Burg: Memorial former western cemetery (Kirchhofstreet)

Kirchhofstraße, 39288 Burg

In the middle of this memorable Soviet cemetery is a T-34 Russian tank, previously used during World War 2. The tank, which stands on a stone foundation symbolizes the glory of the soviet army after they had defeated the fascists. The memorial was not built right after the Second World War, but in the 1970s, thus becoming a belated interpretation of German-Russian history. On the one hand the tank could be understood as a symbol of the destructive power that the Red Army had to develop to fight against Nationalism, and on the other hand it could have stood for the occupation of the eastern part of Germany based on Russian military might. These are the two main reasons why some people may be uncomfortable with the tank. There are similar memorials in Wittenberg and Rosslau, but only the tank in Burg is still in good order. There are forced laborers and dead relatives buried in these cemeteries as well as soldiers of the Russian army.