Footsteps of WWII · Berlin & eastern Germany
Seelow Heights Memorial
Battlefield · 16–19 Apr 1945
The story
The Seelow Heights rise above the flat Oderbruch about 70 km east of Berlin. Early on 16 April 1945 Marshal Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front, close to a million men including the Polish 1st Army, attacked from its Oder bridgehead. Gotthard Heinrici had pulled General Theodor Busse's 9th Army back onto the heights, so the huge bombardment fell largely on empty ground, and searchlights meant to blind the defenders were defeated by dust and smoke. Zhukov fed his tank armies into the marshy valley and needed four days to break through. By 19 April the road to Berlin was open.
What to look for
On the crest stands the Soviet soldier statue by Lev Kerbel and Vladimir Tsigal, unveiled in November 1945, above graves of Soviet soldiers. The museum below, reworked in 2012, overlooks the Oderbruch. Soviet guns and vehicles stand outside. The view east explains the battle.
Plan your visit
Tue–Sun 10:00–17:00; November–March 10:00–16:00; closed Mondays and over Christmas and New Year. Small admission charge for the museum; grounds free. Check the website before you go.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Museum Berlin-Karlshorst · 58 km
- Soviet War Memorial, Treptower Park · 63 km
- Topography of Terror, Berlin · 69 km
- Site of the Führerbunker · 69 km
- Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe · 69 km
- Reichstag, Berlin · 69 km
All 160 sites in Footsteps of WWII →
Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
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