‘Star’ Brest Hero-Fortress Memorial Complex

Location: Brest, Belarus

Completed: 1971

Architects: Vladimir Karol, Viktor Volchak, Valentin Zankovich,  Yuri Kazakov,  Oleg Stakhovich, Georgy Sysoev (architects), Alexander Kibalnikov, Andrei Bembel and Vladimir Bobyl (sculptors)

Genre: Soviet memorial, former USSR

The defence of Brest Fortress (22-29 June 1941) was the first battle of Operation Barbarossa, the code word used by the Nazis for their all-out attack on the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War (World War II). ‘Star’ is the main entrance to the memorial complex and the five-pointed star, which is carved into a reinforced concrete block, symbolises military honour. The Soviet war song ‘Holy War’ (composed in 1941 by Alexander Aleksandrov (music) and Vasilii Lebedev-Kumach (lyrics)), along with an archive propaganda message about Nazi Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union (read by Yuri Levitan, who was the primary radio announcer in the Soviet Union during and after World War II) plays on a continual loop in the passageway. More information about Brest Fortress.

‘Star’ Brest Hero-Fortress Memorial Complex in Brest, Belarus | Soviet memorial | former USSR

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