Soviet infantryman Mikhail Makarov, one of the participants in raising the Victory Banner over the Reichstag, stands before the shattered building in Berlin on May 2, 1945, shortly after the end of the battle.
An Overlooked Participant in History
This remarkable photograph shows Mikhail Makarov, a Soviet infantryman of the Red Army, standing before the shattered Reichstag in Berlin on May 2, 1945. The fighting for the building had only just ended, making this one of the earliest photographs taken after one of the most symbolic battles of the Second World War.
Although his name is far less familiar than those of Mikhail Yegorov and Meliton Kantaria, Makarov was also among the soldiers who participated in raising the Victory Banner over the Reichstag. Like many participants in the assault, his contribution was gradually overshadowed as history focused on a smaller number of widely recognized figures. Photographs such as this help restore some of the forgotten faces behind one of the war's most famous moments.
The Final Battle for Berlin
Makarov carries a PPSh-41 submachine gun, the iconic weapon used by countless Soviet assault troops during the Battle of Berlin. Behind him rises the devastated Reichstag, its walls blackened by artillery fire, shell impacts, and close-quarters combat. Only hours earlier, this area had been one of the most fiercely contested positions in Europe.
The Reichstag held enormous symbolic importance. Although it no longer served as Germany's parliament, capturing the building represented the collapse of Nazi Germany in the eyes of both Soviet soldiers and much of the world. The raising of the Victory Banner became one of the defining images of the Allied victory in Europe.
Remembering More Than Famous Names
History often remembers iconic photographs more readily than the individuals who helped create them. While the Victory Banner became one of the best-known symbols of the end of the war in Europe, hundreds of Soviet soldiers fought their way to the Reichstag, and many took part in planting banners on the building during the final assault. Mikhail Makarov was one of those men whose role deserves to be remembered alongside the better-known names.
This portrait preserves not simply the image of a victorious soldier, but of one participant in a historic event whose contribution remained largely overlooked despite standing at the very center of history.
Technical photo data:
📝 Source of information: Unknown
📍 Location: Berlin, Germany
📅 Date of photo: May 2, 1945
📷 Photographer: Anatoly Morozov
Recommended literature:
- Antony Beevor — Berlin: The Downfall 1945
- Cornelius Ryan — The Last Battle
- Konstantin Zalesskiy — The Battle of Berlin
- Vasily Chuikov — The End of the Third Reich
- Mikhail Makarov Reichstag
- Victory Banner Reichstag
- PPSh-41 submachine gun WWII
- Battle of Berlin 1945
- Red Army in Berlin
- Reichstag capture
- Soviet assault troops Berlin
- Reichstag assault May 1945
- Victory Banner participants
- Eastern Front final battles