The Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Herzbergstraße can be found on the grounds of the Evangelisches Krankenhaus Königin Elisabeth Herzberge in Lichtenberg (Queen Elisabeth Herzberge Protestant Hospital).

When Nazi Germany capitulated on the 8th of May, 1945, the Soviet Army partially took over the Hospital to take care of its wounded soldiers and officers. By November 1945, the Soviets forced all patients and staff to evacuate the hospital within 3 days to a repurposed school in the district of Berlin-Friedrichshagen. After months of difficult negotiations, the staff and patients were allowed to use 3 buildings again in 1946.

An undisclosed number of officers and soldiers died whilst being treated for their wounds in the Hospital, and were then buried on the grounds of the hospital. To accompany the graveyard, the soviets erected a gateway and a small obelisk-like memorial. The Obelisk is decorated on the top on each side with what appears to a relief of the medal “Hero of the Soviet Union“.

The base of the soviet memorial contains a solitary white plaque with the date “8 Mai 1945” on it. The indentations on the sides make it appear as if there were previously other plaques attached as well – but those seem to have been lost over time. Some German literature also refer to Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Herzbergstraße as “Denkmal zur Befreiung vom Faschismus” – “Monument to the liberation of fascism”, though the east German and Russian literature simply refers to it as a Soviet War Memorial.

The soldiers and officers that were once buried here were moved over to the Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Schönholzer Heide sometime around 1949.  The gate makes the memorial look somewhat oversized once the graves had been moved, as it feels like something is missing – but it’s an interesting memorial nevertheless due its unconventional styling.

The Soviet War Memorial Herzbergstraße 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.

WordPress Tables Plugin

Address of the Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Herzbergstraße

Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Herzbergstraße | Soviet War Memorial Herzbergstraße
Herzbergstraße 79, 10365 Berlin