues dogged the wartime production models. The T-34 continued to give the Soviet Army a critical advantage in the war even after its technological advantages had been equalled and surpassed." (visit link)
Location restrictions:
The memorial is located along the Straße des 17. juni and is in the open park know as the Tiergarten. It is not located in a military installation, so access is open to the general public and free to visit.
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