Link of Times: Brest Fortress 1941–2015

Peaceful sky above the fortress of Brest, Happy faces in a cramped apartment, Waltz, political instructor invites the bride, A brand new cube shines on the buttonhole.

And outside the window, outside the window is the beauty of the new moon, Weeping willows whisper with the Bug. Year forty-one, beginning of June, Still alive, still alive, still alive, everything, everything, everything.

The Brest Fortress took upon itself the very first blow of the Nazis. At 04:15 am on June 22, 1941, heavy artillery fire fell on the fortress, then German assault groups went on the attack. Despite the unexpected blow, the garrison of the fortress offered heroic resistance to the invaders. In conditions of continuous bombing and shelling, left without water, food and communications, organized resistance to the superior enemy continued until June 30. After that, separate groups of the defenders of the fortress and individual heroes fought the Nazis for another month, hiding in the ruins and dungeons. The destruction that we see in the photographs allows us to imagine the degree of fierce fighting for the citadel.

It is clear that our fighters and commanders had no time for photographs, and we can only use German photo chronicles, and, as you know, they are most often one-sided. Nevertheless, I tried to restore a small picture of events and tie it to today.

(Total 27 photos)

Sergei Larenkov says: “First, I would like to briefly thank those who helped me in Brest. Many thanks to my friend San Sanych schurik2. He did a similar series of works in Brest much earlier than I did, some of them are repeated here, but most of them are completely different. He also has very interesting works in Voronezh. Most of the original photos and their discussion can be found on the fortification.ru forum. Thanks to Yuriy Grudovik for his help in Brest, I recommend him as a person who knows the fortress and its history perfectly, and will help with accommodation. I also thank Oleg Polishchuk for his help in finding places.”

1. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. The Nazis on the Kholmsky bridge.

2. Brest Fortress 1920s - 2013. Kholmsky bridge before reconstruction.

3. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. A German PAK-38 cannon fires at the Kholmsky Gates of the Brest Fortress.

4. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. Kholmsky bridge, repair.

5. Brest Fortress 1930s - 2013. Pre-war volleyball in the fortress. This photo could also have been taken near other sections of the Ring Barracks, most of which has not been preserved.

6. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. The Germans at the Terespol Gate and the barracks of the 333rd Infantry Regiment.

7. Brest Fortress 1940–2013. Terespol gates and barracks: on the left - the 9th outpost of the 17th Red Banner border detachment, on the right - the 333rd rifle regiment.

8. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. Terespol Gate from the Bug. The ground level at the gate was one and a half meters higher than it is now

9. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. The Germans at the Terespol Gate. You can clearly see the difference in the height of the soil at the gate then and today.

10. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. Bronze border guards engage in battle with the Nazis at the walls of their outpost.

11. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. German soldier at the walls of the citadel.

12. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. Bridge at the Three-arch Gate. From the wall of the Ring Barracks in this place, only the mothballed foundation has been preserved. Bullet holes remained on the fence of the bridge, which made it possible to accurately bind according to the old photograph.

13. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. Bridge at the Three-arch Gate. Behind the bridge you can see the restored cathedral and the unpreserved wall of the Ring Barracks.

14. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. The unpreserved Three-arch Gate. On the right is the main monument of the memorial - "Courage".

15. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. Triangular gates.

16. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. Captured soldiers at the South Gate of the fortress. I had to shoot from the thickets, so the quality is not very good. And the shrub grows the same.

17. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. Captured Soviet officer.

18. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. The wall of the Ring Barracks from the side of the Bug, the Terespol Gates are visible in the distance.

19. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. Cannons on the territory of the fortress after the end of the fighting.

20. Brest Fortress 1941–2013. Hitler and Mussolini in the fortress in August 1941. In the background is St. Nicholas Garrison Cathedral.

21. Brest Fortress 1910s - 2013. St. Nicholas Garrison Cathedral. The cathedral was built in 1876, consecrated in 1878. Rebuilt beyond recognition under the Polish authorities, and then turned into a garrison club, the cathedral was badly damaged during the defense of the fortress. Now completely restored to its original form.

22. Brest Fortress 1930s - 2013. St. Nicholas Garrison Cathedral, rebuilt by the Poles into the Catholic Church of St. Casimir and restored again.

23. Brest Fortress 1930s - 2013. St. Nicholas Garrison Cathedral.

24. Brest Fortress 1950s - 2013. Destruction of St. Nicholas Garrison Cathedral.

25. Brest Fortress 1941-2013. German equipment at the North-Western Gate of the Brest Fortress.

26. Brest Fortress 1941-2013. The painting by Pyotr Aleksandrovich Krivonogov “Defenders of the Brest Fortress” was painted in 1951.

27. Brest Fortress 1944-2013. The Russian soldier is back. On July 28, 1944, Brest was liberated from the Nazi invaders.