Museumsportal Berlin

On May 8, 1945, World War II was brought to an end with the surrender of the German Wehrmacht at Berlin-Karlshorst. The bloodiest conflict of modern history to date claimed the lives of at least 50 million people. The attempt to achieve world domination by the German National Socialists under the leadership of Adolf Hitler ended with vast destruction in Germany and abroad. Particularly brutal battles were fought between the German and Soviet troops as a result of National Socialist ideology, which sought to enslave and extinguish the Slavic people.
In 1967, the Soviet troops stationed in the GDR founded the Museum der bedingungslosen Kapitulation des faschistischen Deutschland im Großen Vaterländischen Krieg 1941-1945 ("Museum of the Unconditional Surrender of Fascist Germany in the ´Great Patriotic War´ of 1941-1945"). The museum was located in the same building where the signing of Unconditional Surrender to the Soviets took place in 1945. Initially, the museum was open only to members of the Soviet Army, however, it soon opened to the general public.
German unification on October 3, 1990 and the withdrawal of the Soviet troops raised new questions as to the future of the museum as well as the artefacts it contained. The Soviets offered to maintain the collection at Karlshorst and to allow for the continuation of the museum.
On behalf of the Federal Government of Germany and the "Senate" of Berlin, the German Historical Museum, in conjunction with their Soviet partners, was given the task of drawing up a new concept for the museum. A committee of German and Soviet (now Russian) experts, consisting of political and military historians, archivists and museum experts was appointed for this purpose. The committee began drawing up plans on April 14, 1991 and by October 1992 had created a broad concept for the future and re-evaluation of the museum Berlin-Karlshorst.
The museum opened its doors to the public on May 10, 1995.