a man holding a Soviet flag over a city turned to rubble

The Soviet victory in the Battle of Berlin finished Nazi Germany

In May 1945, the Red Army barreled into Berlin and captured the city, the final step in defeating the Third Reich and ending World War II in Europe.

In one of the war’s most iconic images, Soviet soldiers raise their flag over the ruins of the Reichstag, Berlin, on May 2, 1945.
YEVGENY KHALDEI/GETTY IMAGES
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