Raising a Flag over the Reichstag

A famous photo shows a flag.

It was taken a long time ago. Two men plant a flag on a big building. This building was in a land called Germany.

The building was called the Reichstag. It was a very important place. A big war was ending there.

Many people saw the photo. It showed a big win for the Soviet Union. The flag was made from cloth used for food.

It is a very special picture. We still look at it today.

A famous photo shows a flag.

This photo is from World War II. It shows two Soviet soldiers. They are planting a flag on top of a building. The building is the Reichstag. It is in Germany. The Reichstag was a very important place for the German government.

The photo was taken on May 2, 1945. This was during the Battle in Berlin. This battle was very hard and bloody. The Soviet army won the battle. The photo became a symbol of that win. Many people around the world know this image.

A man named Yevgeny Khaldei took the photo. He used a special camera. He used a flag made from three tablecloths. The photo was later changed in a few ways. A man added smoke to the background. This made the scene look more dramatic. He also removed a watch from a soldier's wrist. He did this to avoid trouble. The photo was first put in a magazine in May 1945.

People still study this photo today. It tells a story about a big moment in history.

A single photograph can tell a huge story about history.

The image is called "Raising a Flag over the Reichstag." It shows two Soviet soldiers planting a flag on a building. This building was the Reichstag in Berlin, Germany. The Reichstag was the home of the German parliament. For the Soviet army, this building was a major symbol. Capturing it meant they were winning the war. This photo became one of the most famous images from World War II.

The photo was taken during a very hard time. The Battle in Berlin was the final major fight in Europe. It began on April 16, 1945. The Soviet Red Army moved fast through Germany. They moved forward about 30 to 40 kilometers every day. The fight for the city of Berlin was very bloody. It lasted from late April until May 2, 1945. The soldiers fought fiercely to take control of the city.

Many different groups tried to raise flags on the building. Some planes even dropped red banners onto the roof. Reports said different soldiers reached the building at different times. One group placed a flag on a sculpture called the "Goddess of Victory." Another group put a flag on a sculpture named "Germania." The most famous flag was raised around 3 am. It was the only flag that survived the heavy shelling. This shows how many people wanted to mark the moment.

A photographer named Yevgeny Khaldei took the famous picture. He climbed the building on May 2, 1945. He used a Leica III camera to take the shot. He even used a flag made from three tablecloths. The official story said the soldiers were Meliton Kantaria and Mikhail Yegorov. However, Khaldei said he just asked passing soldiers to help. He said the man holding the flag was 18-year-old Aleksei Kovalev. Other men helping were Abdulkhakim Ismailov and Leonid Gorychev.

After the photo was taken, the image was changed. An editor asked Khaldei to make the scene look more dramatic. Khaldei added smoke to the background using another piece of film. He also used a needle to remove a watch from a soldier's wrist. Some say the watch was actually a compass. This change was made to avoid any trouble or rumors. The photo first appeared in Ogonyok magazine on May 13, 1945. Today, it remains a powerful way to remember a major turning point in the world.

The photograph "Raising a Flag over the Reichstag" is a famous image from World War II.

It captures a moment of intense historical change. The photo shows two Soviet soldiers planting a flag atop the Reichstag building. This building was located in Berlin, Germany. For the Soviet Union, capturing the Reichstag was a massive goal. It served as a powerful symbol of victory over Nazi Germany. Because of its impact, the image was reprinted in thousands of publications worldwide. It remains one of the most recognizable symbols of the war.

The setting for this moment was the Battle in Berlin. This battle was the final major offensive in the European theater of the war. The Soviet Union called this mission the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation. It began on April 16, 1945, as the Red Army moved through Germany. The Soviet troops advanced very quickly, sometimes moving 30 to 40 kilometers each day. The fight for Berlin lasted from late April until May 2, 1945. It was one of the bloodiest battles in human history.

The Reichstag building itself had a long and complicated history. It was built in 1894 as the seat of the German national legislature. To the Soviet Red Army, the building represented the heart of their enemy. However, the Nazi Party had not used the building for most of their rule. The building had been severely damaged by a fire in 1933. For 12 years, the legislature met at the nearby Kroll Opera House instead. Despite this, the Soviets viewed the Reichstag as a vital symbolic target. They fought fiercely to take control of the structure.

Many different groups attempted to claim the building with flags. The process was often confusing due to the intense fighting. Some planes even dropped large red banners onto the roof. Various reports reached military headquarters about different soldiers reaching the top. For example, reports mentioned M. M. Bondar and Captain V. N. Makov. One group of soldiers, including M. Minin and others, climbed the roof at 22:30. They mounted a flag on a sculpture called the "Goddess of Victory." Other groups placed flags on a sculpture known as "Germania." The flag seen in the famous photo was raised around 3 am. It was the only flag to survive the heavy shelling of the building.

Yevgeny Khaldei was the photographer who captured the iconic shot. He climbed the Reichstag on May 2, 1945, after the building was pacified. He used a Leica III rangefinder camera with a 35mm lens. To prepare for the shot, his uncle had sewn a large flag from three tablecloths. While official stories often named Meliton Kantaria and Mikhail Yegorov as the subjects, Khaldei provided a different account. He claimed he simply asked passing soldiers to help stage the photo. He identified the flag-bearer as 18-year-old Private Aleksei Kovalev. Other men in the photo included Abdulkhakim Ismailov and Leonid Gorychev.

After the photo was taken, Khaldei made several edits to the image. He returned to Moscow and worked with the editor of Ogonyok magazine. The editor wanted the scene to look more dramatic. Khaldei added smoke to the background using a different negative. He also increased the contrast of the print. One controversial edit involved a soldier's wrist. Khaldei used a needle to remove a watch from Ismailov's wrist. The editor feared the watch looked like looted property. Some people believe the object was actually an Adrianov compass. These changes helped create the dramatic version the world eventually saw.

The photograph was first published in Ogonyok magazine on May 13, 1945. It has since become a major piece of visual history. The copyright for the image belongs to TASS, the Soviet news agency. In 2015, a Russian court confirmed that the copyright had expired. This was decided during a legal case involving the photographer's daughter. Today, the image is studied as a way to understand how history is recorded. It shows the connection between real military events and the way they are presented to the public. The photo remains a powerful connection to the end of World War II.