Ivan Aleksandrovich Kichigin at the grave of comrade Grigory Afanasevich Kozlov (1919 – May 6, 1945) in Berlin in early May 1945. The signature on the reverse side of the photo: “Sasha! This is the grave of Kozlov Gregory”.
Such graves were all over Berlin – friends buried their comrades near the place of their death. About six months later a reburial was commenced from such graves to memorial cemeteries in Treptow Park and in the Tiergarten park.
The first memorial in Berlin, solemnly opened in November 1945, was the burial of 2500 soldiers of the Soviet Army in the Tiergarten park. At its opening in front of the monument-memorial solemn parade allied troops on the anti-Hitler coalition. A solemn opening of the memorial complex in Treptow Park took place on May 8, 1949.
Source of Ivan Kichigin: ZS of the Ulyanovsk region.
Location: Berlin, Germany
Date: May 1945