These are the secret photos of the battle to take Berlin from the Nazis which have been declassified by Russia.
The documents have been released as the country prepares to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe in World War II on 9th May.
Photos in the documents show the ruins left in Berlin during the battle along with images of Russian artillery.
One of the images also shows the tactics for attacking a Berlin railway station and Mikhail Polyachkov, who was a senior lieutenant and rifle platoon commander in 1945, spoke to local media about the conflict.
He said that as the battles were close quarters, soldiers would throw their guns away when they ran out of bullets, and would fight hand-to-hand.
He said: “It was very difficult because we were ordered not to injure civilians and German soldiers often wore civilian clothing. We had to operate fast and go forward into the city because if we were slow we risked being shot by our tanks which were driving in from behind.”
On 2nd May 1945 over 300,000 German soldiers simultaneously surrendered and the Russian flag was flown from the Reichstag.
One of the classified documents featured an order given by German General Helmut Weidling calling on German troops defending the city to immediately stop resistance.
He said: “Everyone who falls in the struggle for Berlin will make a sacrifice in vain. In agreement with the Supreme Command of the Soviet troops, I demand you immediately stop the fight.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, 67, has said that while the planned parades for 9th May have been cancelled in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, military air shows will be held over Russian cities instead.
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Gheorghi Caraseni, Sub Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
The Ananova page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
