Talk:Nikolai Berzarin

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This article is totally unsourced and quite clearly POV. To show some contrary opinions:

Mr. Barzarin, one of the youngest Generals of the Soviet Army, served as a commandant of the defeated Berlin from April 28th to June 16th, 1945. This extraordinary man made every effort to save Berlin from hunger immediately after Nazi Germany's capitulation. His personal contribution is widely acknowledged. It was he who was responsible for the restoration of normal life in the city. He died in an accident that remains a mystery for many historians.[1]

Colonel General Nikolai Berzarin was now the formal commandant of Berlin. He was a very conscientious man, trying to keep Berliners fed and restore the city to working order, and even dropping into messhalls to casually chat with the citizenry. He would be later killed in a completely idiotic traffic accident, and Berliners would mourn him, with rumors floating around that Berzarin had actually been murdered by the NKVD.[2]

Or, for that matter: de:Nikolai Erastowitsch Bersarin.

--jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 15:10, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

Hello, for me it is quite sure that the text here is based on the same user. In de.wp he changed the first paragraph to this version, which is in translation pretty the same like the text here. The date and time of the edits also fit together. The user Menschenrechtler was registered yesterday in de.wp.
If i take a look on "died 16 June 1945 in Berlin) war a Russian Red Army" i see the not translated word "war" ("was" in english), which is in the de.wp article at the same position, obviously the author forget to translate it from the german text.
I don't know if there is any truth in the edits, but to describe Bersarin as a war criminal and a person who "is responsible for mass rapes of women and other crimes against the civilian population" is first undocumented and second untrustworthy. The best we can do is to take a book about Bersarin and write the known and documented facts into the article. I doubt that the author can document his version. I hope i could help. greetings --BLueFiSH  15:40, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

The crimes that happened in Berlin during Soviet occupation is described in the book Berlin - The Downfall 1945 by Anthony Beevor. As these crimes happened under the command of Berzarin, he was responsible. He is also known for his deportation of 40,000 Balts. There obviously was a reason for why the democratic government of Berlin removed him from the list of honorary citizens after the fall of communism, and this was the reason. Similarly, there obviously is a reason for why a party classified as left-extreme by the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz and a senator known for defamation of victims of Stasi terror chose to reverse the decision of democratic parties: an attempt to distort history by those opposed to democracy and human rights, those who were the Täter during the stalinist dictatorship. This man is without doubt by all recognized standards a major war criminal, who should have faced a death sentence in Nuremberg. Donnog 19:46, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

Even the German Wikipedia (version protected by some PDS member) writes:

"1975 wurde ihm postum die Ehrenbürgerschaft Ost-Berlins verliehen. 1992 wurde er aus der Ehrenbürgerliste gestrichen, da er als Oberkommandierender der Roten Armee im Baltikum für die Deportation von über 40000 Balten im Juni 1941 verantwortlich war. Am 11. Februar 2003 verlieh im das Berliner Abgeordnetenhaus erneut die Ehrenbürgerschaft Berlins. Die Entscheidung war Anlass heftiger Kritik. Gegner dieser Entscheidung sehen seinen Einsatz für die Wiederbelebung Berlins als reine Pflichterfüllung an und bewerten seine Beteiligung am Stalin-Regime als verwerflich." Donnog 20:03, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

Deportation of civilians (ethnic cleansing) is a serious war crime. Donnog 20:04, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

  • And this is why you made the article say he was responsible for the "mass rapes of women"? I'm sorry, but every so-called translation you've made from German is biased to the point of bigotry. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 00:36, 4 May 2006 (UTC)
    • Yes, this is why I'm saying he was responsible for the mass rapes of women the forces under his command committed. Donnog 00:51, 4 May 2006 (UTC)
    • Anyway, this is not a translation from German. The German article is deliberately downplaying his war crimes, and does not even mention in the introduction that the man was responsible for the deportation of 40,000 people. Donnog 00:59, 4 May 2006 (UTC)
      • "version protected by some PDS member": EOD for me, also in de.wp. ciao. --BLueFiSH  04:15, 4 May 2006 (UTC)


  • I've replaced the entire article with a start at a translation of the German article. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 00:36, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Left-extreme neo-stalinist propaganda removed. Donnog 15:06, 5 July 2006 (UTC)