Fall of Berlin - 1945
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The Fall of Berlin - 1945 is a Soviet propaganda documentary film about the Battle of Berlin.
The film begins with an animated map of Eastern Europe with Soviet soldier double exposed on the bottom. The narrator lists the names of the rivers that the Red Army crosses as they march west: Volda, Dniester, Bug, Vistula, and finally, Oder. At the the Soviet arrival at the Oder river is shown, along with the broken bridges. The Red Army is undeterred, however, and crosses the river while under German fire. The use of missile artillery by the Soviets is rather impressively showcased.
After the Oder is crossed, it isn't long until the assault on Berlin itself begins. Footage of the actual battle is shown, as the Red Army fights the Nazis, street by street, building by building. This is interspersed with shots of Nazi propaganda films showing parades in the same areas, providing a since of irony. A dramatic sequence follows a detachment of the Red Army in the assault on the Reichstag, which ends with the famous photograph, raising the Red Flag over the Reichstag.
