Tragedy at Halbe

In April 1945, as the Soviet army launched their attack on Berlin, the beleaguered German Ninth Army, along with thousands of refugees fleeing the Soviet advance, found themselves trapped in a tiny pocket near the village of Halbe, southeast of the capital. Instead of surrendering to Soviet forces, the soldiers attempted a desperate breakout. The brutal fighting that ensued led to the loss of more than 40,000 lives – military and civilian. Thousands more were injured or taken prisoner, many of w