Berlin 1945

Moments of the End and the New Beginning

Photo Exhibition: 1 to 10 May 2026

On the night of 8–9 May 1945, the Second World War in Europe came to an end with the signing of the surrender in the building that is now the Museum Berlin-Karlshorst. This historic event marks its 81st anniversary.

In May 1945, Berlin lies in ruins: the sound of shelling, crumbling walls, fragments of shattered words, desperate screams. Smoke hangs over the ruins of a city that was once magnificent, now destroyed. In this place, where the Second World War in Europe began on 1 September 1939, it comes to an end. On the path to peace, tens of thousands of soldiers and residents lose their lives. Here, where the Nazi regime of terror inflicted unimaginable suffering right up to the very last moment, life begins anew. Birdsong, warming rays of sunshine, children’s laughter – spring blossoms in the city.

“Berlin 1945 – Moments of the End and the New Beginning” presents rare and previously unpublished photographs and documents from the archive of historian and author Robert Kraska. The exhibition focuses on this defining event in German and European history and aims to pay tribute to all those who lost their lives in the war, as well as to the survivors who sought a new beginning amidst the rubble.

The carefully selected photographs document not only the destruction of Berlin and the fierce fighting, but also the impact of the war’s end on the city and its inhabitants. The documents on display offer an authentic insight into the final chapter of the Second World War in Europe. At a time of global political and social tensions, it is important to preserve the memory of the horrors of war.

Exhibition team: Christoph Blase, Nico Hübner (FBB_1945), Robert Kraska und Jürgen Wedemeyer.