The Russian Defense Ministry declassified documents on the capture of Berlin in the spring of 1945
The Russian Ministry of Defense has launched a new multimedia section on its website dedicated to the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation. As “Parlamentskaya Gazeta” reminds, it completed the final defeat of Nazi Germany.
Within the framework of the project, documents from the funds of the central archive of the military department were made public: the registration card of the memorial complex in Treptow Park, combat logs of units and subdivisions of the 1st Belorussian Front, documents from the personal file of one of the creators of the memorial, personal lists of irrecoverable losses, award lists and descriptions of the exploits of soldiers and commanders.
The final phase of the Berlin operation – the direct assault on the city – began on April 23, 1945. For the next nine days, the soldiers of the 1st Belorussian Front under the command of Georgy Zhukov captured one of the largest cities in Europe.
The Nazis turned Berlin into a fortified city; defensive structures in the city and on its outskirts have been erected since February 1945. The defense of the settlement was facilitated by the presence of a large amount of destruction caused by the Allied aviation.
However, an entry dated May 2, 1945 in the army's combat log reads: “May 1, 1945 was the ninth and final day of the assault. At 06:00 2.5.45, the remnants of the German garrison defending Berlin capitulated. “
Earlier in Russia, in memory of those killed in the Great Patriotic War, the “Garden of Memory” action was launched. Everyone can take part in it and plant a seedling in a city park or at his dacha.
