What you are about to read, I would not even call an article. It is more like the script of a dramatic movie (based on real events) or perhaps a TV series. The man in question managed to perform two great feats during wartime and one during peacetime in his 49 years on the planet. I have been studying history since childhood, but this is the first time I have come across such a hero. Let’s take a look at his life.
A.P. Berest
Born on March 9, 1921, in Ukraine, in the village of Goryaystovka, Akhtyrsky District, Sumy Region. His parents were his father – Berest Prokofiy Nikiforovich, worker, carpenter, after 1917 – peasant, who died in 1933 and his mother – Berest Efrosinya Vakumovna, a housewife, who died in 1931. The family of twelve children were left without parents. It was a terrible time – famine. At the age of 12, he was abandoned as an orphan, and for a period he was homeless, then he was kept at an orphanage. Perhaps that is why he was sometimes very direct and harsh. After graduating from school, he worked as a tractor driver and a supply clerk. Then, in order to get into the Soviet-Finnish war, he added two years to his age on documents. This was common practice at the time.
He was sent to the 32nd Rifle Regiment of the Leningrad Military District. One war ended and another began immediately. During the Great Patriotic War, Berest rose from private to political officer of the 756th Rifle Regiment, 150th Rifle Division. Like any person, Berest had his flaws. His personal file reproachfully notes: “I did not read War and Peace.” Apparently, in the snow-covered forests of Finland, he had no time for that; he had to fight…
The legendary 150th Division was deployed on the main line of German defense. The very center of Berlin, government buildings. The Reichstag. The bloodiest battles unfolded behind it. The Reichstag was mainly defended by the SS, who fought desperately, knowing that the Red Army often did not take them prisoner. The Germans had organized a real fortress. Three hundred meters of the fiercely shelled Königsplatz square was their spot, and people were dying one after another. “They fired so hard that the ground shook,” recalled the participants of the battle. Let’s start taking a look at the feats of Berest with the storming of “Himmler’s House.”
1. Moltke Bridge 2. Swiss Embassy Building 3. “Himmler House” 4. Reichstag
The storming of “Himmler’s house”
Regiment commander F. Zinchenko gave the order to attack “Himmler’s house” (the Ministry of Internal Affairs building). But to do this, it was first necessary to take the Swiss embassy, which was located opposite. On the evening of April 28, the Germans blew up the Moltke Bridge, but not completely. The German sappers miscalculated, and the infantry was able to cross to the other side on the half-destroyed structure. The first to do so were units of Neustroev’s battalion at dawn on April 29. Lieutenant Berest led a group of machine gunners to the sinister Maobit prison.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs building (Himmler’s house)
After passing through the tram depot under fire, Berest’s group reached the Spree River and the Moltke Bridge. Together with the main units of the battalion, Berest and his group crossed to the other side and took cover on the bridge. The political officer gave the order to attack the embassy. Berest himself slid into the basement with a fighter and stumbled upon four Germans there. Here is what Karl Kokoschka, associate professor at the University of Berlin, says about this: “Neustroev’s battalion stormed the Swiss embassy. Berest slid into the basement, where he found the Germans and a pile of unused Faustpatronen. Another fighter jumped into the basement with a grenade in his hand… But Berest managed to stop him. Glancing at the Germans, he immediately realized that they were civilians. And indeed, they immediately raised their hands. Thus, Berest saved the lives of four Germans. These locals reported that “Himmler’s house” was defended by SS men and submariners, who had been transferred there on the night of April 28 on Hitler’s orders.
The Germans, learning that the Russians had managed to capture the embassy, were on guard. When they saw the signalmen running with reels, they opened heavy fire on them. They had to lie down. Berest ordered a soldier to make his way to the corner room and shout to the signalmen to tie the cable to a stone and throw it through the window. Berest connected it to a German field telephone. Immediately, he heard Colonel Zinchenko’s voice on the other line: “Have you tried Himmler’s house?” “We’ll try, but we’re outnumbered. Support us with artillery.” “All right, I’ll wait for your reports from ‘Himmler’s house.’” On the night of April 29, Davydov’s battalion joined Neustroev’s fighting troops. Neustroev’s command post was set up in the embassy building. Colonel Zinchenko arrived and ordered Neustroev to take “Himmler’s house.” They had to storm it twice, and a protracted counterattack ensued. Only when Senior Lieutenant Davydov’s units arrived did Berest’s group break into the basement. Neustroev’s battalion and Makov’s group did not reach the first floor until 1:00 p.m. Fighting in the building continued throughout the day on April 29. By 6 a.m., when fresh forces from the 674th Regiment entered the battle, “Himmler’s house” was cleared of the enemy.
Berest’s conflict with a “SMERSH” officer
In “Himmler’s House,” Berest had an incident with a SMERSH officer (those who deal with counter spying). The fact is that when Berest’s fighters broke into Himmler’s safe, they found a large number of award watches intended for German soldiers and officers with the inscription on the back: “For the capture of Moscow.” The Germans never took Moscow, but a pile of commemorative watches remained. Berest distributed these unique watches to soldiers who were preparing to storm the Reichstag. He refused an unfamiliar officer who also wanted a watch, saying that the watches were intended for the soldiers who took Berlin, and he had not seen him there, and in general: “With such long arms, you should stand by the church, they will give you one there…” He took it and was rude to the dubious SMERSH officer in front of everyone.
The storming of the Reichstag
What did we learn in Russian history class about the raising of the Victory Banner over the Reichstag? Yegorov and Kantaria raised the Victory Banner over the dome of the Reichstag on April 30, 1945. However, the fifth volume of the World War II encyclopedia states in black and white: “The Victory Banner was hoisted over the Reichstag by Sergeant Mikhail Yegorov and Junior Sergeant Meliton Kantaria under the command of Lieutenant Alexei Berest. But why were Yegorov and Kantaria awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and Berest was not? Let’s figure it out. But let’s start with the storming of the Reichstag itself. I have already described above the difficulties that awaited our soldiers. I should note right away that the assault itself and the raising of the banner will be described in the context of the battalion in which Berest fought. Other heroes, such as Makov’s group, Gazy Zagitov, and their raising of the first banner (but not on the side of the building that the authorities wanted) deserve a separate article.
The Reichstag
After capturing the Swiss embassy and the Ministry of Internal Affairs building (Himmler’s house), our soldiers approached the Royal Square near the Reichstag. The Nazis had prepared this square and the adjacent Tiergarten park for a long defense: trenches, communication passages, shelters, reinforced concrete bunkers, trenches with machine gun platforms, artillery, four 105 mm batteries, and one 88 mm battery. Several tanks were buried near the front of the building. However, the most unpleasant discovery was a wide reservoir, which then turned into a water-filled moat. In general, the Reichstag’s sophisticated defenses were impressive.
On the morning of April 30, the first attempt to storm the Reichstag by the commander of the 756th Battalion, S. Neustroev, ended in failure. All the main defensive positions: the Moltke Bridge, the Swiss Embassy, and “Himmler’s House” were taken by the soldiers during the night. They decided to do the same with the assault on the Reichstag itself, but either the “great Russian rush” or simply sloppiness in double-checking reliable reports interfered with the planning of the night attack.
Haste makes waste
In the middle of the day, a message arrived at the front headquarters from the commander of the 3rd Shock Army, Colonel General V. Kuznetsov: “The Reichstag has been taken.”
This is how G. Zhukov described the event in his book Memoirs and Reflections.
At about 3:30 p.m., Kuznetsov called me at the command post and joyfully reported: “The Red Banner is flying over the Reichstag. Hurrah, Comrade Marshal!”
The report of the capture spread like wildfire from the bottom up and quickly reached Moscow. From there came congratulations from Joseph Stalin.
“The troops of Colonel General Kuznetsov’s 3rd Assault Army have captured the Reichstag building and today, April 30, 1945, at 2:25 p.m., raised the Soviet flag on it.”
Well, you get the picture. At 2:25 p.m., there was not a single Soviet soldier in the Reichstag building. The assault units had retreated to their starting positions. And the few who did not manage to retreat were hiding in craters.
Zhukov already knew that he had been misled about the time of the capture of the Reichstag, but the marshal had no intention of canceling Order No. 6. And not only because he never canceled his orders on principle, but also because Comrade Stalin had not canceled his congratulations…
Let’s return to the assault itself. Realizing that his battalion was badly battered, Neustroev requested reinforcements from Zinchenko. The latter did not refuse the request and sent about a hundred men led by Captain Matveyev and Sergeant Syanov. The reinforcement was impressive, considering that Neustroev’s battalion had only 350 men.
Scout Zagitov
The scouts agreed in advance on how to proceed on the approaches to the Reichstag’s front doors. During the battle, patrolling the front line and monitoring the situation, they had already identified the most rational route of movement. The most useful role in this was played by Gaziy Zagitov, who had a special talent for navigating perfectly at any time of day, in any emergency situation, and on any terrain. He paid particular attention to the approaches to the water-filled canal, which was about 100-120 meters from the staircase leading to the main entrance. During daytime attacks, this route was a “stumbling block” for the infantry. The bridges thrown across it were swept away by the first artillery barrage. The only things suitable for crossing were pipes slightly submerged in the water and protruding concrete beams. Soldiers who tried to jump over this section were immediately cut down by machine-gun fire. The darkness itself gave them a better chance of overcoming this obstacle and reaching the main entrance, whose door had not been bricked up.
Gaziy Zagitov
All that remained was to wait for darkness and the signal to attack. Three minutes before the end of the artillery preparation, Captain Makov gave the order to storm. Zagitov went first and led the group precisely to the crossing route planned during the day. Zagitov, Minin, Lisimenko, Bobrov, and Makov ran across a large reinforced concrete pipe that was barely visible in the darkness. At that moment, Neustroev and Berest were already deploying their companies behind them. Having reached the front doors, the soldiers were now out of range of the fire coming from the windows. Now, the main task of the vanguard group was to break down the door. But how? They had to resort to an ancient method, where gates were broken down with a battering ram. Soviet soldiers also broke down the front door of the Reichstag in this way.
Once again, Zagitov proved to be the most resourceful. He remembered that when he ran up to the stairs, he stumbled over a rather heavy log lying near the first steps. Ten men swung their battering ram. After several powerful blows, the doors flew open…
Inside the Reichstag
After breaking down the front doors of the Reichstag, our soldiers were unstoppable, as they had had such a hard time approaching it. In the very difficult conditions of night combat in unfamiliar surroundings, command was taken by the officers who were in the vanguard group: Captain Neustroev, Lieutenant Berest, Captain Makov, Chief of Staff Gusev, and Captain Matveev. On their orders, the first thing the soldiers who had broken into the building did was to throw grenades into the corridors of the underground passages, from which the Germans were constantly emerging.
In the Reichstag building
Our additional forces slowly arrived at the Reichstag. The Germans, in turn, crept up from the basements through passages known only to them. Hand-to-hand combat ensued.
Where is the banner?
Meanwhile, the main order to hoist banner No. 5 remained unfulfilled. Well after midnight, Commander F. Zinchenko of the 756th Rifle Regiment arrived at the Reichstag and demanded a report on the situation.
Zinchenko F.M. Commander of the 756th Rifle Regiment
From the memoirs of S. Neustroev: “The colonel was interested in the banner. I tried to explain that there were many banners… and reported that the company, platoon, and squad flags were set up at their positions.
S. Neustroev. Commander of the 1st Battalion of the 756th Rifle Regiment
“You’re wrong, commander,” Zinchenko interrupted me sharply.
“I’m asking where the banner of Military Council No. 5 is. I ordered the head of intelligence to have the banner go into battle with the 1st Company!” the colonel exclaimed indignantly.
And here’s where it gets interesting. They began to investigate and found out that the banner had been left at the regiment headquarters, in “Himmler’s house.” Zinchenko called Major A. Kazakov and ordered: “Immediately arrange for the delivery of Banner No. 5 to the Reichstag. Send it with trusted, reliable soldiers from intelligence.
Meliton Kantaria and Mikhail Egorov
As you may have guessed, these scouts were Egorov and Kantaria. They immediately arrived at the Reichstag with the “necessary banner.”
The banner is there, but there is no flashlight
From the memoirs of S. Neustroev: “Zinchenko set them the task:
‘Go to the roof of the Reichstag immediately! Find a high place where it can be seen from afar and put up the banner. Make sure you attach it securely so that the wind doesn’t blow it away.’”
Twenty minutes later, Yegorov and Kantaria returned.
“What’s the matter?!” Zinchenko asked them angrily.
“It’s dark there, we don’t have a flashlight, we couldn’t find the way to the roof,” Yegorov replied.
The colonel was silent for a minute. Then he spoke quietly, emphasizing each syllable.
“The Supreme Command of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, on behalf of the Communist Party of our Motherland and the entire Soviet people, has ordered us to hoist the Banner of Victory over Berlin. This historic moment has arrived… and you… couldn’t find the way to the roof?!”
Colonel Zinchenko turned sharply to me:
“Comrade battalion commander, ensure that the Victory Banner is hoisted over the Reichstag!”
The Banner of Victory
I ordered Lieutenant Berest:
“Go with the scouts and tie the banner to the pediment above the main entrance.”
“To be on the safe side, I decided to send Berest. He will definitely make it—he is powerful, strong, and determined. If anything happens to Egorov and Kantaria, he will get there,” recalled Neustroev in R. Rosenblit’s documentary film.
People say about such men, “a yard wide at the shoulders.” Berest was indeed a giant: six feet tall, broad-shouldered, with a stubborn face. Berest was not just tall, he was large. He had huge hands with broad, calloused palms. His large face was more square than oval in shape.
The banner remains in place
Zinchenko decides to reinforce Berest, Egorov, and Kantaria with Sergeant Syanov’s machine gunners. Berest additionally takes 10 machine gunners from Shcherbina’s unit.
From the memoirs of S. Neustroev: “The group headed for the upper floors, from where shooting and grenade explosions were immediately heard, but soon everything fell silent… Half an hour passed, but Berest’s group still did not return… But finally, footsteps were heard on the stairs, steady, calm, and heavy. Only Berest could walk like that.”
“The Victory Banner was placed on the bronze equestrian sculpture on the pediment. It was tied with straps. It won’t come off. It will stand for hundreds of years!” Berest reported.
Only God knows how Berest managed to lead the group to the dome of the Reichstag, in complete darkness, in an unfamiliar room, and while fighting.
From the transcript of Berest’s speech at a meeting at the Institute of Marxism-Leninism at the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. (November 15-16, 1961)
“With the support of fire, we began to climb the spiral staircase to the dome of the Reichstag. As a result of artillery fire, the staircase to the top was destroyed, but we managed to overcome this obstacle by forming a ‘human ladder’. I stood, Comrade Kantaria stood on me, and Comrade Egorov stood on him. And at 10:50 p.m., our Soviet flag waved on the dome of the Reichstag.”
Everything is wonderful here — “Russian ingenuity” combined with circus and acrobatic tricks.
No matches needed in the Reichstag
The hoisted banner did not mean that German resistance would be broken. On the morning of May 1, Neustroev’s scouts ran into an ambush by Germans holed up in the basement, resulting in five deaths. As luck would have it, our soldiers had captured several Nazis the night before, who revealed during interrogation that there were extensive rooms under the Reichstag connected by tunnels and passageways. More than 1,000 people were hiding there, led by the lieutenant general, the commandant of the Reichstag. They had large supplies of ammunition, food, and water.
Meanwhile, on Royal Square, the Germans launched an attack and managed to approach the Krol Opera building. They opened heavy fire on the main entrance of the Reichstag. Almost simultaneously, the Nazis, entrenched in the basements, launched a breakthrough. They succeeded in three or four places.
A fire broke out in the building (it contained many wooden structures and mountains of documents). It was impossible not only to fight, but also to remain in the building; people’s clothes were smoldering, their hair and eyebrows were burning. It was impossible to breathe.
Seeing the fiery hell unfolding in the Reichstag, Zinchenko ordered Neustroev to withdraw the battalion, wait until everything burned out, and then go back in. But this was impossible, as part of the company was cut off by the fire. After consulting with each other, Neustroev, Berest, and other commanders decided not to leave the building—to fight in the burning Reichstag. They disobeyed the order and later reported that communication had been lost….
Captain Yarunov’s company, the only one that managed to break through to the Reichstag, came to the aid of those trapped in the “fire pocket.” With their arrival, it was possible to suppress the enemy’s firing points. A lull ensued, and after a while, the Germans hung a white flag from the basement.
Captain Yarunov
And here we smoothly approach Alexei Berest’s second feat within the walls of the Reichstag…
Lieutenant Berest’s gift of persuasion
On May 1, after bloody battles in the Reichstag, the Germans raised the white flag. A negotiator came out and declared that the Reichstag garrison was ready to surrender. But since the generals and colonels were sitting in the dungeons, the negotiator put forward the condition that the surrender must be accepted by an officer of at least colonel rank on our side.
At that time, there was no one higher than a captain among our fighters in the Reichstag. The area around the Reichstag was still under fire, and it was dangerous to pull the commanders out of their headquarters. In addition, during the four years of war, the Germans had not shown themselves in the best light as negotiators, often shooting our negotiators. As you can imagine, there was no line of higher-ranking officers willing to negotiate…
After deliberating, we decided that Berest would go to the negotiations as the “colonel.” To hide his lieutenant’s epaulettes, he put on a leather jacket.
Division military correspondent Vasily Subbotin: “In his black leather jacket, he stood with his head held high — political officer Berest! Distinguished, broad-shouldered, self-confident. One of the Germans said, ‘Young, but already a colonel.’”
Commander of the 150th Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel F.M. Zinchenko: “Berest. It seemed that his heroic figure embodied the indomitable power of our entire army. He walked slowly, firmly, with dignity. He could easily lift several people. The whole regiment loved him. He was very noticeable both in appearance and in combat, bravery, and courage….”
Captain Matveev gave Berest his cap, a new one with a crimson visor. Battalion commander S. Neustroev was chosen as the adjutant to “Colonel” Berest. The third was Ivan Prygunov, a soldier from the recently liberated prisoners of war on the Oder. The boy was short and thin, only in his third day in a gymnasterka. He knew German.
Neustroev had plenty of medals on his chest, which could not be said about Berest. To make him look more important, they borrowed medals from fellow soldiers and attached them to Berest’s tunic.
The soldiers collected all the water they could find so that he could go to the negotiations with the Germans clean and shaven.
Negotiations
Captain Neustroev later admitted that he was frankly afraid to go to the negotiations. He did not want to die at the very end of the war. Everyone’s nerves were on edge. They spoke at gunpoint. The SS men looked at them with hatred.
Going down into the basement, Berest introduced himself as a colonel. And immediately said: “All exits from the basement are blocked. If you try to break through, each of you will be destroyed. I suggest you lay down your arms. I guarantee the lives of all your officers and soldiers.”
The German colonel replied: “It is not yet known who is holding whom captive. There are significantly more of us.” This was the absolute truth. Our troops in the Reichstag building had many wounded and little ammunition, and they had already resorted to using captured weapons.
But Berest immediately countered: “Don’t forget that we are not talking in Moscow, but in Berlin. I repeat, if you don’t surrender, we will destroy you!”
The German colonel replied: “We are aware of our situation and we want to surrender… But your soldiers are agitated and may open fire on us… You must get them out of the building… Then we will come out…
Berest struggled to control himself. He was young and hot-headed. Only 24 years old. His tough character did not lend itself to diplomacy. “We did not fight for four years to now accept your terms,” Berest said.
Then he pointedly looked at his watch and said, “I’ll give you 20 minutes to surrender. Otherwise, we’ll start the assault.”
“And we left the basement,” recalled Neustroev.
“Easy to say ‘left’… But then machine guns and automatic weapons were pointing at our backs. You hear a rustle and it seems like a shot is about to be fired. The road seemed very long. And it had to be walked with a steady, confident step. Credit must be given to Alexei Prokofievich Berest. He walked slowly, his head held high. How much courage it took to walk so calmly, knowing that you were an open target.”
One of the Nazis couldn’t take it anymore and fired at this victorious back — he missed. A firefight ensued. The Germans resorted to grenades. Berest, having emptied the magazines of his pistols and now unarmed, picked up the Kaiser’s arm that had fallen from the statue and struck one of the Germans with it, while the other tried to strangle him from behind. Berest tore him away and threw him onto a grenade. The fascist was blown to pieces, and Berest was wounded by shrapnel in his legs.
In his extensive research article “First Over the Reichstag,” journalist Edwin Polyansky asked Neustroev: “If we forget everything else—the storming of the Reichstag, the Victory Banner—and consider only Berest’s negotiations, are they worthy of the Gold Star?” “Yes, absolutely. It was a heroic deed, and Berest’s great merit lies in the fact that he saved the lives of soldiers. Not only ours, but also German ones.”
“He should have been given the title of Hero. He is a brave man. After the war, people from the awards department came and questioned us about how it all happened, but for some reason he was not given the title,” Sergeant Egorov told military correspondent Subbotin.
The Germans who remained in the Reichstag basements surrendered that same night, by morning. Berest, wounded, ended up in the medical battalion, and the surrender of the German garrison was accepted by Senior Sergeant Syanov.