The Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Güterfelde – also sometimes referenced to as the Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Wilmersdorf is arguably the most difficult to reach of Berlins Soviet War Memorials. As you can take from the name, this War Memorial is located in Güterfelde, which is lies in Brandenburg and not Berlin. Like the Soviet Memorial in Schöneiche, this memorial technically still lies in Berlin though as it is located on the Wilmersdorfer Waldfriedhof – a cemetery belonging to the Berlin district of Wilmersdorf-Charlottenburg.
Not much information can be dug up on this Soviet War Memorial, as there isn’t even a trace of its construction date. Design wise it follows the template we’ve seen on many other memorials – a red granite obelisk topped with a red star and an inscription. What sets this war memorial apart from the other soviet ones is that it’s dedicated to forced laborers that died in a camp close by, rather than soviet soldiers who died during battle.
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The inscription in Russian reads:
ЗДЕСЬ ПОКОЯТЕЯ 1389 СОВЕТСКИХ
НАСИЛЬНО УГНАННЫХ ВО ВРЕМЯ 2-ОЙ МИРОВОЙ ВОЙНЫ И ПОГИБШИХ В ФАШИСТСКОЙ НЕВОЛЕ
ЖИВУЩИЕ ВУДУТ ВСЕГДА ПОМНИТЬ О НИХ И ДЕЛАТЬ ВСЕ ВОЗМОЖНОЕ ЧТОБЫ ОБЕСПЕЧИТЬ МИР НА ЗЕМЛЕ И НЕ ДОПУСТИТЬ ВОЗРОЖДЕНИЯ ФАШИЗМА
Which translates into English:
This is where 1389 Soviet citizens, who were deported during the Second World War and died in fascist captivity / forced labor camps, rest. The living will always remember and do everything in their power to ensure peace in the world and never again allow a revival of fascism.
Despite being rather far out, the memorial clearly is being taken care of, and depending on what time of the year you go, a wreath can be seen laid at the foot of the obelisk. While there are benches next to the memorial, the gate is locked and the grounds are inaccessible.
The Soviet War Memorial Güterfelde is one of 12 Soviet War Memorials of Berlin. You can find an overview post here – The Soviet War Memorials of Berlin – with a condensed history of all Soviet War Memorials in Berlin, or you can click through the list below and read about each Soviet War Memorial individually.