Berlin, Germany is a city whose not-too-distant history involves a division of the city in two. Following World War II, the eastern part of the city was under communist control and part of the Eastern Bloc following its period of Soviet-supervised reconstruction. The Soviets left their mark on this part of the city, building structures to commemorate their victory in World War II and creating boundaries between the new West Germany and their part of the land. To this day, you can still check out some of these landmarks if you are visiting Berlin.
Treptower Park
Located in a nondescript area of the eastern part of Berlin is Treptower Park, a massive space dedicated to paying homage to the 80,000 members of the Soviet Army who perished in the Battle of Berlin. Here, you will find a statue of a soldier breaking a swastika as well as panels depicting different scenes of the war.
Tiergarten Soviet War Memorial
Just a few steps from the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate sits the Tiergarten Soviet War Memorial, another monument that honors fallen Soviet soldiers in the Battle of Berlin. A large message in Cyrillic text at the center of the monument reads, “Eternal glory to heroes who fell in battle with the German fascist invaders for the freedom and independence of the Soviet Union.”
Berlin Wall
While most of us probably think of the Berlin Wall as a mere division between East and West Germany, in reality, it was constructed in 1961 by the GDR at the behest of the Soviets in order to separate the two sides both physically and mentally. Now, you can observe small remaining pieces of the wall throughout the city including at the world-famous artistic piece, the East Side Gallery.