April 21st 1945; Russian troops captured some outlying suburbs of Berlin at the beginning of what promises to be a bitter battle for control of the city. The Red Army approached the German capital from three directions, north, east and south-east. The north-eastern suburb of Weissensee is the closest to the centre being only three miles away. The Nazi minister of propaganda, Josef Goebbels, issued a statement saying Berlin will be defended to the last. He said anyone who showed cowardice, hoisted the white flag or attempted sabotage would be treated as outlaws.

The Germans were terrified of what might happen to them if Berlin falls into Soviet hands. Since 1941 Nazi forces have laid waste to large parts of the Soviet Union. The Soviet troops under Marshal Georgi Zhukov were pushing towards Berlin from the north and east and Marshal Ivan Konev and his forces from the south. Both keen to achieve the honour of capturing Berlin, the heart of the Nazi movement.