WWII Survivor: The Brandenburg Gate

The Brandenburg Gate after the German surrender.
Image sourced from the Library of Congress
via www.militaryphotos.net.

From about 1941, Berlin had been a target for Allied bombings. Over the course of the war, the city was pounded relentlessly, and frankly many historic structures were lucky to survive the onslaught. In a previous post, I discussed the Berlin Victory Column as a WWII survivor. Another such survivor is the Brandenburg Gate.

The Brandenburg Gate was one of the original customs gates into Berlin, built in the 1730s in order to manage the flow of traffic into the city as it expanded after the Thirty Years War. In a famous painting, Napoleon is depicted proceeding through the Gate into Berlin during his conquest of Prussia. It was after this that the Quadriga, the horse-chariot statue on top, was moved to Paris and later returned after Napoleon's downfall.

During the World War II, like most of Berlin, the Gate took some hits around it from bombs and later Soviet artillery as Berlin was encircled in April of 1945. After the war, the damage was repaired in one of the few joint efforts by the West Berlin and East Berlin governments. Since the Gate was between the zones of occupation, the Quadriga was outfitted with a pole which flew the flag of East Germany. This, of course, was removed after the Wall fell.

The Brandenburg Gate in 2011. Photo by Cody Lizotte.

The rich history of the Brandenburg Gate is more vast and layered than can be provided in a small package. However, the fact remains that the Gate was one of the few structures that survived and today is one of the most visited sights in Berlin. Until next time, take care and thanks for reading.

(Facts and figures sourced from Wikipedia on the Brandenburg Gate and "World War II" by H.P Willmott, Robin Cross, and Charles Messenger)