Karlshorst (, ; ; literally meaning ''Karl's nest'') is a locality in the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

Lichtenberg Lichtenberg () is the eleventh borough of Berlin, Germany. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen. Overview The district contains the Tierpark Berlin in Friedrichsfelde, the larger of Berlin ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. Located there are a harness racing track and the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin (''HTW''), the largest

University of Applied Sciences A university of applied sciences (UAS), nowadays much less commonly called a polytechnic university or vocational university, is an institution of higher education and sometimes research that provides vocational education and grants academic de ...

in Berlin, and the

German-Russian Museum Berlin-Karlshorst The Museum Berlin-Karlshorst, previously named ''German-Russian Museum Berlin-Karlshorst'' (Deutsch-Russisches Museum Berlin-Karlshorst) is dedicated to German-Soviet and German-Russian relations with a focus on the German-Soviet war of 1941– ...

History

Established in 1895 as the ''Carlshorst'' mansion's colony, Karlshorst from 1901 had access to the railway line from Berlin to Breslau (today

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

, Poland) and developed to a quite affluent residential area, sometimes referred to as " Dahlem of the East". The locality encompasses the Waldsiedlung, a garden city laid out between 1919 and 1921 according to plans by

Peter Behrens Peter Behrens (14 April 1868 – 27 February 1940) was a leading German architect, graphic and industrial designer, best known for his early pioneering AEG Turbine Hall in Berlin in 1909. He had a long career, designing objects, typefaces, and ...

. In April 1945, as the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

approached the Reich's capital, Marshal

Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...

, commander of the

1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Белорусский фронт, ''Perviy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian") was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army ...

, established his headquarters at a former Heer officer's mess hall in Karlshorst, where on May 8, the

unconditional surrender An unconditional surrender is a surrender in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party. It is often demanded with the threat of complete destruction, extermination or annihilation. In modern times, unconditional surrenders most ofte ...

of the German forces was presented to Zhukov by Colonel-General

Hans-Jürgen Stumpff __NOTOC__ Hans-Jürgen Stumpff (15 June 1889 – 9 March 1968), was a German general during World War II and was one of the signatories to Germany's unconditional surrender at the end of the war. Military career Stumpff joined the army in 190 ...

as the representative of the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

, Field Marshal

Wilhelm Keitel Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (; 22 September 188216 October 1946) was a German field marshal and war criminal who held office as chief of the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (OKW), the high command of Nazi Germany's Armed Forces, duri ...

as Chief of Staff of OKW, and Admiral

Hans-Georg von Friedeburg Hans-Georg von Friedeburg (15 July 1895 – 23 May 1945) was a German admiral, the deputy commander of the U-boat Forces of Nazi Germany and the second-to-last Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine. He was the only representative of the armed ...

as Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine. From 1945 to 1949 the building complex served as the headquarters of the

Soviet Military Administration in Germany The Soviet Military Administration in Germany (russian: Советская военная администрация в Германии, СВАГ; ''Sovyetskaya Voyennaya Administratsiya v Germanii'', SVAG; german: Sowjetische Militäradministrat ...

. After the establishment of the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

, it hosted the 6th Independent Motorized Rifle Brigade, the Soviets' "Berlin Brigade." The leadership of the Politburo of the

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...

hid at the complex during the

East German uprising of 1953 The East German uprising of 1953 (german: Volksaufstand vom 17. Juni 1953 ) was an uprising that occurred in East Germany from 16 to 17 June 1953. It began with a strike action by construction workers in East Berlin on 16 June against w ...

, where

Lavrentiy Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ; – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolsheviks ...

also traveled to from

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

to personally coordinate the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

's repression of the rebellion. The last Russian soldiers left Karlshorst in 1994. The former headquarters has been made the home of the

(''Deutsch-Russisches Museum Berlin-Karlshorst''), formerly called the Capitulation Museum. Original setting for the second signing of the Armastice at Karlshorst

Original setting for the second signing of the Armastice at Karlshorst

Transportation

Karlshorst has access to the

Berlin S-Bahn The Berlin S-Bahn () is a rapid transit railway system in and around Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It has been in operation under this name since December 1930, having been previously called the special tariff area ''Berliner Stadt-, Ring ...

network at Berlin-Karlshorst railway station.

Notable people

Born in Karlshorst

Joachim Fest Joachim Clemens Fest (8 December 1926 – 11 September 2006) was a German historian, journalist, critic and editor who was best known for his writings and public commentary on Nazi Germany, including a biography of Adolf Hitler and books about ...

, historian, editor, (1926-2006) * Ilja Richter (born 1952), actor, voice actor and television presenter

Dwelt in Karlshorst

Max Beer Moses "Max" Beer (10 August 1864 – 30 April 1943) was an Austrian-born Marxist journalist, economist, and historian. Beer is best remembered as an early writer on the topic of imperialism and for a series of books, published in translation in ...

, (1864-1943), historian, Gundelfinger Straße 47 *

Hans Bellmer Hans Bellmer (13 March 1902 – 24 February 1975) was a German artist, best known for the life-sized pubescent female dolls he produced in the mid-1930s. Historians of art and photography also consider him a Surrealist photographer. Biography B ...

, (1902-1975), photographer, Ehrenfelsstraße 8 * Hans (1916-1942) and Hilde Coppi, (1909-1943), resistance fighters, Römerweg * Hedwig Courths-Mahler, (1867-1950), writer, Dönhoffstraße 11 from 1905 to 1914 *

Erich Ollenhauer Erich Ollenhauer (27 March 1901 – 14 December 1963) was the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1952 until 1963. He was a key leader of the opposition to Konrad Adenauer in the Bundestag. In exile under the Nazis, he re ...

, (1901-1963), politician, dwelt in Karlshorst, Trautenauer Straße 6 *

August Stramm August Stramm (29 July 1874 – 1 September 1915) was a German war poet and playwright who is considered the first of the expressionists. Stramm's radically experimental verse and his major influence on all subsequent German poetry has caused h ...

, (1874-1915), poet, Lehndorffstraße 16 *

Ernst Torgler Ernst Torgler (25 April 1893 – 19 January 1963) was the last chairman of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) faction in the German Reichstag before he worked for the Nazis. Early life Torgler was born the son of an urban resident in Berlin ...

, (1903-1963), politician (Communist Party of Germany), Liepnitzstraße 46 *

Max Wertheimer Max Wertheimer (April 15, 1880 – October 12, 1943) was an Austro-Hungarian psychologist who was one of the three founders of Gestalt psychology, along with Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Köhler. He is known for his book, ''Productive Thinking'', and ...

, (1880-1943), psychologist, Ehrlichstraße 31 The engineer

Georg Knorr Theodor Georg Knorr (October 19, 1859 – April 15, 1911) was an engineer and entrepreneur on the field of railroad technology and founder of the company Knorr-Bremse. He is particularly remembered for his role in the development of the compre ...

(1859-1911), is buried at the Karlshorst cemetery.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20050408044705/http://www.karlshorst.de/ – official site * http://www.karlshorst-info.de/ – information about Karlshorst * https://web.archive.org/web/20060822091136/http://www.treskowallee.de/ – information about Karlshorst * http://www.museum-karlshorst.de/ – German-Russian Museum Berlin-Karlshorst * http://www.fckarlshorst.de/ – official site of FC Karlshorst 1995 {{Authority control Localities of Berlin *Karlshorst Treskow family