Berlin - Soviet Memorial in Tiergarten

The memorial to the Soviet Army, in Berlin's Tiergarten, was constructed of marble from the former Reichskanzlei (Chancellery of the Reich: Hitler's headquarters) and was erected on the territory of West Berlin, near the Brandenburg Gate, in 1945-46. It bears the bronze figure of a soldier of the Red Army with fixed bayonet. The statue is flanked by two Soviet tanks, said to have been the first to reach Berlin in 1945. There is also another Soviet memorial in Treptow Park.

Since 1989 the 3 m/10ft tall sculpture by Gerhard Marcks, The Crier (Der Rufer), has stood in the center of the Strasse des 17. Juni, between the Brandenburger Tor and the Soviet Memorial. The 2 m/7ft tall granite base bears an inscription by the Italian poet and humanist Petrarch (1304- 74): "I pass through the world and cry `Peace, Peace, Peace.' "