Critical guided tours of the Soviet War Memorial in Treptow

Together, You will search for the graves of the 7,200 people buried here.


Meeting point:

Soviet Memorial Berlin-Treptow, entrance on Puschkinallee

A QR code scanner on your smartphone is recommended, as they will be referring to in-depth web content.


Contents of the tour:

A joint search for the 7,200 graves.

You will learn why the war dating on the site differs from what is taught in schools; why the Stalin quotations at this location – unlike in the Soviet Union – have survived and are still presented to the public today without comment and regularly repainted in gold.

You will explore what the site tells us about the Hitler-Stalin Pact/Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact (1939; podcast) and what invisible connection there is to the opposition GDR peace movement.

They will ask about the women among the buried and about the ‘disappeared’ female engineer.

They will examine how propaganda architecture is supposed to affect by looking closely, allowing for individual interpretation and discussing it.

Political and historical contexts and conditions at the time of its creation are considered.

A multi-perspective look is taken at the narrative of the ‘peoples of the Soviet Union’ and what makes the thinking behind it so dangerous, even in the context of the war in Ukraine.

The past and present instrumentalisation of this cemetery for propaganda purposes is explained.

For local visitor groups, connections to other districts of Treptow-Köpenick will be highlighted.

The tour is interactive: every question is welcome and encourages democratic debate about this place, which was built to glorify a dictatorship.

Dates for 2026

Please check the start times 3 days before the scheduled tour

March:
Sun, 8 March 2026, 1:00 p.m., duration approx. 2.5 hours, additional topic ‘Women at the Memorial’
Thu, 26 March 2026, 5:30 p.m., duration approx. 2 hours (‘after-work’ tour)

April:
Sun, 12 April 2026, 11:00 a.m., duration approx. 2 hours
Thu, 23 April 2026, 5:30 p.m., duration approx. 2 hours (‘after-work’ tour)

May:
Fri-Sat-Sun, 8-9-10 May 2026 (several dates each day/exact times at the beginning of May) Duration approx. 2 hours each (on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of the end of the war in Europe; on site again joint stage programme with the ‘Alliance Remembrance Against War’
Thu, 28 May 2026, 5:30 p.m., duration approx. 2 hours (‘after-work’ tour)

June:
Sun, 14 June 2026, 11:00 a.m., duration approx. 2 hours
Thu, 25 June 2026, 5:30 p.m., duration approx. 2 hours (‘after-work’ tour)

July:
Sun, 12 July 2026, 11:00 a.m., duration approx. 2 hours
Thu, 30 July 2026, 5:30 p.m., duration approx. 2 hours (‘after-work’ tour)

August:
Sun, 9 August 2026, 11:00 a.m., duration approx. 2 hours (in cooperation with the Treptow-Köpenick district office)
Sun, 23 August 2026, 1:00 p.m., duration approx. 2.5 hours, additional topic ‘Hitler-Stalin Pact’ (podcast)
Thu, 27 August 2026, 5:30 p.m., duration approx. 2 hours, (‘after-work’ tour)

September:
Sun, 13 September 2026, 11:00 a.m., duration approx. 2 hours
Sun, 20 September 2026, 1:00 p.m., duration approx. 2.5 hours (on the occasion of ‘17 September 1939’, the Soviet invasion of Poland in accordance with the Hitler-Stalin Pact; in cooperation with the German-Polish Society Berlin, the Pilecki Institute Berlin and the Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship)
Thu, 24 September 2026, 5:30 p.m., duration approx. 2 hours (‘after-work’ tour)

October:
Sun, 11 October 2026, 11:00 a.m., duration approx. 2 hours

November:
Sunday, 15 November 2026, 1:00 p.m., duration approx. 2.5 hours (on the occasion of ‘Volkstrauertag’ – a day of silent remembrance for the victims of violence and war)


Getting there/parking:
Treptow S-Bahn station + 10 min walk; bus stop ‘Sowjetisches Ehrenmal’; car park ‘Treptower Hafen/ Am Rosengarten’ and at the Zenner restaurant beer garden

Toilets:
only outside the memorial - card payment


General information:

All listed dates are open group tours. Registration is not necessary. All tours provide basic information and critiques of the site from the perspective of MEMORIAL Germany.
The memorial site is 90% barrier-free.
Tours will only be cancelled in the event of a public transport strike.
The tours take place in all weather conditions. Please note that wind and, in good weather, extreme sunlight are always to be expected at the site.

All our guides work on a voluntary basis – i.e. without remuneration – but they are always grateful for donations to Memorial Deutschland e.V.


If you are unable to make a donation, please tell others about their services – this also supports their work.

Individual booking for private group tours for 5 or more people:
Please give 3 preferred dates - weekdays or weekends = all possible.
For German-speaking groups, please send your enquiry to jana.heinze@memorial.de


Other languages available:
German, English, French, Spanish, Ukrainian, Mandarin, Russian
For English tours, please contact: / Pour des visites en français, veuillez contacter: / Para visitas en español, comuníquese a: / 如需參加國語導覽團，請與我們聯絡。/ 如需参加中文导览团，请联系我们