Street Washing in Moscow After the March of German POWs, July 17, 1944

August 13, 2025 - Reading time: 4 minutes

Soviet street-washing trucks clean Moscow after 57,000 German POWs marched through the city in July 1944, marking the Soviet victory in Belarus.

This symbolic photograph shows Soviet street-washing trucks spraying soap and water on Moscow’s streets after the procession of German prisoners of war on July 17, 1944. The view is from Zubovsky Boulevard toward Smolensky Boulevard, with Prechistenka Street to the right around the corner.

The march of German POWs — dubbed the “Parade of the Vanquished” — was staged as a public demonstration to Soviet citizens, Allied nations, and the world of the Red Army’s crushing victory in the Belarusian Offensive (Operation Bagration). Around 57,000 German soldiers and officers, including 19 generals, walked through Moscow’s streets, most of them captured by the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Belorussian Fronts.

Following the columns, the street-cleaning trucks depicted in the photo drove along the route, symbolically “washing away the Nazi filth” from the capital’s streets. The event was both a sanitary measure and a powerful piece of wartime propaganda, showcasing Soviet triumph and the irreversible decline of Nazi Germany.

Technical photo data:
📝 Source of information: maps.yandex.ru
📍 Location: Moscow, USSR
📅 Date of photo: July 17, 1944
📷 Photographer: Unknown

Street washing Moscow 1944
German POWs parade Moscow
Parade of the Vanquished USSR
Operation Bagration victory
Soviet WWII propaganda photo
July 17 1944 Moscow POWs
Red Army Belarusian Offensive
Moscow street cleaning WWII
German prisoners in Moscow 1944
Soviet victory demonstration