Who left their autographs on the walls of the Reichstag? Reichstag from the inside. How I made my way to the inscriptions of Soviet soldiers for the fourth time - Interesting life

Those people are no longer there

Not a day, not a year has passed since then

But, they say, to this day

In the German city of Berlin

Their terrible glory lives on...

Leonid Ignatenko

Fast-flowing time is taking away from us the events of the Second World War, of which the Great Patriotic War is an integral part. But time has no power over the memory of those who, at the cost of enormous hardship, suffering and life itself, saved the world from the greatest evil of the twentieth century - Nazism. The more valuable it is for us to know about each warrior who left in History evidence of his personal involvement in the great feat of mankind.

The Reichstag at the beginning of the third millennium...

Second World War in Europe ended on the night of May 9, 1945 with the signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of the German Armed Forces and left behind an unusually strong social phenomenon - many inscriptions of victorious soldiers on the walls of the defeated Reichstag. Subsequently they were called Victory autographs. In the West, these inscriptions are currently known as “Russian graffiti.” Thousands of soldiers and officers of the multinational Red Army, inspired by the news of Victory, picked up chalk, charcoal, paint and entrusted their names, thoughts and feelings to the cold, smoky stones of the dilapidated building. None of them even imagined that the essentially temporary inscriptions could survive. However, life decided otherwise - many of Victory’s autographs ended up immortalized on the films of front-line photo and film cameramen. Others have a completely happy fate - they successfully survived the post-war repairs and reconstructions and, as a result, became an organic part of the interior of the modern Reichstag building - since 1999, the permanent place of work of deputies of the federal assembly, the German Bundestag. New impetus for development this topic received at the end of the 20th – beginning of the 21st century. In 1990, Germany was reunified. The German Bundestag, which previously met in Bonn, decided to move the capital to Berlin and the parliament to the Reichstag. An international competition was announced for its reconstruction, which was won by the British architect Norman Foster.

Norman Foster is a world-famous British architect who preserved the autographs of the Victory for History...

When, during restoration work in 1994 - 1999. plasterboard panels installed on the walls during the previous renovation of the building in the 1960s were dismantled, and a lot of “Russian graffiti” was revealed to the surprised gaze of workers, engineers and architects (see video: http://www.dctp.tv/filme/graffiti -im-reichstag/). The question arose - what to do? A special joint commission was created, which included diplomats from Russia. The commission decided to preserve the inscriptions, taking into account that in Russia and the republics of the former Soviet Union the Reichstag is associated with the capture of Berlin, the victory over Germany, and the end of World War II in Europe as a whole. Restoration of Victory's autographs began, which were cleaned and protected from external influences with a special high-strength transparent solution.

1990s. Restoration of inscriptions during the reconstruction of the Reichstag...

Not all German politicians have come to terms with by decision, but Norman Foster was adamant: “We cannot hide from history. It is of decisive importance for our society whether, facing the future, we can preserve the memory of the tragedies and suffering of the past. That is why it is important for me to preserve these inscriptions. Traces of the past on the walls speak of the era more expressively than any historical exhibition.”

The preserved inscriptions, the total number of which, according to German experts, is 715, are currently located on three levels of the building: on the ground floor, in the corridors leading to the plenary meeting hall, and in the main staircase portal of the southwest wing.

Thus, many of the winners' inscriptions entered the history of the Reichstag and began to live an independent life, immortalizing the names of their authors. Legal basis This was based on the results of a vote of deputies of the German Bundestag held in 2002. By the decision of the majority, the inscriptions discovered and restored during the reconstruction of the building were preserved there forever. For the edification of posterity, as a reminder of the horrors that Nazism brought to our planet.

Open book of History...

It would seem that it is no longer possible to establish who personally owns the inscriptions. However, this is not so - an experienced researcher who knows a scientifically based identification technique can do this. Rare surname, first name, patronymic, their combination, initials, city indicated in the inscription, military rank, branch of the military, are precisely those identification features that allow experienced specialist, using computer technologies and available information resources of TsAMO RF, to achieve the only correct, documented result. Unable to publish my book “AUTOGRAPHS AT THE REICHSTAG”, the project of which won a 1st degree Diploma at the International Internet competition “Page of Family Glory” in May 2017, I decided to acquaint the public with the unique results of my research, as well as relatives and fellow countrymen of the authors of the Victory autographs, for whom the surviving inscriptions are especially dear, in another way - through the Internet. For this purpose, I have prepared a series of articles - original information blocks under the general title “REICHSTAG: AUTOGRAPHES FROM 1945...” (see http://mirtesen.ru/people/587494781/blogposts), related general idea, internal logic, as well as the location of the inscriptions - in niches, on the walls, in the lobby, staircase.

All articles in the series have a single introduction and ending, and are, in fact, independent articles that, if necessary, can be easily compiled into a book by removing repeating fragments. Documentary portraits of soldiers are supplemented with excerpts from award lists, photographs of combat operations of their military branches, and also, where possible, personal photographs of the authors of the Victory autographs. I am confident that the results of my many years of scientific research, carried out at the proper professional level (as a result of long-term work at the Central Academy of Medical Sciences of the Russian Federation - author), will not be lost, and will be in demand for as long as the inscriptions themselves will exist. They will be useful to professional historians, travelers on international routes, Reichstag tour guides who daily explain to tourists the origin of “Russian graffiti,” university students, as well as everyone who cherishes the heroic past of the best citizens of their Fatherland.

The basic biographical data of more soldiers and officers is presented according to a certain scheme - this data is quite sufficient for the accurate identification of soldiers by all interested parties, including relatives.

Of course, as a specialist in “Russian graffiti” in the Reichstag, I am well aware of the extensive research work carried out by the Bundestag Visitor Service assistant Karin Felix at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries for almost a quarter of a century. Paying tribute to her invaluable contribution to the recording, study and preservation of Victory autographs, it must still be noted that due to objective reasons and certain circumstances, Karin Felix’s capabilities in fundamentally solving the problem of identifying inscriptions were very limited. Thank you to her for her dedication to the profession, for everything that she was able to do and maintain! A fragment of Karin Felix’s book “When History Comes to Life” can be found at the electronic link: http://divo.school619.ru/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Broschüre-russisch.pdf

Karin Felix is ​​the Reichstag's leading specialist in the study of “Russian graffiti”.

For ethical reasons, I did not examine the inscribed fragments covered in Karin Felix’s book. I allowed myself only to identify the inscriptions of two veterans who, in the early 2000s, themselves identified their inscriptions - Boris Viktorovich SAPUNOV and Boris Leonovich ZOLOTAREVSKY, in order to more fully illuminate their front-line biographies.

5. AUTOGRAPHES IN THE REICHSTAG – SOLDIERS’ FATES

This article is the final one in the series of articles “Reichstag - autographs from 1945...”, highlighting the results of my many years of research on the identification of wall inscriptions left in the Reichstag in 1945 by soldiers of the multinational Red Army.

In total, the author was able to identify just over 150 (20%) of the 715 names inscribed and preserved in the Reichstag ( For the entire list of identified names, see the link: https://www.proza.ru/avtor/ignatenko1949).

Perhaps it will seem to someone that the topic stated by the author as “not relevant” is not so pressing that it would be worth spending years of one’s life on solving this problem.

However, this is not quite true. The relevance of this historical topic has no statute of limitations - if only because the inscriptions were deliberately left by the decision of the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany “for centuries.” They are seen almost daily by hundreds of tourists from all over the world.

Moreover, it is the incredible difficulty of solving the problem that explains the almost complete lack of results in this direction during all the post-war years (this means scientifically based identification of inscriptions, and not their “identification”).

Not immediately, and not suddenly, but after a long and painful search, the only true one in this matter came to me. specific case an idea for solving a problem that can be expressed in a single phrase: “If it is not possible to identify the author directly, then it is necessary to use an indirect path.”

Its implementation is as follows: first, a complete list of possible authors is determined that fall under the identification characteristics specified in the inscription, and then all the names of soldiers who, for a number of reasons, could not physically be in the Reichstag at that time (the “alibi” principle) are removed from the list. except for one or several surnames from the same military unit (collective autographs) belonging to soldiers whose presence in Berlin in 1945, or in its environs, can be documented.

This scientifically based method is well known to everyone who has studied logic as a science. It has become especially widespread in jurisprudence, which only confirms the reliability of the method.

Thus, all questions related to the scientific objectivity of the methodology, as applied to solving this specific problem, disappear by themselves.

* * *

Victor Shein, nephew Shein Alexander Fedorovich(see article “Autographs in the Reichstag – Fedichkin, Shein”, https://www.proza.ru/2017/11/28/2181):

The surname Shein on the surviving autograph of Victory...

“...07/12/2017 p. Enotaevka, Enotaevsky district, Astrakhan region, Russia. Dear Leonid Alexandrovich! At your request, I am sending you two photographs of my uncle Shein Alexander Fedorovich: 1 – a military photograph, 2 – a photo of the 50s, in the photo he is with his eldest son Pavlik. After the war, my uncle lived his whole life in the village of Enotaevka. Worked at agricultural enterprises. After the war he got married. He had three sons. He was a calm, reasonable and economic person. He died in 1998 and was buried here, in Enotaevka, in 1998. God grant you good luck in your noble cause. Health and prosperity!..”

1945 Germany. A.F. Shein.

1950s. A.F. Shein.

* * *

Alexey Volkov, grandson Eberg Alexander Nikolaevich(see article, https://www.proza.ru/2017/11/28/2197):

The surname EBERG on the surviving autograph of Victory...

“...05.10.2017 Moscow, Russia. Good afternoon, Leonid Alexandrovich! Thank you for the enormous and useful work you have done. I was very pleased to receive a message from you about my grandfather Alexander Nikolaevich. He was indeed there in Berlin, in the Reichstag, but at the time of the Victory on May 9, 1945, he was still in East Prussia. His inscription was made after the Victory, when he was in Berlin on an excursion, along with his fellow soldiers. Once again, thank you for the invaluable information. Mom was pleased to know that her father’s autograph was preserved in the Reichstag, and that there are still people who are not indifferent to historical facts...”

1946 Germany. Captain A.N. Eberg.

* * *

The name SURKOV on the surviving autograph of Victory...

“...06.08.2016 Syzran, Samara region, Russia. Dear Leonid Alexandrovich! On behalf of our entire large Surkov family (Stepan Evdokimovich has 3 children, 8 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren), I thank you for all the noble deeds that you do. You can’t even imagine how this news affected us, the grandchildren of Stepan Evdokimovich. We simply began to “fly” from a feeling of pride in our grandfather - after all, he walked half the world with his fellow soldiers, in battles, before he signed his name at the Reichstag. And all this in the name of so that we, his descendants, have the right to live, breathe, love and work freely in our homeland. I would like our generation to have the same unity and brotherhood as the generations of the past. They will always be an example for us...”

* * *

Dmitry Fedoristov, grandson Fedoristov Dmitry Gavrilovich(see article “Autographs in the Reichstag – Fedoristov”, https://www.proza.ru/2017/11/25/2117):

The name FEDORISTOV on the surviving autograph of Victory...

“...07/09/2017 Kurchatov, Kursk region, Russia. Hello Leonid Alexandrovich! Thank you for your letter. The data you sent really concerns my grandfather Dmitry Gavrilovich, who, as it turns out, immortalized our name in the Reichstag. Thank you - you are doing a useful, noble job. I am sending you an electronic photo of my grandfather, taken in Berlin at the end of the war, on Victory Day...”

1945 Germany. Jr. Sergeant D.G. Fedoristov.

* * *

Elena Kulikovskaya, granddaughter of the Hero of the Soviet UnionAleksashkin Nikolai Fedorovich(see article "Reichstag - The pilots were here!", https://www.proza.ru/2017/11/23/1782):

The surname ALEXASHKIN on the surviving autograph of Victory...

“...11/15/2016 Moscow. Good afternoon, Leonid Alexandrovich! You have done a titanic job, it is very interesting, thank you! My grandfather Nikolai Fedorovich was transferred to the reserve in 1962 with the rank of colonel. Later he lived and worked in Moscow. He passed away in 1990. And my grandfather’s fellow soldier, Hero of the Soviet Union, Anatoly Pavlovich Artemenko is still alive! This year he spoke on television on May 9, from the Immortal Regiment, which took place in Moscow...”

1945 Hero of the USSR Guards Captain N.F. Aleksashkin.

* * *

Vladislav Gorenpol, grandson Gorenpol David Yakovlevich(see article “Reichstag - The Brandenburgers were here!”, https://www.proza.ru/2017/12/21/80):

The surname GORENPOL (GAREMPOL) on the surviving autograph of the Victory...

“...12/21/2017 Duisburg, Germany. Dear Leonid Alexandrovich! Thank you for your work, for searching for and preserving the memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. I am very pleased with this extremely important information about my grandfather for our family! Unfortunately, he left us in 1992, but we remember him and are proud of him! Low bow to you and great gratitude! I will definitely visit the Reichstag to see my grandfather's autograph. Health to you and good luck in everything! Now I have a very good reason to visit Berlin!..”

1945 Germany. Captain D.Ya. Gorenpol.

* * *

Sergey Shatrun, son Shatrun Mikhail Ustinovich(see article “Autographs in the Reichstag – Gorbachevsky, Shatrun”, https://www.proza.ru/2017/11/27/1030):

The surname SHATRUN on the surviving autograph of Victory...

“...06/28/2017 Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Good afternoon, Leonid Alexandrovich! The inscription really belongs to my father, and my mother Shatrun Nadezhda Mikhailovna was also present. Unfortunately, they are no longer alive. There is a joint photo of the parents in Berlin, opposite the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate. My mother served as a nurse in my father’s unit. After the war my father worked for railway, in Bataysk. He died in 1980 from a heart attack...”

1945 Germany. Red Army soldier N.M. Shatrun and captain M.U. Chatroon.

* * *

The place of residence of the relatives of Leonid Mikhailovich Gorbachevsky, who lived in Moscow after the war, has also been determined. His granddaughter Maria Kobzova posted a photo of her grandfather on the Zvezda radio website.

* * *

Olga Panzhina (Artemyeva), fellow villager Borisova Anna Abramovna(see article “Autographs in the Reichstag - Borisov”, https://www.proza.ru/2017/11/27/1797):

The name BORISOV on the surviving autograph of Victory...

“...05.16.2017 p. Shalamovo, Myshkinsky district, Kurgan region, Russia. Hello, Leonid Alexandrovich! Sorry that I couldn't answer you right away. I am sending you a post-war photo of Anna Abramovna - after the war she worked as a teacher primary classes at our rural school. Unfortunately, she died young, in 1957. We are proud of our fellow countrymen who took part in the war, but this news about Anna Abramovna’s autograph preserved in the Reichstag increased our pride. At the rally on May 9, I conveyed this information to the residents of our village...”

1950s A.A. Borisova.

* * *

Evgeniy Popov, grandson Popov Vasily Gavrilovich(see article “Autographs in the Reichstag - Popov”, https://www.proza.ru/2017/12/11/765):

The name POPOV on the surviving autograph of Victory...

“...01/02/2018 Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk Territory, Russia. Leonid Alexandrovich thank you very much! Vasily Gavrilovich is my grandfather who reached Victory! I knew that he was in Berlin, but I didn’t know that he left an autograph on the Reichstag, which was preserved. There were two brothers in the family - Ivan Gavrilovich and Vasily Gavrilovich. Both went through the entire war, survived... Ivan Gavrilovich had many wounds, and the remaining fragments, from which he died in 1980. Vasily Gavrilovich outlived his brother by 10 years. They were wonderful, bright people, and very physically strong. Russian heroes can be said to be two meters tall, “handed with a sledgehammer”! Maybe that's why they went through all this hell.... Thank you! You can’t even imagine what important news this is for our family!..”

* * *

As we see, the authors of Autographs of Victory were not lost in eternity - they lived the life allotted by fate with dignity. Having gone through the monstrous trials that befell their generation during the Great Patriotic War, they eventually returned to peaceful labor.

The names of some of them can be found captured by relatives on modern Internet sites.

So, for example, grandsonEberg Alexander Nikolaevich(see above "Reichstag - Sokolov, Okishev, Eberg", https://www.proza.ru/2017/11/28/2197 ) posted on the Immortal Regiment website a biography of his grandfather and his photo album with memories. You can view these invaluable materials by email: http://www.polkmoskva.ru/people/999319/

* * *

There, on the Immortal Regiment website, you can also find the name of the former head of the hospital, Lieutenant Colonel Milberg Lev Grigorievich (see article"Reichstag - Milberg, Rasulov, Cherkassky",

https://www.proza.ru/2017/11/28/1694). Nand on the same website proza.ruhis grandson talks about his grandfather’s pre-war life (see. http://www.proza.ru/2015/06/01/729 ).

The surname MILBERG on the surviving autograph of Victory...

* * *

And recently I was incredibly lucky - by posting a “search query” on the Internet, consisting of last name, first name and patronymic, I was able to establish the post-war fate of another author of the surviving Autograph of Victory. This is a woman, her name isStreltsova Anisya Nikiforovna(see article “Autographs in the Reichstag – There were doctors here!”, https://www.proza.ru/2017/11/28/2169 ).

The name STRELTSOV on the surviving autograph of Victory...

On January 13, 2009, the newspaper “Volnaya Kuban” (Krasnodar) published an article by correspondent Igor Sizov“We are proud of you, Anisya Streltsova!”, dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Anisya Streltsova (see. http://www.gazetavk.ru/?d=2017-05-05&r=28&s=1976 ). It, like a mirror, reflects the fate of the great military generation (respecting the copyright of the newspaper, the article is presented in full, without changes or abbreviations - author):

“...On New Year’s Day 2018, the oldest reader of our newspaper, Anisya Nikiforovna Streltsova, turned 90 years old.

Any newspaper is a community of journalists and readers. The journalists of “Free Kuban” are well known in our region, their names are on everyone’s lips. But who are they, our readers? What are they doing? What are their interests? What biographies? For many years, everyone wanted to find out who the oldest reader of “Free Kuban” was, but somehow everyone never got around to it. And then luck appeared in person. The editorial office received a call from the service social protection Lazarevsky district of Sochi.

Do you know that Anisya Streltsova, a resident of Volkonka station, turns 90 years old on New Year’s Day?

Happy for her! Congratulations! But just tell me: what does our newspaper have to do with it?

What does it have to do with it! Yes, this is the oldest reader of “Free Kuban”! I remember your publication from the pre-war years! Our advice to you: come to Volkonka urgently...

Go! Let's meet! Everything was confirmed down to the details! Indeed, the oldest reader of our newspaper, Anisya Streltsova, lives not far from the Volkonka station, in a residential village consisting of houses of the Chemitokvadzhe military pilots’ sanatorium. He has been subscribing to Volnaya Kuban for many years. And her biography turned out to be simply wonderful!

Our oldest reader was born in 1918 in the Urals. My father worked as a carpenter at the construction of a chemical plant in Berezniki. There are six children in the family. It was difficult to feed everyone; the children started working very early. As soon as Anisya graduated from seven-year school, she went to work as a nurse in a clinic. In the evenings I studied paramedic courses.

Meanwhile, the 1930s were ending, and war loomed on the doorstep. On weekends, a young lieutenant Grigory Streltsov began to engage in basic military training with a group of local girls and boys. He gave very clear commands: “Get in line! Be equal! Stab with a bayonet! Aim more accurately! Fire!" And only one evening, completely against the rules, he turned to a young nurse from the group:

Maybe we can take a walk in the park today...

A week later he came to our heroine’s parents and said:

I am being transferred to serve in Kuban! I ask you for your daughter’s hand in marriage and hope that she will come with me. I promise to be a good husband...

In December 1940, a young family arrived at their place of service in the city of Kropotkin. Lieutenant Grigory Streltsov was a party man and on the very first evening he brought home the latest issue of the Bolshevik newspaper, which is what “Free Kuban” was called in the pre-war years.

And do you remember what our newspaper was like then? - we started asking Anisya Streltsova.

I remember it very well! Then Kuban was preparing for spring sowing, and journalist Valentin Ovechkin urged everyone to pay special attention to the maintenance of agricultural equipment. Even then, subscriptions were carried out for a set of gramophone records with speeches by Joseph Stalin. Yes, and about the theater to me

Well, then, already in the summer, my husband showed me your newspaper with an appeal from Vyacheslav Molotov: “Citizens and women of the Soviet Union! This morning, Nazi Germany treacherously attacked our country! Then it became clear to us that this war would separate us for a long time. Grisha immediately left for intelligence school in Armavir, and I, as a nurse, was drafted into the army. Our hospital was first in the village of Kazanskaya, then it was transferred to Novorossiysk...

Wow! Yes, such horrors happened in Novorossiysk during the war!

It's right! I remember a brigade of sailors walking past our tents to the front line. Everyone shouted to us, they say, wait for us, girls! We waited for them in vain, no one returned, everyone died on the outskirts of the city! Then I remember the crush at the port! There was only one boat left, but there was no time to evacuate the women and children! Screams, tears! Do you know the monument car in Novorossiysk? He was burning before my eyes! There were horses in it, they neighed so terribly, jumping out of the fire! And the Germans shot these horses from planes, there was blood all over the square...

Was your hospital a field hospital?

Yes, it was called the 116th field hospital. They received the wounded from the front line, bandaged them and took them to Tuapse. By the way, in the evenings we read your newspaper to the soldiers; at that time military reports were published in it. And once I had a chance to directly collide with your brother. At a checkpoint near Arkhipo-Osipovka, a guard stopped:

Who is the eldest in the ambulance? They told you to come to headquarters!

I come in and introduce myself:

Lieutenant of the medical service Anisya Streltsova!

And the stocky officer gets up from the table and says in response:

Frontline correspondent Mikhail Svetlov!

Will you ever be from Bolshevik? We read this newspaper in the house before the war...

He then laughed! No, he says, not from Bolshevik, but from Komsomolskaya Pravda. He spent almost an hour asking about our service. For the first time I learned what they are like, real newspapermen! As a farewell, he read me some of his poems about Grenada. There is such an area in Spain...

Yes, like the entire Red Army! We were transferred from Novorossiysk to Kursk, where there was a tank battle! They crossed the Dnieper and took Kyiv! They crossed the Vistula and took Warsaw! We crossed the Oder, and there was already Berlin! When the shooting ended, the girls and I asked to run to the Reichstag. We rushed over, and there Lydia Ruslanova was giving a concert on the steps, singing all about Russian felt boots!

I see a bucket of paint standing near the column. Well, I wrote for myself and my husband: “Anisya and Grigory Streltsov. We've reached Berlin! Although Grisha was no longer alive, he died in the Carpathians. It was bitter, of course! After the war, she did not leave the army. At first I worked in district hospitals, and then I was sent to the village of Lazarevskoye. Again I began to subscribe to your newspaper, it was already called “Soviet Kuban”. And my service was as a nurse at the Chemitokvadzhe sanatorium. Our military pilots were on vacation.

Did you meet any interesting people?

Of course! One day they brought in a group of young pilots, and with them a whole team of doctors. Everyone spent whole days in the gym, working out. At night I see a guy sitting in the hall, reading some textbook. I tell you, you should sleep! And he says: yes, I have an exam tomorrow, I want to show off my knowledge! What kind of exam is so serious? Yes, he says, I’m going to the stars!

Then I just smiled to myself. He will also say, to the stars. But it's true! About three months later I open “Soviet Kuban”, and there is this guy in the portrait! And the caption: “Soviet man in space! The first cosmonaut on the planet - Yuri Gagarin! If I had known earlier, I would have talked to him longer that night...

Do you still subscribe to our newspaper?

Certainly! And this is a memory of my husband, and of the battles near Novorossiysk, and of work in the sanatorium for cosmonaut pilots. When Evgeny Rozhansky writes about Malaya Zemlya, I look for all the familiar names in his articles. I find it sometimes! And I really like reading Olga Tsvetkova. She recently wrote an essay about Valentina Tereshkova; it was nice to remember her meetings with “Chaika”. In a word, thank you for not forgetting us pensioners! Don't forget us anymore...

My God, what wonderful readers we have! How many good deeds they managed to accomplish in their lives! And the country was defended during the war! And at the Reichstag they found time to sign! And Yuri Gagarin was given a worthy send-off! And most importantly, before gray hair retained interest in life, interest in everything that happens in the country!

This is who “Free Kuban” can rightfully be proud of! Our readers are our main pride, one might say!

Happy anniversary to you, our dear oldest reader Anisya Streltsova! We are proud of you!

We are proud of you today and will always be proud...”

Perhaps it’s better about the victorious front-line soldiers, regardless of whether they managed to leave the Autograph of Victory on the Reichstag or not, you can’t say! For us, our descendants, they will forever remain the Victors, who, at the cost of enormous hardships, suffering and sacrifice, saved the world from the horrific consequences of the catastrophe prepared for humanity by the Nazis.

2012 A.N. Streltsova.

* * *

P.S. Anisya Nikiforovna Streltsova passed away when she was already well over 90. However, in 2012 she managed to record a video story in which she expressed the thoughts and feelings of her generation (see.

Leonid Aleksandrovich Ignatenko (Ignatenkov) was born in 1949 in the village. Tsetkino, Nikopol district, Dnepropetrovsk region, Ukraine, in the Russian Ignatenkov family, which the famine of 1933 forced to leave their centuries-old places in the village. Krasnaya Sloboda, Suzemsky district, now Bryansk region, Russia. In 1970 he graduated from the Kharkov Motor Transport College named after. S. Ordzhonikidze. In 1970-1972 served in the Soviet Army. After graduating from the Peoples' Friendship University. Patrice Lumumba in 1978 (RUDN University, Moscow), worked for several years as a high school teacher in the Republic of Zambia, Central Africa, then in Nikopol, Ukraine. From 1992 to 2016 worked at the Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant as a smelter, correspondent for the factory newspaper Elektrometallurg. For many years he was the permanent leader of the Poisk factory group, on a voluntary basis. In 1993, based on the results of his scientific research work (identification), the labor collective of the Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant in the Nikopol region erected the memorial complex “Height 167.3 “Nechaev’s Tomb”, which immortalized more than 1,400 previously unknown names of soldiers of the 8th Guards Army who fell in 1943-1944 in the battles during the liberation of Ukraine from the Nazi occupiers. He revealed and documented the existence of the only “double fire ram” in the history of world aviation, committed by Soviet fighter pilots on the Southern Front in 1941 (see http://history.milportal.ru/2015/08/dvojnoj-ognennyj -taran). By Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 425 of June 11, 2001, for outstanding successes achieved in search work, he was awarded the Order of Ukraine “For Merit”, 3rd degree. In 2006, for his effective assistance to Russian search engines, he was awarded a commemorative medal “For the search for those killed in the Arctic.” In 2011, he was awarded the “Dignity” Badge by the International League for the Defense of Human Dignity and Security. He is the winner and repeated prize-winner of the International Internet competition “Family Glory Page”. He has a number of commendations from the Council of Veterans of the 8th Guards Army. During the period 1989 – 2009. made 24 creative trips to the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (Podolsk, Moscow Region, Russia). In 2016, the candidacy of L.A. Ignatenko was presented by the management of the Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant with the honorary title “ Honorable Sir Nikopol". He created his own, scientifically based method for identifying the authors of the Victory autographs inscribed in the Reichstag by soldiers of the Red Army in 1945. Using modern computer technologies and information resources of the Central Academy of Medical Sciences of the Russian Federation (open access), in five years he almost accurately identified more than 150 authors of the victory inscriptions preserved in the Reichstag after the reconstruction of 1994-1999, during which over 700 inscriptions of Red Army soldiers were discovered under plasterboard slabs installed in the 1960s. Labor-intensive but successful long-term work to identify the authors of Victory’s autographs required the researcher to maximize the mobilization of his creative forces, research skills, knowledge and life experience. The results of the research, which Leonid Ignatenko consistently presented in a series of 103 documentary stories on the website proza.ru (see https://www.proza.ru/avtor/ignatenko1949), are of international significance - scientists from many museums in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, as well as the German-Russian Museum Berlin-Karlshorst (German: Deutsch-Russisches Museum Berlin-Karlshorst) - a museum of the history of the Second World War. The cycle of stories begins with an introductory article - “Reichstag: autographs from 1945...”, and ends with the final article “Autographs in the Reichstag - soldiers’ destinies”.

Leonid Aleksandrovich IGNATENKO, local historian, master's degree, graduate of the Peoples' Friendship University. Patrice Lumumba 1978 (RUDN University, Moscow).

Reichstag building.

Why does the Bundestag need a casino?

The Reichstag was built in 1894 according to the design of the Frankfurt architect Paul Wallot. Parliament met here until 1933, when the building burned down in a fire. It is symbolic that the National Socialists blamed the arson on the Communists and used this accusation as a pretext to ban the German Communist Party. Later, the Nazis held propaganda rallies here.

After World War II, the Reichstag was in a dilapidated state for a long time and was completely reconstructed only in 1999. Today, the Reichstag is one of several buildings of the huge modern parliamentary complex of the Bundestag. There are many meeting rooms, offices of deputies, a gallery of modern art, airline offices, a first-aid post, a post office, etc. It even has its own casino. These are not gambling halls at all, as it might seem, but just a “people's canteen”.

Foster is omnipresent

Alexey Yusupov.

- After the unification of the two German republics - the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic - in 1990, their parliaments decided: the Reichstag as the home of German parliamentarism should be restored, - says Alexey. - Before German reunification, the building was in poor condition and was used for other purposes, partly as a warehouse. They began to think about how to restore it to its original form, but at the same time give the building the appearance of a future parliament. Today, the result of this work can be seen by any visitor to Berlin - the glass dome over the Reichstag, built according to the project, is visible from many points in the city architect Norman Foster. If you are inside the dome, on the one hand you can admire the view of reunited Berlin, and on the other, you can look into the meeting room of the Bundestag and see with your own eyes the transparency of the German parliamentary system.

During the restoration of the Reichstag, the wooden panels that covered the walls damaged in 1945 were removed. Under them, especially on the 1st and 2nd floors, it was discovered a large number of inscriptions Soviet soldiers.

- A special historical commission was created, which included diplomats from Russia, and was chaired by the German side Rita Süssmuth - Speaker of the Bundestag. Then it was decided to preserve these inscriptions as a memory of the very complex and fateful history of two countries - the Russian Federation as the heir of the Soviet Union and Germany, explains Yusupov. - The capture of the Reichstag in 1945, primarily in the Soviet Union, was considered a triumphant ending to the war. And the capture of Berlin and, in general, the victory over Germany are associated with it. Although, from the point of view of military and political influence, neither the Reichstag building nor the German parliament itself had any special significance 70 years ago.

How did this all happen?

F: Alexey, the preservation of the inscriptions of Soviet soldiers in the Reichstag should constantly remind us of the very terrible war and severe defeat. Why did the Germans do this?

In the early 2000s, the question of removing the inscriptions arose. It was even put to a vote in the Bundestag, but the proposal was rejected by an absolute majority of votes. And for very “German” reasons. After all, Germany went through a unique process not so much of repentance as of intellectual and moral awareness of its own history and the crimes committed under National Socialism. The country wondered: how could it reach such a state in which it caused harm, brought destruction, death, humiliation and plunder to almost all its European neighbors and especially to the east?

It was a long process of realization. It began in the 1960s, when the first generation of post-war Germans became students. There has been a great social shake-up and a great reversal of consciousness. After 1945 there was, of course, both the Nuremberg trials and denazification. But only 20 years later, in 1967-68, the question arose in society: how could this happen?

The country had to admit its guilt. Moreover, the guilt of the absolute majority of the population. After all, the arguments that the Germans did not know about the Holocaust, about crimes against gypsies, communists, enemies of the regime, people with non-traditional sexual orientation, and people with disabilities are untenable. It is now well known that the Germans knew a lot. Support for the Third Reich and regime Adolf Hitler was massive. Germany had to admit that all this is flesh and blood German history and culture, and not some kind of misunderstanding or mistake.

And this leads to a completely different view of one’s own role in the world, of responsibility to one’s neighbors. In the spirit of this time in the 1960s, with Willy Brandte and other chancellors of Germany began a rapprochement with Poland, the GDR, and the USSR. The main continental enemy and adversary - France - became the closest partner and ally, part of the “European engine”.

Not shame, but liberation

The dome over the Reichstag.

F: Is it right to judge children and grandchildren for the crimes of their parents and grandfathers?

No. And it was precisely from the awareness of their own guilt that the Germans arose an understanding: this guilt cannot be inherited. But Germany is aware of its historical responsibility. And preserving visible artifacts and reminders of what the Third Reich's role was in European history in the 20th century is part of today's German culture and identity. This also includes the preservation of the inscriptions on the Reichstag.

Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker, who died in January 2015, was one of the moral authorities of post-war and modern Germany. It was he who brought the German internal discourse to the understanding that May 8 (in the post-Soviet space - May 9) is not so much a day of defeat, but primarily a day of liberation, including the liberation of German society from its mistakes, the fascist regime and horrors war. And these events are also part of the history of modern Germany, as well as the history of Russia and other post-Soviet countries. And the capture of the Reichstag is a turning point in the history of Germany.

And the process of restoring the Reichstag and turning it into the seat of the modern parliament is especially interesting because neither during the Kaiser’s Empire, nor during the Second and Third Reichs was parliament an absolute center of power. But now Germany is a parliamentary republic, and the Reichstag is the building in which the main constitutional body of the country is located.

The present through the prism of the past

F: Rumor has it that there is an inscription left by a Belarusian soldier who openly threatens, to put it mildly, to abuse Hitler. I didn't see this graffiti.

Of course, not all the inscriptions have been preserved, but only about 150. The commission I spoke about agreed to remove obscene inscriptions - there was a lot of obscenity and racist statements. Now the surviving inscriptions can be seen by any visitor to the Reichstag. There are “Hitler kaput” and “We are from Astrakhan”, as well as division numbers, personal messages, etc.

F: There is an opinion that memories of the Nazi period of history are quite painful for Germans. Do these inscriptions increase the pain?

The preserved inscriptions indicate that the attitude towards the fascist period of history is that of a recovered country that understands the full scope and depth of historical events. It’s like with a person: the deepest defeat and recognition of our own mistakes is the most difficult thing for us. Germany lost everything: major cities were in ruins, millions of people died, allies in the anti-Hitler coalition occupied and divided the country for almost half a century. The truth about the crimes of the Wehrmacht, Gestapo, and SS gave a feeling of general guilt, and one had to live with it. Therefore, Germany, unlike other countries, cannot define itself through previous military victories, through its imperial past, through its history of expansion. Because in Germany, all these events ultimately led to the ovens of Auschwitz and numerous other horrors. The Second World War is the defining period of Germany, without which it is impossible to imagine the country. And much of German history is viewed through the prism of what ultimately led to the disaster.

This also determines the current foreign policy, country, the development of its defense complex, diplomacy, etc. Take at least German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his team. They are trying to maintain diplomatic channels with Moscow even after the war in Ukraine.

Reports about the Reichstag. PartIII

Parliament belongs to the people. “Dem deutschen Volke” - “To the German people,” is written above the entrance to the Reichstag in Berlin. Architect Paul Wallot wanted to place this kind of dedicatory inscription back in 1894, for the opening of the imperial parliament building on its facade, but encountered resistance from the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. He did not like the mention of “the people” in this context.

The site designated for the dedication remained empty for more than ten years. Only at the height of the First World War, when in 1916 the deputies from the Social Democratic Party agreed to vote for war loans, and Germany was already pretty tired of the war, did the Kaiser decide to respond with a broad gesture. The letters were cast in a calligraphic font that was fashionable at the time, a unical from bronze of two French cannons taken during the liberation wars of 1813-1815.

From 1894 to 1918, the Imperial Parliament of Kaiser Germany worked in the Reichstag building in Berlin, and then, until the fire of 1933, the parliament of the Weimar Republic, from whose window it was once proclaimed. The building was destined to become the seat of parliament again only in 1999.

The original letters are still on the façade of the Reichstag - silent witnesses to the arson of 1933, the rise of the National Socialists to power, and the holding of anti-Semitic and anti-communist exhibitions in the damaged building such as “The Eternal Jew” (“Der ewige Jude”) or “Bolshevism without a mask” ( "Bolschewismus ohne Maske"). Later, models of “Germany” (“Welthauptstadt Germania”) were demonstrated here - the new “capital of the world”, which his court architect Albert Speer was going to build on the site of Berlin, by order of Adolf Hitler.

The Reichstag arson served as a formal pretext for the reprisal against the opposition and the seizure of power by the National Socialists, and its circumstances have not yet been fully investigated. Hitler blamed the arson on the communists, and the communists blamed Hitler. During the fire, the Reichstag meeting hall was almost completely burned out. The next one-party “parliament” (we need to put quotation marks here), which included exclusively deputies from the NSDAP, held its meetings in the Krolloper near the Brandenburg Gate. Berliners sarcastically called this operetta “parliament” “the highest paid male choir in the world” (“höchstbezahlter Männergesangsverein”).

Interesting fact. During the search for a site for the construction of the Reichstag, which took more than ten years after the corresponding decision was made in 1871 (we talked about this in the previous part of the report), deputies were offered to purchase the Kroll Opera and build a building in its place. They put the issue to a vote several times, but invariably rejected this option. The deputies did not want the Kaiser's parliament building to stand on the site of a former entertainment venue...

From 1933 to 1942, the Nazi Reichstag met for its propaganda and demonstrative meetings only 19 times - including on September 15, 1935 for a visiting session in the “city of NSDAP party congresses” Nuremberg to vote on the “racial laws” that marked the beginning of mass destruction European Jews.

Video: Inscriptions of Soviet soldiers

During the Second World War, the windows of the Reichstag, which did not play any role in the system of architectural and ideological symbols of the National Socialist dictatorship, were walled up. In some of its premises, AEG established the production of radio tubes, in others they housed a military hospital and the obstetric department of the Berlin Charité clinic.

During the first post-war decade, the building, located in the western part of Berlin, was in a dilapidated state. In 1954, due to the threat of collapse, the remains of the dome were blown up, although, according to some architects, without much need. Soon they decided to carry out renovations, but in the conditions of divided Germany it was not clear for what purpose the Reichstag building would be used.

Repair work dragged on until 1973. The West German architect Paul Baumgarten, who won the competition, refused to restore the dome, and also, in keeping with the pragmatic spirit of the 60s, removed many carved and plaster decorations in the neo-Renaissance and neo-Baroque styles, citing the fact that they were already suffered greatly during the war and gradually collapsed after it.

Inscriptions in Russian

The walls inside were lined with white panels, under which traces of battles were hidden, as well as the autographs of Soviet soldiers, thus - willingly or unwillingly - preserving them for the future. The former conference hall, which burned down in 1933, was restored, with the expectation of German reunification, so that there was enough space for all deputies. In some rooms there was a historical exhibition telling about the history of the building.

In 1971, the victorious powers adopted a new Quadrilateral Agreement on West Berlin (Viermächteabkommen über Berlin) on the status of this part of the divided city. During the period of détente, the Soviet Union, the USA, Great Britain and France agreed that West Berlin was not an integral part of Germany, but the Federal Republic of Germany received the right to represent its interests in the international arena if they did not affect strategic and security issues.

This agreement prevented plans to hold some plenary sessions of the Bundestag in West Berlin. True, faction meetings and commission hearings were sometimes held in the renovated Reichstag building, to which deputies flew from Bonn. But these events were rather symbolic in nature: they demonstrated Germany’s desire to unite the country.

German reunification

One of the most significant events in modern times German history happened near the Reichstag building on October 3, 1990. At midnight, the black, red and gold flag of a united Germany was raised on the flagpole in front of the western portal. It was on this day, less than a year after the fall Berlin Wall, the formal legal reunification of the country took place. Newsreel footage shows the steps of the Reichstag illuminated by floodlights. Chancellor Helmut Kohl and his wife surrounded by German politicians. A mass of thousands of people in the dark sings the national anthem about unity, justice and freedom: “Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit...”

During the renovation of the building in 1995-1999, before the German capital moved from Bonn to Berlin, almost all of the changes made by Baumgarten were corrected, focusing on Wallot's original plans. But the reconstruction, of course, did not pursue the goal of restoring the Reichstag to its previous form. Preserving traces of history was one of the conditions of an open international competition, which was won by British architect Norman Foster.

Visitors and deputies are reminded of the capture of the Reichstag in 1945 by inscriptions made by Red Army soldiers. Now, thanks to special restoration technology, they look as if they appeared just yesterday. All the soldiers' autographs found on the walls after the "Baumgarten" cladding was removed were first recorded in photographs and then translated into German.

Some of the inscriptions were left for viewing, some had to be removed under plaster, but in such a way as to preserve them, that is, preserve them. The inscriptions containing obscene words and obscenities were removed, having previously agreed with Russian diplomats.

During tours of the building, guides like to repeat the story about the first deputies who entered the Reichstag after the parliament moved from Bonn to Berlin. One of them, seeing the autographs of Soviet soldiers, thought that these were fresh traces left by some hooligans in the newly renovated premises. The deputy called the parliamentary affairs office to tell him about this blatant disgrace, but they explained to him the origin and meaning of these inscriptions. Let us note that not all deputies liked the idea of ​​preserving historical reminders, but they did not receive support.

See also:
History of the Brandenburg Gate

Symbol of unity

Until the mid-19th century, Berlin was surrounded by a city customs wall. It was possible to enter its territory through eighteen gates, which were later dismantled, with the exception of one and only one. Today they are the most popular landmark of the German capital and an architectural symbol of a united Germany.



"Athens on the Spree"

This is what the place looked like in 1764. About a quarter of a century later, the Prussian king Frederick William II ordered the construction of a new gate here. Architect Karl Gotthard Langhans prepared a project in the style of classicism, taking as a role model the antique gate that formed the entrance to the Acropolis. Berlin at that time was the center of cultural life in Europe and was even called “Athens on the Spree”.



Gate of Peace

Construction of the gate was completed in August 1791. In 1793, a quadriga was installed on them, which is now ruled by the goddess of victory Victoria. But initially this place on the Gate of Peace (Friedenstor), as they were then called, was occupied by Eirene, the daughter of Zeus, the goddess of peace in ancient Greek mythology. The design of a triumphal chariot drawn by four horses was developed by the sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow.

image" src="https://dw.com/image/19408937_303.jpg" title="1814" alt="1814">!}

Triumphant return

In 1814, after the defeat of Napoleon's troops by a coalition led by Russia and Prussia, the quadriga was solemnly returned from Paris to Berlin. The gate has acquired a new look. They became the Prussian triumphal arch. The author of the project was the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Quadriga was now ruled not by the goddess of peace, but by the goddess of victory Victoria, who received an iron cross and a wreath of oak leaves as a reward.



Nazi propaganda

During the Third Reich, the National Socialists used the Brandenburg Gate for their propaganda. Immediately after Hitler seized power in January 1933, they staged a torchlight procession here. Berlin was to become the "Capital of the World". Plans for the creation of "Germany" included the construction of a new gigantic triumphal arch, the demolition of entire neighborhoods, but not the Brandenburg Gate.



After the war

During the bombing of World War II and the capture of Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate was seriously damaged. In a divided city, they found themselves in the Soviet occupation zone. Until 1957, the flag of the USSR flew over them, and then the GDR. The Quadriga was completely destroyed. All that was left was the head of one of the horses. Now it is in the museum.



Reconstruction

The sculpture had to be restored. On this issue, East and West Berlin, despite the political confrontation, agreed to cooperate. For this purpose, they used casts made during the war shortly before the start of the massive bombing of Berlin. An exact copy of the quadriga was installed in 1957. However, soon the GDR authorities made adjustments: they removed the cross and the Prussian eagle.



No Man's Land

On August 13, 1961, construction of the wall began. As a result, the Brandenburg Gate found itself in a restricted area between East and West Berlin. The wall passed right in front of them. Only East German border guards now had access here, and these historical gates themselves became a symbol of the division of Germany.



"Tear down this Wall!"

The speech that US President Ronald Reagan delivered here on June 12, 1987 went down in history. “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this Wall!” he called on the Soviet leader. “Open these gates!” Reagan's words, amplified by powerful speakers, were heard throughout East Berlin. Back then no one knew what would happen in just two years.



Fall of the Belin Wall

Immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, thousands of people went to the Brandenburg Gate to celebrate the event. The symbol of the division of Germany became a symbol of the reunification of the country.



Meeting point

Today, the Brandenburg Gate is not only a popular attraction, but also a place for concerts, celebrations, and demonstrations. In 2006, during the world football championship in Germany, the so-called mile for fans was held for the first time - a multi-day celebration of fans with live broadcasts of matches on giant screens.



Solidarity

Every autumn, Berlin hosts the Festival of Lights, which includes the Brandenburg Gate. They also become a place of expression of solidarity after terrorist attacks and other emergencies. This photo was taken in June 2016 after an attack on a gay club in the American city of Orlando.



Hanukkah

The 10-meter Hanukkah was installed in front of the Brandenburg Gate in December 2015. According to the traditions of Judaism, the candles of this lamp are lit during the eight days of Hanukkah. The ceremony was attended by the German Government Commissioner for Culture and Media Monika Grutters. Currently, about 12 thousand Jews live in the German capital.



Symbol

The Brandenburg Gate is a monument to European and German history, witnesses to numerous wars and a symbol of hope. "Frieden" - "Peace". This light installation could be seen on the Brandenburg Gate in 2014 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

A. I. Boroznyak. Inscriptions on the walls of the Reichstag - a monument liberation mission Red Army in Europe

The Red Army is marching through the streets of Berlin... Let us rise above the events of the hour for a moment and think about the meaning of what is happening... If all freedom-loving peoples can now talk about international security at the long table in San Francisco, it is because a Russian infantryman who has suffered grief somewhere in Don or Velikiye Luki, he marked with charcoal under the tamed Valkyrie: “I’m in Berlin. Sidorov”... We are in Berlin: the end of fascism...

In the spring of 1945, when the command of the Red Army began the operation to capture Berlin, the Reichstag was turned into a well-fortified center of all-round defense. For Soviet soldiers, this building became a hated symbol of Nazi aggression. The slogan “Hoist the Victory Banner over the Reichstag!” led troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts into battle. The assault on the Reichstag continued on April 30 and May 1, 1945. The Victory Banner soared above the dome of the dilapidated building.

The then commander of the fire platoon of the 469th regiment of the 150th Infantry Division, Hero of the Soviet Union, Ivan Klochkov, recalled what happened on May 2: “There is excitement near the Reichstag. Infantrymen, tank crews, artillerymen, sappers, chemists, and doctors are drawn here individually and in groups. They reached Berlin and are trying to witness this on the walls of the last stronghold of Hitlerism... While our comrades began to sign autographs at the Reichstag, the 301st and 248th rifle divisions were completing the last difficult battle for the imperial chancellery... Our first group was returning from the Reichstag full of impressions. Comrades vied with each other to talk about how they examined it, left signatures on the walls... The inscriptions were made with all kinds of paints, charcoal, charcoal, a bayonet, a nail, a camp knife. But no matter what the warrior wrote, it was felt that he put his soul and heart into it.”

In numerous photographs and newsreels we see: the autographs of Soviet soldiers and officers were covered with smoke, speckled with shells external walls Reichstag and its interior spaces. Among these inscriptions is the famous one: “We came here so that Germany would not come to us.” Ordinary people who survived the flames of war signed - for themselves and for their fallen comrades - an act of unconditional surrender of the Hitler regime, even before it was endorsed by commanders and politicians. Photographs of the walls of the Reichstag taken by front-line correspondents Yakov Ryumkin, Evgeniy Khaldei, Ivan Shagin, Viktor Temin, Oleg Knorring, Fyodor Kislov, Anatoly Morozov, Mark Redkin and other recognized masters have circulated throughout the world press.

About 40 years ago, poet and journalist Yevgeny Dolmatovsky, a participant in the storming of Berlin, carefully brought together numerous photographic documents in his book “Autographs of Victory.” He not only reproduced the inscriptions on the walls of the Reichstag, but, following the example of Sergei Sergeevich Smirnov and Konstantin Simonov, with the help of the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper and Central Television, he found a considerable number of war veterans who signed on the walls of the Reichstag.

The spring of Victory over defeated fascism quickly gave way to the frosts of the Cold War. The Reichstag building turned out to be on the territory of the British sector. West Berlin became the epicenter of a violent European and global confrontation. Under the guise of repairs, there was a systematic destruction of everything that reminded of the feat of the Red Army, of Soviet victims and of Soviet victories in the war. In 1954, the dome over which the Victory Banner was hoisted was blown up. The West Berlin authorities ordered to hastily “clean up” the smoke-stained walls of the Reichstag. All inscriptions of Soviet soldiers were carefully scraped off their surfaces. Funding was provided from Bonn, where the parliament and government of the Federal Republic of Germany were located. Many thousands of autographs of Red Army soldiers were lost forever.

But in November 1963, four slabs that arrived from West Berlin were included in the collections, and then in the exhibition, of the Central Museum of the Soviet Army (now the Central Museum of the Armed Forces). What is the origin of these unique exhibits? Four fragments of the external cladding of the Reichstag building with clearly distinguishable Russian surnames can still be seen today in the hall where the Victory Banner is located. How were these relics saved? How did they end up in Moscow? In 1965–1970 Leading Soviet publications presented a fascinating version of how West Berlin anti-fascists, acting at their own peril and risk, managed to secretly transport the most valuable relics to our capital. But everything was much more prosaic: the transportation of special cargo was carried out in a completely legal way - on the basis of a financial agreement between the First Secretary of the USSR Embassy in the GDR, Viktor Beletsky, and the management of the construction company that was reconstructing the Reichstag building. The embassy minibus drove up, as agreed, to the builders' trailer; the boxes, each weighing tens of kilograms, were loaded into the minibus and transported to the building of the Soviet diplomatic mission on Unter den Linden, and then transferred for storage to the Central Museum of the Armed Forces.

As for the interior of the Reichstag, the walls and ceilings were tightly (hopefully forever!) lined with panels, under which traces of battles, fragments of the original architecture, and most importantly, the autographs of Soviet soldiers were hidden. There is not a single visible trace left of the inscriptions left by the winners. This is how the unwanted remnants of the recent past were displaced. The sterile white sheets of durable drywall have turned into white spots of history.

In 1990, Germany was unified, and the German Bundestag, which had been sitting in Bonn since 1949, decided to move the capital to Berlin and, accordingly, to move the parliament to the former Reichstag building. An international competition was announced for its reconstruction, which was won by the world famous British architect Sir Norman Foster. The author of many original structures on all continents, he calls himself a follower of the great Russian scientist Vladimir Shukhov, who, like Foster, achieved the unique beauty of his innovative industrial projects.

One of the conditions of the competition was to preserve traces of history in the Reichstag building. By order of Foster, the plasterboard panels were dismantled, and “Russian graffiti” (as it is customary in present-day Germany to call the inscriptions of soldiers and officers of the Red Army) was revealed to the surprised glances of workers, engineers and architects.

The scientific restoration of the Victory autographs began, despite numerous demands from a number of German politicians. Norman Foster was adamant: “We cannot hide from history. It is of decisive importance for our society whether, facing the future, we can preserve the memory of the tragedies and suffering of the past. That is why it is important for me to preserve these inscriptions... Traces of the past on the walls speak about the era more expressively than any historical exhibition.” A similar statement was made by the chief custodian of the historical heritage of Berlin, Professor Helmut Engel: “The inscriptions are the best proof that there was a stage in German history when one man named Hitler questioned the very existence of the German people. The inscriptions are fire writing on the wall, warning MPs to never let this happen again.”

Professor Rita Süssmuth, the chairman of the Bundestag (still working in Bonn), was a prominent functionary of the Christian Democrats. But, unlike many of her colleagues in the CDU, she well understood the meaning of the inscriptions that opened. In 1995–1996 Süssmuth established direct contact with Foster, with the Russian embassy in Berlin, with Professor Engel. Together with the Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergei Krylov, areas of the inscriptions were identified that were supposed to be made available for viewing.

Using the latest restoration techniques, collaborator Norman Foster made visible Soviet inscriptions on three levels of the building: on the ground floor, in the corridors leading to the plenary hall, and in the main staircase portal of the southwest wing. total length 25 sections with preserved inscriptions exceeded 100 meters. The rest, inaccessible for viewing, are preserved, that is, preserved for posterity.

The rescue of the “Russian graffiti” in the Reichstag building took place in full accordance with the spirit and letter of the Treaty on Good Neighborliness, Partnership and Cooperation of November 9, 1990, as well as the Agreement between the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Government of the Russian Federation of December 16, 1992, which directly provides for liability German authorities for the preservation, care and restoration of Soviet military monuments on German territory.

Of course, before us is an insignificant part of the former gigantic panorama of inscriptions on the walls of the Reichstag, but they are still enough to come to conclusions about the emotional and psychological mood of Soviet soldiers in May 1945.

The Red Army soldiers left their signatures on the walls of the Reichstag spontaneously, in the complete absence of any command, they wrote on their own behalf, highly bearing the dignity of their “I”, acquired in battles, involved in the Great Victory. About 95 percent of the inscriptions are autographs of hundreds of sons and daughters of the peoples of the USSR - soldiers and officers who stormed the enemy capital. We can read Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Uzbek, Armenian, Georgian, Jewish, Tatar, Bashkir surnames: Kasyanov, Chistyakov, Popov, Gabidulin, Mukhin, Leonov, Dushkova, Sokolov, Schumann, Erokhin, Kalinin, Modzhitov, Pavlov, Mezentsev, Sapozhkov, Yudichev, Beskrovny, Ivanov, Balabanov, Boyko, Zaitsev, Demin, Grinberg, Varvarov, Zolotarevsky, Nebchenko, Pototsky, Antonova, Vankevets, Nersesyan, Akhvetsiani, Malchenko, Chityan, Kartavykh, Burobina, Aliev, Kolesnikov, Margirut, Najafov, Savelyev, Masharipov, Borisenko, Radishevsky, Ermolenko, Streltsova, Pereverzev, Zharkova, Nosov, Afanasyeva, Laptev... The entire map of the Soviet Union is reproduced on the walls of the Reichstag interior: Moscow, Stalingrad, Leningrad, Kursk, Kaluga, Saratov, Orel, Tula, Rostov , Kazan, Gorky, Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Khabarovsk, Chita, Kiev, Odessa, Kharkov, Kerch, Krivoy Rog, Poltava, Gomel, Grozny, Kislovodsk, Yerevan, Baku, Tbilisi, Alma-Ata, Mary... There is a chronicle in the inscriptions great war, pride in the Victory achieved in bloody battles: “May 9, 1945. Stalingraders in Berlin”; "1945. From Stalingrad to Berlin"; "Moscow - Smolensk - Berlin"; “Moscow – Berlin – the path traveled.” And reckless: “Hello Moscow! Berlin is finished!

In the surviving inscriptions, one is surprised by the minimal presence of propaganda vocabulary characteristic of the official state ideology. There is a toast to Stalin only twice - in the form of fragments of slogans in honor of the soldiers of the Red Army: “Glory to Stalin, his officers and soldiers!”; “Glory to the Stalinist falcons - participants in the storming of Berlin!” This did not in any way correspond to Stalin’s concept of “cogs,” as well as the divinely prescribed image of Victory as the creation of Stalin’s genius.

We feel a burning charge of hatred towards the enemy: “We examined the ruins of Berlin and were very pleased”; “They paid for Leningrad in full!” Next to it is an extremely instructive quote from the Bible: “When you sow the wind, you reap the whirlwind.” “Noble rage” transformed into a desire to learn lessons from the past and into the hope of returning home, of a peaceful future, which suddenly became a reality, albeit fragile:

When the war rolled down like a wave,

from people, and souls came out from under the foam,

when you gradually felt

that the world is different now, times are different...

When the first working day in Berlin began for the Bundestag on April 19, 1999, stunned deputies saw Russian inscriptions right at the entrance to the plenary hall. A campaign for the elimination of “Russian graffiti” immediately began. CDU MP Dietmar Kanzi indignantly said that parliament is “not a museum of Cyrillic inscriptions,” and his faction colleague Wolfgang Zeitlmann complained that there was “not enough space for Germanic subjects” in the parliament premises. As for the Russian graffiti, Tseitlman was ready to set aside “two square meters” and only on the condition that they would be “covered with black paint.” But it was the new Chairman of the Bundestag, Social Democrat Wolfgang Thierse, who had a chance to settle into the new parliamentary residence, who called for “preserving traces of the bitter pages of German history in this building.”

A worthy response to the demands of opponents of “Russian graffiti” was an article published in the newspaper “Berliner Zeitung” by the famous publicist Christian Esch under the title “What do Russian inscriptions in the Reichstag mean and why it is necessary to preserve them.” Ash is convinced: “Removing the inscriptions will complicate relations with Russia, because we are talking about the Reichstag, which has become a national symbol for the Russians.”

In 2001, influential deputies of the CDU/CSU faction Johannes Singhammer and Horst Günther, supported by 69 representatives of their faction and one deputy from the Free Democratic Party, demanded that most of the “Russian graffiti” be destroyed, and the remaining be concentrated in one place - allegedly “to a historically justified extent.”

On March 14, 2002, during a discussion of a parliamentary request at a plenary session of the Bundestag, Singhammer tried to convince parliamentarians that Russian names (95 percent of inscriptions) are “devoid of historical value” and should be replaced by the coats of arms of German lands, portraits of German chancellors, chairmen of parliament, the text of the constitution, the treaty on German unity, etc. All this should supposedly return “historical balance” to the Reichstag building, serve the propaganda of “successful democracy,” and overcome the “deficit of a positive interpretation of the past.” CDU/CSU MP Vera Lengsfeld, who spoke in support of Singhammer, blasphemously likened “Russian graffiti” to Nazi “runic signs,” saying that both equally “have nothing to do with the democratic traditions of Germany and its parliament.” Lengsfeld’s words that the inscriptions of Soviet soldiers were “part of the totalitarian history of the Soviet Union” caused outrage in the hall.

According to the fair opinion of Eckardt Bartel (SPD), graffiti are “authentic witnesses of history”: “not heroic monuments created by order of the authorities, but an expression of the triumph and suffering of the common man.” The inscriptions of Red Army soldiers "remind us of the terrible consequences of the Nazi dictatorship and of liberation from dictatorship and war." The deputies who signed the request seek not only to cleanse the walls, but also “to find a dubious reason for abandoning the shadow sides of German history.” In conclusion, Barthel expressed his firm belief that the right-wing proposal would not find support in parliament. Barthel was actively supported by his faction colleague Horst Kubacka: “If we reduce the number of inscriptions, we will narrow the space of our memory... But this act of oblivion is unacceptable. Names must be preserved, we are talking about individual destinies, about history from below.”

Green Party parliamentarian and certified historian Helmut Lippelt asked Singhammer and his associates what the reason for their conversion was: “Perhaps it is just a desire for purity, which is often found among our fellow citizens?” However, after this he pointed out true meaning request from the CDU/CSU faction: “Perhaps the meaning of these inscriptions is important to you? Maybe you perceive the victory inscriptions of Soviet soldiers as a reminder of shame? Lippelt referred to his own impressions from visits to the Reichstag building by parliamentary delegations of the Russian Federation and CIS countries, whose members were always invariably grateful to the Germans for saving the “Russian graffiti.” Lippelt's conclusion: "It is impossible to rewrite history," and that is why it is necessary to preserve the memory of the soldiers who "came here to defeat fascism." Lippelt urged Tory MPs whose "request has no chance of success" to "throw the document in the waste bin." The speech of the deputy from the Party of Democratic Socialism (now the Party of the Left), an activist of the anti-fascist movement Heinrich Fink, was emotional. The inscriptions that appeared spontaneously tell us about the joy after the end of hostilities: “One of the inscriptions expresses this in just two words: “The war is over!” It’s probably impossible to say briefly about the victory over the regime of Hitler’s fascism.” As for the Russian and other names on the walls of the Reichstag, “each name is a preserved memory of thousands of fallen soldiers of the Red Army.”

The request, which initially had little chance of success (71 votes out of a total of 660 deputies!), was not supported by parliamentarians. Over time, deputies, including those belonging to the CDU/CSU faction, were forced to come to terms with the inscriptions of Soviet soldiers on the walls of the German parliament, but also began to draw historical lessons from this.

In May 2005, the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper published an article by respected journalist Vera Fröhlich, which bore the remarkable title “Vojne kaputt!: Inscriptions in the Reichstag: evidence of shame or a call to think?” Essentially, here is an accurate description of the multidirectional tendencies of German historical consciousness, which clearly emerged during the parliamentary debates. It was no coincidence that the debate in the Bundestag coincided with a broad discussion about the crimes of the Wehrmacht, when the Germans again found themselves face to face with unwanted and seemingly long ago resolved “damned” questions - about national guilt and national responsibility for the monstrous acts of the Nazis. After the unification of the country, “the formation of the contours of a new identity” took place, which cannot be assessed unambiguously. On the one hand, an anti-Nazi consensus was established in public opinion in Germany. But, on the other hand, the influence of trends that can be united within the framework of the concept of “new German nationalism”, which is characterized by the line of “eroding” the memory of the defeat of the Third Reich, and counting Germany among the victims of the Second World War, has noticeably increased.

Could the soldiers and commanders of the Red Army have imagined that several decades later their autographs would become a field of ideological confrontation and would confuse German conservative politicians?

Since the spring of 1999, the dome, built according to Foster’s unique design, a large area on the roof of the building, as well as (on days when parliament is not in session) the interior spaces where Soviet inscriptions are located, have been open to visitors. Up to 3 million visitors come here every year.

The flow of excursionists - anyone who visits Berlin can see this - is only growing every day. An indispensable and welcome guide to the Bundestag for many years is Karin Felix, a pretty, sociable woman who speaks fluent Russian. Russian tourists know her name well. Studying and deciphering the inscriptions of Soviet soldiers became her life’s work.

She treats veterans of the Great Patriotic War with special tenderness and cordiality. She shakes hands with each of them, tells them in Russian: “Thank you for what you did for us. Thank you that we can live peacefully." In May 2010, the German-language radio station “Voice of Russia” conducted a program specifically dedicated to how Karin Felix deciphered a number of “Russian ts” and found their authors or their descendants and relatives. “No one knows the inscriptions as well as I know them,” she rightfully asserts. “The real life of autographs begins when we manage to recognize their authors.” A journalist hosting a radio show exclaimed: “This woman really knows everything! Every letter, every inscription and, in many cases, the authors of these inscriptions!

The first of the former soldiers who stormed Berlin found his signature in 2001. Boris Sapunov (1922–2013) – doctor historical sciences, professor, researcher at the State Hermitage. Chairman of Parliament Wolfgang Thierse invited the veteran and his son to Berlin. On May 16, 2002, a gala reception took place in the Bundestag. Thierse ordered that this event be included in the memorial book of the German parliament. The event turned out to be so unusual that the weekly Der Spiegel did not fail to publish an expressive report by its special correspondent Uwe Buse: “Sapunov is amazed by the glass dome, he examines the magnificent doors connecting the halls and corridors with each other, and approaches the wall, left as it was. she was in last days Second World War. And here Sapunov is overtaken by his first life. At a height of one and a half meters, he sees his name written in clear letters, clearly legible on the surface of the stone. Almost 57 years ago, on May 3, 1945, Sapunov stood at this wall, confirming with his signature the conquest of the German capital. Then Sapunov held the rank of sergeant in the Soviet Army, was a participant in it from the very beginning of the war, fought on many fronts, was wounded, was declared killed, and finally found himself among those who captured Berlin. A few days before the surrender, he examined the Reichstag and found a piece of debris on the floor charcoal and wrote my name on the wall.” The conclusion of a German journalist is significant: “The Germans must know who defeated them.” The letter of gratitude that Sapunov sent to Wolfgang Thierse said: “Please convey my deep gratitude to Bundestag employee Karin Felix for her exceptional assistance in organizing and conducting my visit.”

With the help of Karin Felix, in April 2004, former sergeant major, radio operator at the headquarters of the 1st Belorussian Front, now radio engineer Boris Zolotarevsky, found his signature. Addressing Frau Felix, he wrote: “My recent visit to the Bundestag made such a strong impression on me that I did not then find the right words to express my feelings and thoughts. I am very touched by the tact and aesthetic taste with which Germany preserved the autographs of Soviet soldiers on the walls of the Reichstag in memory of the war, which became a tragedy for many nations... It was a very exciting surprise for me to be able to see my autograph and the autographs of my friends Matyash, Shpakov, Fortel and Kvashes, lovingly preserved on the smoky walls of the Reichstag. With deep gratitude and respect, Boris Zolotarevsky."

Lyudmila Nosova from Zaporozhye visited Berlin in April 2005 with a delegation of former prisoners of the Ravensbrück concentration camp, who arrived in Germany for the 60th anniversary of liberation from captivity. She was already over eighty and used a wheelchair. Nosova told Karin Felix that her late husband, Alexey Nosov, whom she met in 1946, signed the wall of the Reichstag. After an intensive search, Karin Felix was able to show the widow his name. In capital letters, on the wall it is written: “Nosov.” The elderly woman burst into tears and just repeated: “My God, what happiness!”

A teacher from Volgograd, who brought Russian schoolchildren on an excursion to Berlin, asked to find the autograph of the late war veteran Chistyakov. The inscription was found: “May 9, 1945 Stalingraders in Berlin!!! Captain Chistyakov. Captain Rubtsov." With the help of Karin Felix, a student at one of the German universities, Azerbaijani citizen Anar, found the autograph of his grandfather, Lieutenant Mamed Najafov, in the Bundestag building.

As the famous Russian director Joseph Raikhelgauz says, his late father, a participant in the assault on the German capital, holder of two Orders of Glory of the Guard, Sergeant Leonid Raikhelgauz, said that he signed the wall of the Reichstag. On his first trip to Berlin, the director walked along the columns of the building, looking for the inscriptions of our soldiers, but could not find them. A word from Joseph Reichelgauz: “Soon we had another tour in Berlin: we were well received, there was a long ovation, then there was dinner with our German colleagues, who asked what we wanted to see that we had not seen in their city yet. And I told them that I had been looking for my dad’s autograph at the Reichstag for many years. And then one girl journalist says: “My friend is researching the graffiti of Soviet soldiers!” The next day we went to the Bundestag and met Ms. Karin Felix, who immediately told us: “You were probably looking on the street, but the graffiti was inside, near the meeting hall”... She went with me Native sister. And she saw. Half of the first letter was erased, part of the last, but she recognized my father’s handwriting... Of course, now every time I am in Berlin, I come to my father’s autograph and stand there for an hour or two. And what’s amazing: dozens of excursions pass by, mostly German children, and they are all told (I understand the language): “We had a damn Hitler, and Russian soldiers liberated us!” This is called: lessons of war. And I would really like us to learn these lessons too. And then I will understand that the sacrifices were not in vain.”

Karin Felix’s favorite inscription: “Anatoly plus Galina,” made in May 1945. This is the text under a drawing of a heart pierced by an arrow. Love during a cruel war... Karin Felix says thoughtfully: “He came here, to the Reichstag, alive. But I don't know if he survived." In a letter to the author of this article, Karin Felix admits: “You would have to have a heart of stone not to talk about meetings with people who can tell about these inscriptions.”

The result of 15 years of noble work by this amazing woman was the solid book “When History Comes to Life: Historical Graffiti of the Red Army in the Reichstag Building and Their Authors.” The book, with a foreword by Rita Süssmuth, was published in the spring of 2015 by the Anno publishing house in Alen (North Rhine-Westphalia). Addressing readers, Karin Felix writes: “Many people cannot come to Berlin and see historical walls, on which, perhaps, the last traces of the memory of their fathers and grandfathers remained - their autographs. Understanding the significance of these inscriptions for subsequent generations, primarily in the space of the Russian language, I decided to talk about what I know and reproduce all the inscriptions - both clear and difficult to read, and translate them into German." This book should definitely be translated into Russian.

The preserved Soviet inscriptions on the walls of the Reichstag, these spontaneous evidence of the triumphant pride of the victors, imbued with the uncooled heat of war, have now become artifacts reflecting the liberating nature of the Great Patriotic War, its human dimension.