Soviet Cemetery of Honor (Baruth / Mark)

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Soviet cemetery of honor in Baruth / Mark

The Soviet Cemetery of Honor is a memorial on the B 96 in Baruth / Mark in the Teltow-Fläming district in Brandenburg (Germany). It commemorates the soldiers of the 3rd and 4th Panzer Armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front of the Red Army who died under Marshal Konew in the battle for the Halbe pocket and is one of the largest and most important Soviet war cemeteries in Brandenburg.

construction

Relief (right) on the hall of honor
T-34 tanks

The 72 meter wide and 89 meter long cemetery is located on a small hill, which can be reached from the B 96 via three steps. A ramp leads to the main entrance to the left and right of the entrance. Two bollards on each side prevent vehicles from being parked directly in front of the entrance. A T-34 tank stands on two massive natural stone plinths on each side of the entrance . Below the tanks there are two plates that read in Russian and German: "Eternal glory to the heroes who fell for the freedom and independence of the Soviet homeland" and "Progressive humanity will always honor the memory of the fighters of the Soviet people," who saved the world from fascism with their lives. ”The visitor enters the complex through a metal fence, in the center axis of which there is a hall of honor with a 20 meter high obelisk crowned by a red star . On the left and right of the front of the hall of honor there is a relief showing scenes from the Second World War . The left relief shows a house-to-house fight, the right the fight when the Red Army crossed the Teltow Canal .

History and redevelopment

The cemetery of honor goes back to a design by the engineer lieutenant Viktorov, who had the facility built in 1946 and 1947. There are 1208 Soviet soldiers buried on it who died in the Battle of Halbe. In 1991, 91 soldiers were added, who had previously been buried on a temporary basis in Ragow .

In the course of German reunification , the Federal Republic of Germany undertook to take care of the future maintenance of the Soviet war memorials. In 1992 she graduated with the Russian Federation , the Agreement of 16 December 1992 between the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Government of the Russian Federation on War Graves Commission . This agreement was also the basis for the renovation of the building in Baruth / Mark, which had been in great need of renovation over the decades. The repairs included the grave fields, paths, walls, stairs, benches and metal components such as fences, gates and railings. The restorers placed particular emphasis on carefully restoring the faces of the soldiers on the reliefs. On February 4, 2004, the Ministry of the Interior of Brandenburg approved a grant of 808,000 euros to the city of Baruth / Mark for the renovation of the grave and outdoor facilities, which took place from March 1, 2004 to October 5, 2006.

The tanks were also in poor condition and showed large areas of rust and paint peeling. The Bundeswehr sandblasted them in their system repair plant in Doberlug-Kirchhain and applied a true-to-original coating of the paint.

The plaster and paint on the hall of honor and the obelisk were largely broken off. For this purpose, the Russian Federation made a donation of 72,800 euros in July 2005, to which the Mittelbrandenburgische Sparkasse in Potsdam added a further 5,000 euros. The outer shell of the hall and the obelisk were renovated in 2005 and 2006. The plaster was completely removed and renewed by experts. Then they applied a new coat of paint to the surface. The stucco on the obelisk was also re-profiled by specialists. The interior as well as the reliefs and the metal jewelry elements could be renovated with further funds from the state. For this purpose, the city received a further 96,700 euros from the state on July 13, 2006, with which the grilles and fences were sandblasted and then hot-dip galvanized . Experts also repaired the red star, the tablets and the year. Several grave slabs, which were stolen by metal thieves at irregular intervals, are replaced by a plastic that is unusable for the thieves.

Landscapers cut back the juniper that had almost completely overgrown the tombstones. They reworked sagging gravestones and added missing stars and honor wreaths. They also installed an automatic irrigation system. They renewed damaged concrete slabs and relocated the main path. The bases of the tanks and the stair stringers made of Elbe sandstone or Rüdersdorfer limestone were renewed and defective parts were replaced. This work lasted from October 26, 2006 to 2007.

literature

  • Georg Dehio (edited by Gerhard Vinken and others): Handbook of German Art Monuments - Brandenburg. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-422-03123-4 .

Web links

Commons : Soviet Ehrenfriedhof (Baruth / Mark)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Monument of the month: Soviet cemetery of honor in Baruth / Mark adorns calendar sheet of the month June , website of the Teltow-Fläming district, accessed on May 15, 2015.

Coordinates: 52 ° 3 '59.9 "  N , 13 ° 30' 25.7"  E