16 April – 2 May 1945
The Battle of Berlin
Ever since early 1943 the Soviet Army had been moving relentlessly forward, pushing the Germans slowly back and retaking all the land that the enemy had originally conquered in 1941 and 1942. By the end of January 1945 the Russians were on German soil and Hitler, knowing full well that Berlin would eventually come under attack, ordered the construction of a formidable ring of defenses around the city. Hitler himself would continue to coordinate the war effort, from a bunker complex built deep beneath Berlin.

In mid-April the Soviets, under the command of Marshal Georgi Zhukov, began their final drive against the German capital, and by the 21st Russian tanks penetrated the city limits. There followed nearly two weeks of intensive street fighting, as the Germans doggedly held on to every building and city block. Hitler announced on April 23 that he would remain in Berlin until the very end, and this was a promise that the Nazi leader kept; a week later, as the Soviets closed in on the heart of the city, he committed suicide in his bunker. Nevertheless the fighting continued until May 2, when the city’s military commander formally surrendered the city. The final drive on Berlin cost the Russians approximately 300,000 casualties. Total German casualties—military and civilian—are unknown, but in the course of the fighting Zhukov’s troops captured more than 450,000.

Five days after the fall of Berlin the German government surrendered unconditionally to the Allies. The war in Europe was finally over.

History:
VE Day

Campaign Maps:
The Final Soviet Offensive, April 16 – May 8, 1945
Battle of Berlin, April 26-28, 1945
Battle of Berlin: The Reichstag, April 29 – May 2, 1945

Personal Account:
Rutgers Oral History Archive: Interview with Fredrick Kerr

Photograph:
Field Marshall Wilhelm Keitel, signing the ratified surrender terms for the German Army at Russian Headquarters in Berlin, May 7, 1945