Staged? The Truth Behind Raising the Soviet Red Banner

This photograph was taken showing victorious Soviet troops flying the Red Banner over the ruins of Berlin. Today it is an image famous worldwide, but not one without controversy, most famously one small but important detail has caught the eye of many observers. But what’s the real story behind this famous scene?

Creating these videos is a lot of work, and it would not be possible without your support. If you like our work, you can help us with a regular or one time payment:

Newsletter:
If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of what the team at Battle Guide have been getting up to, why not sign up to

Links:

Written References:

General Sources:
Imperial War Museum Sound Archive (IWMSA)
US National Archives (NARA)
National Library of Scotland Image Collection (NLS)
Australian War Memorial Image Archive (AWM)
War Diaries of the Battalions (NMP)
British Newspaper Archive (BNA)
The National Archives, Kew (TNA)
Google Earth Pro & Web Versions
Maptiler Pro (Desktop Version)
ParaData

Image Sources:

Credits:
Research: Dan Hill
Script & Narration: Dan Hill
Editing: Shane Greer
Thumbnail Design: Linus Klassen
Music & Sound Effects: Shane Greer

[montarakid]

He stole a watch. Hard to believe, given what we know about the behavior of soldiers during the war, that would have been considered a big deal. 🤔 Then/now photos make the site special.

[ImranShaikh-ghwd]

Me and my son (aged 8) watch every battle guide video and love them - thank you. We even went on a bikepacking trip around Ypres after being inspired. Makes history so accessible

[derksforeal]

No one is immune to propaganda. Not even me, an American?🇺🇸 😂

[ODST_Parker]

It's funny to me, looking back at my first experiences learning about WWII. One of them was Call of Duty, the original game back in the early 2000s. I would've been around eight or nine years old, and it was a huge part of what got me into history, especially around that era. I specifically remember the final mission, storming the Reichstag and seeing soldiers rush to the roof, waving the Red Banner over Berlin. Following this, a stirring final video plays with a Soviet soldier narrating a letter detailing the end of the war and returning home, with real footage in the background (some also used in this video).

Weird to think that the event I came to know and love from that semi-historical interpretation is far more complicated in reality. Not only because of good old Soviet-era propaganda, but simply because the event itself was hectic and confusing to get details on. Also kinda funny to think that some of those soldiers and officers were more afraid of Stalin than the Germans when they were rushing into that building to meet the deadline.

[veenarojerbabu]

It doesn't matter whether the flag was raised 1 day or 1 week later. At the end they were victorious to defeat the nazi germany, that's what matters.
Give them the credit they deserve & don't hang on to these silly tiny details.

[Morgan]

Russians liberated Austria, Hungary in Kurk tank battle Russians destroyed 2500 tanks of German. Kursk battle was after Stalingrad.

[changingpeopleslivesmoon]

My question is who were the men who put the soviet flag on the building 🤔

[Q_The_Rabbit]

Toured the Reichstag in 2013. Had a great breakfast with a Paulaner draft there. Saw the infamous Wannsee Villa. Ambled through Spandau & Potsdam. Was an interesting trip.

[carlcomo]

I wonder who the last krout standing was

[marcusott]

Much awaited, much appreciated excellent insights as always from you.

[troyelliott]

I’ve been waiting for someone to make content exactly like this! Thanks to your fantastic team for all of the great content!

[ethanlewis]

I hope you do some Napoleonic Wars videos and I would love one on The Battle Of Waterloo

[alex]

Excellent video. Very informative and, as always, great narration from Dan. Great work.

[mammuchan]

The details are fascinating, thanks for sharing

[robcanisto]

these guys ww1 pod, Not So Quiet? it's just as good and better than We Have Ways. watch out Al and Jim!

[andybobandy]

You know it seems like the guy wasn't wearing two watches. It seems like there was two different guys. In some of the subsequent pictures you can see two man on the roof in addition to the flag bearer. I'm wondering if it's the right hand of guy number one and the left hand of guy number two.

[AlfredHeerhausen]

Wearing more than one watch was not uncommon when people were dependent on exact time and radio-controlled digital time was not yet available. So you could always check whether both watches showed the same time.

[andrewreynolds]

These people were heros against the defeat of Fas'cis'm at the time now it's on the rise when capitalism is on dec'line and the word of Capitol is thr'eat'ened capitalism will turn to fac'sim to protect itself

[PS-nfxw]

It is however noted that the two watches were not uncommon. The other was in fact not a watch but a compass

[spenserkao]

So calculated as red army was, joined WWII so late, making harvest with minimal cost!