Culture
Berlin Has a Surprising Soft Spot for Its Soviet Memorials
The Red Army’s role in defeating the Nazis means Germany’s monuments won’t succumb to anger with Russia.
Former outposts of the Soviet Union are dismantling memorials to the bygone power in protest over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, except for a notable exception: Berlin.
The capital of Germany boasts a dozen Soviet monuments, including an imposing shrine to fallen soldiers in Treptower Park near the Spree river. While most are in the former communist East, some are also in sectors that were under US and British control after World War II, including a memorial incorporating Soviet tanks a short walk from Brandenburg Gate.