Raising a flag over the Reichstag

Captured on May 2, 1945, this photograph shows a Soviet soldier raising the hammer and sickle flag over the Reichstag building in Berlin, marking the end of Nazi Germany in Europe. Yevgeny Khaldei, a photographer for the Soviet news agency TASS, staged this moment days after the actual fighting had ended. He even brought his own flag, sewn from tablecloths by his uncle, and asked soldiers who happened to be nearby to climb up and pose. The smoke rising from the ruined city behind them was real, the aftermath of one of the most brutal battles of the war.

There is a famous detail in this image that reveals how photographs can be shaped to tell a particular story. In the original version, the soldier steadying his comrade wore a wristwatch on each arm, a sign of looting. Before publication, Khaldei carefully scratched one of the watches out of the negative to avoid embarrassment for the Soviet army. He also darkened the smoke to make the scene feel more dramatic. The picture became one of the defining images of the Second World War, often compared to the American photograph of soldiers raising the flag at Iwo Jima.

Honest as a record of victory and clever as a piece of propaganda, the image works on both levels. It reminds us that even our most iconic pictures of history are sometimes arranged, edited, and polished to leave a lasting impression.