The Battle of Berlin was one of the final major Battles of World War II, where Soviet forces invaded the German capital in late April 1945. The battle was fought fiercely, with German troops defending the city block by block, leading to intense street fighting. On 30 April 1945, Adolf Hitler and many of his supporters committed suicide in a bunker beneath the city, signaling the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany.

Two days later, on 2 May 1945, Soviet soldiers finally captured the Reichstag building, which had played a significant role in German politics and was central to Hitler's propaganda. To symbolize their victory, a group of Soviet soldiers raised the Soviet flag atop the iconic building, in the sight of the cheering soldiers, while Yevgeny Khaldei, a Soviet photographer, captured the moment on camera.

The photograph, known as "Raising a Flag over the Reichstag," quickly became an international sensation, representing the end of the war in Europe and the Soviet Union's triumph over Nazi Germany. The image was reprinted in numerous publications worldwide, becoming an iconic representation of the war's end.

However, there was some controversy surrounding the photograph due to the Soviet Union's propaganda and secrecy. The identities of the soldiers in the photograph were not revealed until the 1980s when they were finally identified as Meliton Kantaria and Mikhail Yegorov. As for the photographer, Khaldei, he was initially denied recognition because of his Jewish heritage. However, he went on to become one of the most prominent photographers of the Soviet Union. - Scott Lyons