The Battle of Berlin, one of the concluding significant conflicts of the Second World War, ensued as Soviet forces commenced a large-scale invasion of the German capital in late April 1945. Officially known as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation, it culminated the European theatre with a sobering finality. The offensive was marked by relentless combat as German troops mounted a desperate defense, engaging in harrowing street-by-street, house-by-house combat. Chaos reigned in these confrontations due to the intensity and proximity of the fighting.

On 21 April, the first Soviet units penetrated Berlin's defenses from the east, initiating a grueling advance toward the city center. Amidst the crumbling infrastructure, German forces—comprising regular army personnel, SS divisions, and hastily assembled Volkssturm militias—mounted a fierce resistance. The ensuing urban warfare, characterized by exhaustive house-to-house fighting, inflicted substantial casualties on both sides. Despite their valiant efforts, the disparate German defenders were incapable of halting the Soviet juggernaut. By the early hours of 29 April, Soviet forces had successfully breached the Moltke Bridge, subsequently launching an assault on the Interior Ministry. Victorious in overtaking the Secret State Police headquarters, their relentless advance led them to the Reichstag. The battle for this emblematic edifice represented one of the final struggles in the Soviet conquest of Berlin.

On the date of 30 April 1945, amidst a city besieged by chaos and the thunder of artillery, Adolf Hitler, along with many of his affiliates, committed suicide within the confines of a subterranean bunker. This act set forth a chain of events that unfurled the inevitable defeat of Nazi Germany.

Meanwhile, the city's beleaguered German garrison, numbering around 10,000 under the command of General Helmuth Weidling, found itself increasingly encircled in Berlin's heart. On 2 May, mere days following Adolf Hitler's suicide, the remaining German forces received orders to capitulate, marking the definitive fall of Berlin to Soviet control. In the immediate aftermath, feelings of retribution were prevalent among the Soviet ranks, leading to widespread atrocities including numerous assaults on German civilians. Nonetheless, the Soviet military administration soon endeavored to curb these acts of vengeance, focusing on the restoration of civilian life within the devastated city.

Following a fierce engagement, two Soviet soldiers emblematically hoisted the Soviet flag atop the Reichstag, signaling a symbolic victory. However, complete control over the building was only achieved after an additional two days of conflict. It was on 2 May 1945 that Soviet soldiers achieved control over this pivotal structure. A cohort of these troops heralded their triumph by hoisting the flag of the Soviet Union atop the Reichstag. This action was observed by a constellation of applauding comrades-in-arms, recognizing the emblematic and strategic value of the victory.

Photo above: The iconic "Raising a flag over the Reichstag" photo by Yevgeny Khaldei. Yevgeny Khaldei worked as a correspondent for TASS Photo Chronicle from October 25, 1936 to October 7, 1948. Information reports (including photo reports), which was created by an employee of TASS as part of that person’s official duties between July 10, 1925 and January 1, 1954, provided that it was first released in the stated period or was not released until August 3, 1993 are in the public domain in Russia according to article 1281 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, articles 5 and 6 of Law No. 231-FZ of the Russian Federation of December 18, 2006 (the Implementation Act for Book IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Source: Wikimedia. In the Public Domain.

The momentous photograph "Raising a Flag over the Reichstag," snapped by the Soviet photographer Yevgeny Khaldei, encapsulated the essence of victory and the denouement of protracted strife. This image burgeoned into a global phenomenon, broadcasting the cessation of hostilities in Europe and the supremacy of the Soviet Union over the Nazi regime. Reproductions of this moment proliferated across continents, etching it into the collective memory as a symbol of the conclusion of the war.

Notwithstanding the photograph's widespread acclaim, there were undercurrents of dispute due to the nature of Soviet censorship and the manipulation of propaganda. The subjects immortalized in the iconic image remained unknown for decades amidst the regime's proverbial veil of secrecy. It was not until the 1980s that the soldiers who hoisted the banner—Meliton Kantaria and Mikhail Yegorov—were disclosed to the world.

Compounding the milieu of contention, the one behind the lens, Yevgeny Khaldei, confronted the prejudice of anti-Semitic sentiment, which initially precluded acknowledgment of his work. Despite facing such impediments, Khaldei's reputation ultimately transcended these barriers, earning him a place among the distinguished chroniclers and photojournalists in Soviet history. Thus, the Battle of Berlin and its aftermath, highlighted by the iconic photograph, stand as resonant epochs in the historical timeline, reflecting the culmination of World War II's harrowing tale of human fortitude, ideologic conflict, and the unyielding march toward victory.

Bibliography

Atkinson, Rick. The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2013.

Evans, Richard J. The Third Reich at War. New York: Penguin, 2009.

Guzeva, Alexandra. "40+ Photos of WWII by the Legendary Yevgeny Khaldei." Russia Beyond. Last modified April 5, 2021. https://www.rbth.com/history/333624-wwii-photos-yevgeny-khaldei.

Kershaw, Ian. The End: The Defiance and Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1944-1945. London: Penguin, 2012.

Longerich, Peter. Hitler: A Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.