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

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

Lichtenberg Lichtenberg may refer to: Places * Lichtenberg, Austria * Lichtenberg, Bas-Rhin, France * Lichtenberg, Bavaria, Germany * Lichtenberg, Berlin, Germany * Lichtenberg, Mittelsachsen, Saxony, Germany * Lichtenberg (Lausitz), Saxony, Germany * Lichte ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. It is home to a

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

track, the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin (''HTW''), the largest

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

in Berlin, and the Museum Berlin-Karlshorst.

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 is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

, 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 Germany, German architect, graphic and industrial designer, best known for his early pioneering AEG turbine factory, AEG Turbine Hall in Berlin in 1909. He had a long career, desi ...

. In April 1945, as the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

approached the Reich's capital, Marshal

Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( 189618 June 1974) was a Soviet military leader who served as a top commander during World War II and achieved the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. During World War II, Zhukov served as deputy commander-in-ch ...

, commander of the

1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front (, ''Pervyy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian"), known without a numeral as the Belorussian Front between October 1943 and February 1944, was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, bein ...

, established his headquarters at a former Heer officer's

mess hall The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

in Karlshorst, where on May 8, the

unconditional surrender An unconditional surrender is a surrender in which no guarantees, reassurances, or promises (i.e., conditions) are given to the surrendering party. It is often demanded with the threat of complete destruction, extermination or annihilation. Anno ...

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

Hans-Jürgen Stumpff 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 Grenadier Regiment "Pr ...

as the representative of the

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

, Field Marshal

Wilhelm Keitel Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (; 22 September 188216 October 1946) was a German field marshal who held office as chief of the (OKW), the high command of Nazi Germany's armed forces, during World War II. He signed a number of criminal ...

as Chief of Staff of

OKW The (; abbreviated OKW ː kaːˈveArmed Forces High Command) was the supreme military command and control staff of Nazi Germany during World War II, that was directly subordinated to Adolf Hitler. Created in 1938, the OKW replaced the Re ...

, and Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg as Commander-in-Chief of the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

. From 1945 to 1949 the building complex served as the

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

of the

Soviet Military Administration in Germany The Soviet Military Administration in Germany (; ''Sovyetskaya Voyennaya Administratsiya v Germanii'', SVAG; , SMAD) was the Soviet military government, headquartered in Berlin- Karlshorst, that directly ruled the Soviet occupation zone in German ...

. After the establishment of the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, it hosted various ministries of the GDR, and from 1963 on offices of both the KGB and the GRU. The leadership of the Politburo of the

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (, ; SED, ) was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from the country's foundation in 1949 until its dissolution after the Peaceful Revolution in 1989. It was a Mar ...

hid at the complex during the East German uprising of 1953, where

Lavrentiy Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria ka, ლავრენტი პავლეს ძე ბერია} ''Lavrenti Pavles dze Beria'' ( – 23 December 1953) was a Soviet politician and one of the longest-serving and most influential of Joseph ...

also traveled to from

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

to personally coordinate the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

's repression of the rebellion. The last Russian soldiers left Karlshorst in 1994. The former headquarters has been made the home of the Museum Berlin-Karlshorst, formerly called the Capitulation Museum, and later the Deutsch-Russisches Museum. The 6th Independent Motorized Rifle Brigade, the Soviets' "Berlin Brigade," had barracks in the nearby ''Wuhlheide'' area. 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 that services the reigon in and around Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It has been in operation under the name since December 1930, having been previously called the special tariff are ...

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 A ...

, 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 economist, journalist 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, (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, (1901–1963), politician, Trautenauer Straße 6 * August Stramm, (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 a 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 for conceiving the ...

, (1880–1943), psychologist, Ehrlichstraße 31 The engineer Georg Knorr (1859–1911), is buried at the Karlshorst cemetery.

References

External links

* https://www.museum-karlshorst.de/ – Museum Berlin-Karlshorst {{Authority control Localities of Berlin *Karlshorst Treskow family