Memorial Deutschland e.V. organises free guided tours of the Soviet Memorial in Berlin-Treptow, deliberately breaking with the pompous staging of a triumph that almost overshadows the memory of the people buried here.
Image gallery
Sowjetisches Ehrenmal im Treptower Park
Together, we will set out to locate the graves of the 7,200 people buried here.
Meeting point:
Soviet Memorial, Berlin-Treptow, entrance on Puschkinallee
A QR code scanner on your smartphone is recommended, as links to further online content will be provided.
Content of the guided tour:
A joint search for the 7,200 graves.
You will learn why the dates of the war inscribed on the memorial differ from what is taught in schools; why the Stalin quotations at this site – unlike in the Soviet Union – have survived and are still presented to the public today without comment and regularly re-gilded.
You will explore what the site reveals about the Hitler–Stalin Pact/Ribbentrop–Molotov Pact (1939; podcast) and what invisible connection there is to the opposition peace movement in the GDR.
They will look into the women amongst those buried there and the ‘disappeared’ female architect.
We examine how propaganda architecture is intended to affect us by looking closely, allowing for individual interpretation and discussing our findings.
Political and historical contexts and the circumstances of the period in which it was created are examined.
A multi-perspective look is taken at the narrative of the ‘peoples of the Soviet Union’ and what makes the thinking behind it so dangerous, right up to the present-day war in Ukraine.
Information is provided on past and present instances of this cemetery being exploited for propaganda purposes.
For local visitor groups, connections to other districts of Treptow-Köpenick are highlighted.
The tour is designed to be interactive: all questions are welcome and encourage a democratic engagement with this site, which was erected to glorify a dictatorship.
Dates for 2026
Please check the start times 3 days before the scheduled tour
October:
17 October 2026, 14:00, duration 2 hours, in RUSSIAN
25 October 2026, 14:00, duration 2 hours, in ENGLISH
November:
8 November 2026, 11.00, duration 2.5 hours, in German, as part of Berlin Freedom Week
15 November 2026, 1.00 pm, duration approx. 2.5 hours (to mark ‘Volkstrauertag’ – a day of silent remembrance for the victims of violence and war)
How to get there / Parking:
Treptow S-Bahn station + 10-minute walk; ‘Sowjetisches Ehrenmal’ bus stop; ‘Treptower Hafen/Am Rosengarten’ car park and at the Zenner restaurant beer garden
Toilets:
Only outside the memorial – card payments accepted
General information:
All listed dates are open group tours. No booking is required. All tours provide basic information and offer a critical perspective on the site from the viewpoint of MEMORIAL Germany.
90 per cent of the memorial site is accessible.
Guided tours will only be cancelled in the event of a public transport strike.
Tours take place whatever the weather. Please note that you should always expect wind on the site and, in good weather, extreme sunshine.
All guides work on a voluntary basis – that is, without remuneration – but they are always grateful for donations to Memorial Deutschland e.V.
If you are unable to make a donation, please feel free to tell others about what we offer – this also supports our work.
Individual bookings for private group tours (minimum 5 people):
Please provide 3 preferred dates – weekdays or weekends = all options are possible.
German-speaking groups should send their enquiry to jana.heinze@memorial.de
Other languages available:
German, English, French, Spanish, Ukrainian, Mandarin, Russian
For English tours, please contact: / For French tours, please contact: / For Spanish tours, please contact: / For Mandarin tours, please contact us. / For Chinese tours, please contact us.
