194516 April–8 May 1945 · Berlin
Battle of Berlin and the German surrender
The Red Army broke through at the Seelow Heights on 16 April 1945 and encircled Berlin. As street fighting reached the government quarter, Hitler killed himself in his bunker on 30 April, and the city's garrison surrendered on 2 May. Late on 8 May, German commanders signed the unconditional surrender in Karlshorst, ending the war in Europe.
Sites
- Site 1: Seelow Heights MemorialHilltop memorial and museum above the Oder valley battlefield.Map ↗
- Site 2: Reichstag buildingSoviet soldiers' graffiti from 1945 preserved inside the rebuilt parliament.Map ↗
- Site 3: Soviet War Memorial, Treptower ParkVast memorial and cemetery for Soviet soldiers killed in the battle.Map ↗
- Site 4: Museum Berlin-KarlshorstThe hall where the surrender was signed, kept as it was.Map ↗
Guides who take you there
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Also in Berlin
More from the Second World War
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