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Berlin 2005 - 60 years have passed since the end of World War 2 so I decided to go back to Berlin to follow the last days of the conflict. I chose a large hotel called the Mitte in Leipzieger strasse and after another uneventful flight from Luton, arrived in Berlin in glorious April sunshine. Firsly back to the AlexPlatz cafe for breakfast then I walked to the Mitte. I crashed out in the room.... It was lovely weather but so hot. In the middle of the Pariser Platz just east of the Brandenburg Gate there was erected a large backcloth showing what this same area was like 60 years ago..  I stopped for a welcome coffee at Starbucks and saw in the distance a captive balloon. I made my way to it in Voss strasse and found that for a small payment the local radio sponsored balloon would take a group of people up to see the sights.
 SITE OF HITLERS BUNKER It was a clear day and we could pick out where Hitlers Bunker had been, the RotesRathaus, the new Monument to the Jews, the Reichstag and many other interesting sites.
 POTSDAMER PLATZ  SITE OF FAHRER (DRIVERS) BUNKER  ERBERT STRASSE  OLD RAT HAUS AND NEWER RATHAUS  REICHSTAG, BRANDENBURG GATE, ADLON AND STELLAE  SONY CENTRE  VOSS STRASSE  FERNSEHTURM  MEMORIAL TO THE JEWS When the balloon descended I made my way to the Moltke Bridge from where I would follow the route taken by the 79th Rifle Corps led by Major General S I Perevertkin to storm the Reichstag. I looked in my copy of "The Berlin Battlefield Guide" by Tony Le Tissier and found a map showing the attack from The Bridge, over the Konigsplatz and into the Building.  THE MAP OF THE ATTACK ON THE REICHSTAG - SEE THE 380th RIFLE REGIMENT However I noticed that the 380th Rifle Regiment led by Colonel V M Asafov was allocated a path a little to the north of the main body and after reaching the Reichstag went off at a tangent to the Brandenburg Gate and then to the site Of Hitlers Bunker. Having walked this simulation I ended up at the FuhrerBunker where there was quite a large crowd milling round. Not only was it "the end of the war" but also it was the weekend of when Hitler and his new wife Eva Braun had committed suicide. (Married 29/04/45 - died 30/04/45)  SITE OF HITLERS BUNKER ENTRANCE - HE AND EVA WERE CREMATED HERE  ADOLF HITLER AND EVA BRAUN
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