Streets of Konigsberg After the Red Army Assault, April 1945

October 29, 2025 - Reading time: 4 minutes

A dead German soldier and his horse on the street in Königsberg after the Red Army captured the city, April 1945.

This World War II photograph captures a stark moment in Königsberg, the capital of East Prussia, shortly after the city was taken by the Red Army in April 1945. Between April 6 and April 9, Soviet forces stormed one of the most heavily fortified strongholds of Nazi Germany, breaking through its defensive sectors and forcing capitulation.

In the foreground lie the bodies of a German soldier and his horse, silent witnesses to the brutal urban warfare that raged through the streets. The scene reflects not only the intensity of the final Soviet offensives, but also the collapse of German defenses in the closing months of the war.

Königsberg’s fall marked the end of a major defensive hub in East Prussia. After the war, the city would be incorporated into the Soviet Union and renamed Kaliningrad, becoming an important strategic and administrative center.

This image, taken on April 10, 1945 by Emmanuil Evzerikhin, stands as a stark document of the cost of war — both human and material.

Technical Photo Data:

📍 Location: Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany (now Kaliningrad, Russia)
📅 Date: April 10, 1945
📷 Photographer: Emmanuil Evzerikhin

• Fall of Königsberg 1945
• Red Army East Prussia offensive
• Urban combat WWII Germany
• Königsberg ruins WWII
• WWII photography Eastern Front