Monument to a soldier with a girl in his arms and his story

A monument to a Russian soldier with a girl in his arms is in Berlin. The author of this monument is sculptor E.V. Vuchetich. This is not the only monument in Berlin dedicated to the Soviet soldiers-liberators.

About the monument

"Warrior-liberator" - this is the name of a monument to a soldier with a girl rescued in his arms, which was erected in the Berlin Treptow Park. The monument was erected in honor of the victory of our great people over the fascist invaders. It weighs 70 tons, its height - 12 meters.

The creators of the "Warrior-Liberator":

• E.V. Vuchetich (sculptor).
• S.S. Valerius (engineer).
• I WOULD. Belopolsky (architect).
• A.V. Gorpenko (the artist).

In this memorial rest 7 thousand fallen during the assault of Berlin Soviet soldiers. The names of only 1,000 of them are known, and all of them lost 75,000.

The bronze monument "Warrior-Liberator" is made in the form of a figure of a Soviet soldier standing on the wreckage of a fascist swastika with his head held high. With one hand he holds a rescued girl who trustingly clings to his chest, and in his other hand - a sword. But the sketch of the monument was somewhat different. Initially, the sculptor conceived to put in the hand of the warrior machine, but I.V. Stalin insisted that it be a sword. In the end, it was done as the leader desired. The sword, which is held by the soldier-liberator, is connected with two more monuments. This is "Motherland" in Volgograd and "Rear Front" in Magnitogorsk. It is understood that all the figures depicted on these three monuments hold the same sword. All these monuments are dedicated to the Great Patriotic War.

A sword in the hands of a warrior-liberator is an exact copy of the weapon of Prince Gabriel. He fought against the "dog-knights" side by side with Alexander Nevsky. The sword in the hand of the Berlin warrior is omitted, which symbolizes the world, but, as I.V. Stalin, "woe to him who will force our hero to raise him again." A Soviet soldier with a German girl in her arms is known throughout the world. The feat, which was immortalized in bronze, will forever serve the descendants as an example. Photo of the monument of a soldier with a girl in her arms is presented in this article.

Pedestal

A monument to a soldier with a girl in her arms is mounted on a pedestal, inside which is a memory hall. On the walls - a mosaic panel with depicted representatives of different peoples, they lay wreaths to the grave of Soviet soldiers. Above them is an inscription in Russian and German, which reads: "Now everyone recognizes that the Soviet people with their selfless struggle saved the civilization of Europe from fascist pogromists. This is the great merit of the Soviet people over the history of mankind. " This phrase is a quotation from the report of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin.

The central part of the hall is a pedestal in the form of a cube, carved from black stone. On it there is a gold chest, inside of which is stored a parchment book in a morocco cover of red color. There are inscribed the names of all the soldiers who died in the battles for Berlin and are buried in mass graves. The hall is decorated with a large chandelier made of rubies and crystal, which is made in the form of the Order of Victory.

Creation of a monument

May 8, 1949 - this is the date of the opening of the memorial complex. To get the right to create a monument to a soldier with a girl rescued in her arms, sculptors and architects had to take part in the contest. 33 projects of the monument were presented. The winners were E.V. Vuchetich and Ya.B. Belopolsky. Their project was chosen for implementation.

In the construction of the memorial complex took part:

• A German foundry called Noack;
• Specialized in mosaics and stained glass windows workshops Puhl & Wagner;
• Horticultural associations Späth nursery;
• 1200 German workers.

A monument to a soldier with a girl in his arms was cast in Leningrad at a factory of monumental sculpture, then sent to Berlin. The Soviet military commandant's office was to take care of the monument. In 2003 he was on restoration, and in 2004 he was returned to his place.

A monument to a soldier with a girl has become an integral part of Berlin. Between the victorious countries and Germany, a treaty has been signed, in a separate chapter it is written that the memorial "Warrior-Liberator" has been given the status of the eternal. German authorities are obliged to take care of it, restore it, and finance its safety. And to this day Germany complies with the terms of the contract, and the monument is provided with proper maintenance. A Soviet soldier with a German girl in his arms is among the most well-kept monuments of the country. In 2003, Germany financed the restoration of the monument, which spent almost three million euros.

Soldier's feat

The monument of the unknown soldier with the girl on hands is created on the basis of real events, and the name of this hero has reached our days. The prototype of the liberation warrior was Nikolai Masalov from the Kemerovo region, a Soviet soldier. During one of the assaults of Berlin, on April 30, 1945, he heard a child crying. Under the bridge located on the front line, he found a blonde girl of three years old, who was sitting near the murdered mother, fiddling with her, crying and calling for a "mutter". Without thinking, the soldier grabbed the baby and ran with her on his hands to his. The Germans started to shoot, wounded Nicholas in the leg, but he did not abandon the girl, brought her from the battlefield, risking their lives. On the Potsdam Bridge, the very one from which N. Masalov brought the child, in 2003 a sign was erected in memory of the feat committed by the Soviet soldier.

The inverse image

The history of the monument of a soldier with a girl in her arms is known to many, and what was the fate of the one whose feat is embodied in this bronze statue? In the ranks of the Soviet Army, Nicholas was drafted at the age of 17, took courses and received a specialty of a mortar gunner. It was hard to study, because the soldiers had to master in one winter what it should be 2 years.

N. Masalov received baptism of fire in 1942 at the front near Bryansk. The fighting was so heavy that only five soldiers remained alive from the entire company where he served. After this, Nikolai Ivanovich served under the command of General Chuikov and defended the Mamayev Kurgan. Of all his comrades to Berlin, only one captain, Stefanenko, came with him. N. Masalov suffered three injuries and was twice concussed.

After the war, he returned to his native village, and then moved to the city of Tyazhin, where he worked in the kindergarten as a manager. Glory fell upon the hero 20 years after the last volleys of guns died down. A documentary was made about him, all the newspapers wrote about his feat. He managed to visit Berlin. He saw the monument, the prototype of which became. Soviet hero was awarded the title of honorary citizen of Berlin in 1969. Nikolai Ivanovich was humble, and he did not like that his deed was called a feat. He himself said that he did not consider it a heroism. Now Nikolai Ivanovich is no longer alive.

About those who posed for the author

Monument to a Soviet soldier with a girl in the hands of E.V. Vuchetich created from nature. There are several versions about who posed for the author, and, probably, they are all right, because different people could act as models at different times. German sculptor sculpted a sculpture from a three-year-old Sveta - the daughter of General AG. Kotikov, who was commandant of the Soviet sector in Berlin.

According to one data, as a model of the soldier E.V. Vuchetich posed for Colonel V.M. Gounaza. According to another version, it was Sergeant Ivan Odarchenko. It is imprinted on the mosaic panel inside the pedestal twice: in the form of a worker and in the form of a soldier-hero. According to the third version, the chef cook, who served in the Soviet commandant's office of Berlin, posed for the sculptor.

Sculptor

Monument to Sov. A soldier with a girl in his arms created a genius man. He was not only a sculptor, but also he taught, for several years he was president of the Academy of Arts. And what is war, he knew firsthand. In 1941 he volunteered for the front. In 1943, because of heavy concussion, he was commissioned, and he returned to Moscow, where he began to work as a military artist. At the beginning of the war, Evgeni Viktorovich Vuchetich was an ordinary soldier. Comed already in the rank of lieutenant-colonel. The artist created sculptures of leaders, prominent politicians, heroes of war and labor, outstanding generals. All the creations of E.V. Vuchetich life-affirming, they are filled with drama and romanticism. The sculptor died in 1974.

Copies of the monument

A monument to a soldier with a girl in his arms, or rather smaller copies of it, is installed in the cities of Sovetsk (Kaliningrad region), Vereya (Moscow region), Tver, Moscow (at the entrance to the night biker club Night Wolves). Until now, the mock-up of the monument, whose height is 2.5 meters, has been preserved. Until 1964, he was in Germany, then was transported to Serpukhov, where until 2008 he was near the hospital, and in 2009 transferred to the territory of the memorial complex "Cathedral Mountain".

Warrior-liberator in faleristics and numismatics

A monument to a soldier with a girl in his arms was often depicted on coins:

• 1 ruble in 1965;
• A coin of 10 GDR marks (1985);
• 10-ruble coin, dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory (2015 release).

On medals:

• By the twentieth anniversary of the Victory (1965);
• 20 years of the Berlin Brigade (1982 of release);
• Medal "Lviv Union" (1984).

Also, the image of the monument is on the sign of GSVG (a group of Soviet troops in Germany).