this sixty six anniversary that was stephen cohen professor of russian and slavic studies at new york university also author of the victims were turned survivors of the gulag after stalin not going to do it for now will be back at five for more news until then follow me on twitter at loren lester. they'll.

today violence is once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of kandahar. berlin the rush dog home to germany's parliament it was right here the final fight of world war two took place. there ever fewer surviving witnesses to the events of those days soviet veterans will never forget what happened sixty five years ago

show us the gun fire corpses flame that's how the right start look by the end of april nine hundred forty one. german soldiers fought for every piece of footage and really tried stamps to the last minute against soviet troops. more than fifty thousand soldiers and officers died over russian volition german each of us four for our own model and the russians for their zero on twenty four hours. lasted for two months the red flag with the raids on the top of the lifestyle game a nine hundred forty five. became the symbol of victory of soviet people over fascism.

in one thousand nine hundred five of a silly was an anti-tank gun platoon commander she still keeps the maps that he got before assaulting berlin. if they cut the ribbon at you this is a map they gave out before the gong at them away and we were supposed to charge the outskirts of girl in the dark back and before that they gave me a map. in late january nine hundred forty five the success of the fistula other offensive had gained soviet troops a foothold deep in german territory. causing the adda river they had covered nearly five hundred kilometers in twenty days the germans no longer offered any serious resistance the soviet line is now just a stone's throw away from berlin he also made objectives of the red army offensive yet really on the map i measured the distance with a ruler of just the one kilometers to the outskirts of berlin it only sixty one kilometers or and when the allies bombed the flashes of an aircraft shells lit the

sky like stars. stone stumps of the plan short. the battle for poland had left the advancing soviet troops with almost no any mission and fuel. the soviet army took two months to prepare for the assault. meanwhile the germans also took advantage of the delay. in their reserves around early and were brought south here this was the place where the army's strongest units were concentrated in the was final weeks of may therefore the germans also built a formidable defenses extending twenty kilometers west wood from the forward positions within six hundred health kilometers from. soviet inch german forces were being amassed along the order for the most massive military operation in world history. and social of three and a half million troops from both sides some ten thousand tanks in the schools of

thousands of assault guns and eleven thousand. of those no other operations of that scale in world war two you know could there be any building was at stake is equally . meanwhile the leaders of the soviet union the united states and britain had not yet agreed on which army would take the german capital the british prime minister winston churchill called on the us president franklin d. roosevelt to start the sultan berlin in a letter addressed to roosevelt on april first one thousand nine hundred five churchill wrote the following if the russians also take for later will not their impression that they have been the overwhelming contributor to our common victory unduly imprinted on their minds and ages not lead them into a mood which will raise great and formidable difficulties in the future. is to give above all britain was aiming to see germany destroyed as well as regards on the other hand it wanted the soviet union weakened as much as possible i need by the real concern was to call the appearance of

a new arrival on the consider and the continued from. in early april the fourth most u.s. troops were about a hundred kilometers west of berlin there were almost no battle ready german armies facing them all of them had been moved to eastern front to repulse the soviet offensive. horizon ours known to have asked general simpson whether u.s. troops could take berlin from spain was lost as he expected in that case and that same sense that he expected some thirty thousand casualties or eisenhower sad or that wouldn't do for u.s. troops were to hold their positions the russians do the fighting. on april first stalin called a meeting of his supreme command where he decided that the berlin operation should start in mid april. you sleep when you want and i think that if roosevelt hadn't signed on april the twelfth stolen would have agreed to the participation of the

western allies forces in the assault on a limb calling sole reserve as a kind of current school would prevent the allies from stabbing him in the bunk. roosevelt's death prompted the soviet commands to take a resolute action the assault was set for april sixteenth stalin may have had yet another reason for wanting to take berlin without delay in early april the british prime minister ordered the drafting of operation unthinkable. the british military declassified documents relating to it a few years ago. which received these documents relating to operation unthinkable from a british. twenty nine pages tells. britain's joint planning staff started preparations for hostilities against the soviet union a month before the war's end the operation planned by the british implied an attack on the soviet union without declaring war on july first one thousand nine hundred

forty five forty seven british and us divisions were to deliver a crushing blow to the soviet army the attack was to have the support of twelve german divisions. they went so to say that russia should be forced to succumbs to the will of the great britain and the united states here's just one quote from the plane of the operation. the elimination of russians could only be achieved as a result of the occupation of such areas of metropolitan russia that the war making capacity of the country would be reduced to a point and which for the resistance became impossible. some credit is certainly due to the british military planners they were clearly aware that the soviet army was nearly twice the size of the western allies combined forces and a quick success in any such conflict would be all but impossible. some historians

suggest that stalin was wary of something like operation unthinkable prompting from does not mean salt on berlin. he knew that something was brewing it's hard to say whether he had a clear knowledge of the details for although we now know that our famous firing led by kim philby was operating in britain at the time and with top foreign office officials they were doing a very effective job which if you. stephan dorn bird son of a german anti-fascist had joined the soviet army in one thousand nine hundred forty two as a volunteer. in april of one thousand nine hundred five he was a propaganda officer. at the early hours of april sixteenth he was summoned to headquarters he was told to announce to the germans through the loudspeakers the start of the wars final so defensive in a few hours time. i said susie because assistant at those newcomer general with this is impossible with we can't possibly give away military secrets. as me and

said tenants we can have an interest in keeping casualties to me in. the wars most massive preparatory bombardment began at five o'clock in the morning of april sixteenth. thousands of artillery pieces shelled german positions for half an hour. multiple rocket launchers where the first to start up a pounding is so deafening you can't hear if there is somebody shows something into your ear. antonius schneider was a corporal in the opposing army a platoon of heavy machine guns was under his command when they were defending a small railway station near the seal heights. at the very outset his platoon lost three out of four machine guns. nobody rossiter i thought could we do in that

situation that absolutely nothing you could write is all that artillery had overwhelming superiority and if we were gripped with blind fear all we wanted was to hide somewhere from that ferocious fire as a good. thing was ablaze a lot were flying all around at last for something like thirty five minutes the nor the northern tanks rolled forward and we followed in behind. there were anti-personnel mines on reserve. but they do no harm to tanks i concluded i had to follow the tank in its tracks void the mines so that they didn't blow my legs off. to achieve greater effect one hundred forty high powered searchlights and who many of the german positions. marshal should cause idea was to blind the germans to hinder their return fire. if you had to fire as well as though you didn't know

where to look because you were blinded by searchlight seeing we couldn't see any detail as if all we saw was a blazing bank of the river distancing. from the germans cielo was the last defensive line before berlin so the german soldiers defended the highlands with general determination petri tism inside the german army had still other reasons to keep fighting to the bitter end despite the desperate situation. that any soldier fleeing his position might be shot and killed by an officer on the spot i saw many soldiers hanged on poles for attempting to leave their position our propaganda had hammered into our heads that we must avoid being taken prisoner by the soviets at all cost and. the soviet forces expected to overrun the seal heights in a matter of hours. germans clung to their defenses for nearly three days and nights . after

a head on thrust failed to take the heights soviet troops confines of the german defenses only then did the defending army led by general boo say fall back now nothing stood in the way of the red army's advance towards berlin. the cost of the assault was a very high. the soviet forces lost tens of thousands of men in a tiny center near the outer. game oodles have never seen so many dead bodies as i sold the sailor heights well thousands and thousands of men died in a very small plot of land the most terrifying thing of all was that spiegel dying venue of the war would be over in a couple of weeks and then they read most of the. after the fall of the seal heights the germans never again offered any organized resistance. some elements of

the german army were still trying to fight as advancing soviet army simply striking them along. the rugby towards those with the unstated fandor limits because there was nobody who could project death because maybe people died many flak to the west given to the americans a meeting caught it in. one of the biggest german suna terraces situated not far from berlin in a small town of hauled up it occupies a few square kilometers. more than twenty thousand german soldiers are buried here most of them were in an s.s. division coast northlands. private harry from seal heights was retreating with the rest of them like army led by general who said. he was running from the advancing soviet army with just one gun in his hands. when his column was entering the town of hall but it can. team under heavy fire.

right here a furniture factory was here as us soldiers were there they took us for a soviet column and they opened fire on it so the crossing was covered with dead bodies for the fight the fight was going on between two german divisions and. when the germans realized they were shooting their own people they stopped the fire but by that time the soviet troops had already approached the town of how about. private to put in his german column turned out to be in a circle of fire on the one side of the street the soviet soldiers were shooting. and on the other side v.s.s. soldiers were fighting back. the four hundred needs were flowing from both sides the fighting was intense there were the bakeries now were entertained for education is a power they prevented soviet tanks from entering the territory prohibited also they prohibited the germans from running from the battlefield on this street we lost

hundreds and hundreds of all men from. the remains of bruises army managed to leave the circle and fled to the west but during those three movies and now the more than sixty thousand german soldiers died and one hundred twenty thousand who were taken prisoner. there was just one day left before they capitulate of germany. culture is that so much of the is about to fit into life in a given really incredible what is going to be a war movement there are plenty of wars being fought though with far fewer protesters was the anti-war movement just.

bringing you the latest in science and technology from around russia. we've done the future coverage. download the official t.m.p. cation chobani phone the i pod touch from the i choose amps to. life on the go. video on demand r.t.s. mine comes and r.s.s. feeds now in the palm of your. question on the dot com. the typical german town of torgau on the el the river like in many provincial cities the pace of life is slow here. might never have been known to the world if not for the events of april twenty fifth one thousand nine hundred forty five. on

the day an american patrol came to the door go to taba sixteenth century castle zaandam there they saw a bridge over the alamo river it was blown out by the germans and they saw the soviet soldiers on the eastern side of the commander lieutenant william robertson you do battle him and drew an american flag on it then he climbs to the castle settings on more programmers and looked outside and through the flag out of the window and that very moment he heard the whistle of a shell coming from the eastern bank you thought someone trying to shoot the window there was a shell from the soviet left cannon i would sound it a sound washed all three of us. group was through us so it was a group of people including women but it was approaching the river i thought we knew that german army officers were hiding on the other bank so it was necessary for us to understand the situation did we need to shoot or find an alternative way

. but finally the soviet soldiers realizing the mysterious men on the far bank were actually their american allies what followed would become an iconic moment in the world war two history the meeting at the elba. it happened when the bulk of the soviet forces encircled berlin and some elements of the red army reached the on the river. the allies from both sides had decided to celebrate the meeting. the american internet million robertson and the soviet lieutenant alexander some vanished became friends the picture of the two men hugging became a symbol of the end of the second world war. were both the illustrating and i was grinning rather happy to meet each other. we were happy to know that we were the victors but did you see. the first link up of american and soviet

troops could have taken place much earlier had the british and americans opened for a second front not in one thousand nine hundred four but when they first agreed back in nine hundred forty two. talks on the establishment of an anti hitler coalition began on june twenty seventh one thousand nine hundred forty one a year later the soviet union the united states and great britain signed a declaration on the opening of the second front in europe. but one nine hundred forty two nine hundred forty three passed with no second fronts to relieve pressure on the soviet union in the east. plans to open a second front were made. but churchill and roosevelt agreed that it would be launched only when it became clear that the russians were caving into standing on the contrary they were game it happens by crossing the nineteen thirty nine borders and entering europe. the long delay in the british and american response had a significant impact on the balance of forces in post-war europe. many in the west

are upset about stalin's power to shape the post-war arrangements it makes me want to say look here judgment was with should have gone in the point sooner who scored the goods by the way were it not the war. on april twenty eighth soviet troops encircled the city center and began an assault on the way stop. the building was protected by bans in the sprit river and the bridge crossings had been blown up. troops crossed the sprit aboard tiny genies from one tank to the other a distance of several dozen meters. they face continuous german fire half of the sailors who were there to secure the crossing died in the shadow of the white star . and then via rule seven sailors were given the titles of heroes of the soviet union the last summer slain the then one of them was nikolai. panzerfaust

a rocket snapped a controlled so there was nothing left for him to do through the grip of the two ends of the cable with his teeth and he died in that position. the rationing was defended by remnants of elite s.s. units hitler's personal bodyguards. there were also french volunteers from the charlemagne division of the scandinavian division northlands and the latvian battalion of the fifteenth s.s. division. i mean i'm pretty sure they were growing up from the basement hey one surrender you where many you are a fools the rules couple walked over it in the ear. of the first of may they changed their tune yvonne we want to surrender they shot it. on april thirtieth hitler committed suicide in the right chancellery but some s.s. units continued resistance. in the evening soviet troops captured to the right stocks top floors for the first time the red flag was hoisted over the building.

a german unseen aircraft on showdown that fresh flag was in it but it didn't go on the show has gone was no tell its for might but telly and. bill. on the morning of may second general helmet veiling commander of the berlin defense area arrived at the soviet headquarters to sign a cease fire order. was the first to read and type out that order. frankly i thought it was a very old order there is an almost exact quote from the initial lines. of his committees you saw it not living else of in the face for a boy therefore we are no longer committed to the oath we have taken considering the situation of the civilian population in. considering the situation of our wounded by order

a cease fire and surrender with the consent of you. i didn't care to change anything in that's all that he said to myself the wolf let him say what he likes as long as the war comes to an end. soon after the ceasefire order silence fell over central berlin soviet troops took the city under control the soldiers knew that was the end of the war. this is just at ten am there was complete silence be that that's the end of it all. there really is a white flag not a flag really but a white sheet. of the germans showed us another and yet another lesson as they start scrambling out of their shelters we to get out into the open hoover with germans surrendering that's short for. the evening of the second of may civilians were out in the streets of berlin. there are many

kids but the adults stayed at home where the russians have come you know what was paid heard many stories about them what if they were treated in the same way i did the kids had pill faces they were wearing short lambs some had small bowls on their hands when they were given some poor and they rushed home with it in the morning you know winchell's what i saw myself may just skipping something else or the part i found out that the people who were queuing for the food one access from the local theater all skinny and hungry at these they stood there sobbing which element of us me that's the russians or. i you know they were afraid of us they thought russians were cossacks with a long moustache with me they were looking us all over thinking where the russians mustaches were your first hand they wanted to know with me if we were wearing field camps we were just young boys at seventy. on the evening of may eighth marshals who called and representatives of great britain france and

the united states signed the act of germany's unconditional surrender at the headquarters of the soviet fifth army in berlin. comma ninth of may we were losing to our hearts content and found a big bottle containing ten leaders of apple one suddenly it is there was a deafening noise he seemed they were firing from all sides that he but what was a german breakthrough moment when we rushed out we saw fireworks going up in celebration of victory so there you go i don't need to tell you that we finished off that bottle in no time. i am. the berlin operation lasted for sixteen days the soviet. troops lost up to two hundred thousand. according to various estimates lost from eight.

between nine hundred forty one and nine hundred forty five. including civilians a total of twenty seven million soviet people died in the war with germany the losses of the usa and great britain came to nine hundred thousand people. was a result of casualties on the heroism of all fathers and grandfathers it was the result of soul sucker force and heroic. sort of force in europe not just in africa alone hundred thousand victims come to compare to twenty million lives. in the history of mankind was over sixty five years have passed since. those who survived still remember the victory like it was yesterday they still live

with a victory in their hearts. rachel martin here broadcasting live from washington d.c. coming up today on the big picture.