Soviet troops raise the Red Banner over the Square of the Fallen Fighters in Stalingrad after the capture of Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus, January 31, 1943.
Location: Stalingrad, USSR (now Volgograd, Russia)
Date: January 31, 1943
Photographer: Georgy Zelma
Source: Soviet military archive
This historic photograph was taken on January 31, 1943, during the final stage of the Battle of Stalingrad. A Soviet soldier raises the Red Banner above the Square of the Fallen Fighters shortly after the surrender of the southern group of the German 6th Army.
The large department store visible in the background became one of the best-known landmarks of the battle. Its basement served as the headquarters of Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus, who surrendered there to Soviet forces on the same day. His capture marked the collapse of organized German resistance in central Stalingrad and became one of the most significant turning points of the Second World War.
Destroyed German vehicles remain scattered across the square, illustrating the scale of the fighting that devastated the city. By the end of the battle, Stalingrad had suffered enormous destruction, but the Soviet victory fundamentally changed the strategic situation on the Eastern Front and shifted the initiative to the Red Army.
Photographed by Georgy Zelma, this image became one of the best-known visual records of the Soviet victory at Stalingrad. It symbolizes the end of one of history's largest urban battles and the beginning of Germany's strategic retreat in the east.
Photo details
- Location: Stalingrad, USSR (now Volgograd, Russia)
- Date: January 31, 1943
- Photographer: Georgy Zelma
- Source: Soviet military archive
- Battle of Stalingrad victory
- Red Banner Stalingrad January 1943
- Field Marshal Paulus capture