laststandonzombieisland

It happened 80 years ago today. Red Square, Moscow.

More than 200 captured German military colors– some dating back to before the Kaiser– were ceremoniously trooped and defied some five weeks after VE-Day. Sadly, and in true Stalinist irony, they weren’t carried by Heroes of the Soviet Union or elite guards unit members from the Red Army, but by NKVD Dzerzhinsky Division troops.

Official period caption: “Soviet Activities. Translated German, half-tone photographs show: Captured flags of the fascist Wehrmacht in the Victory Parade in Moscow on 24 June 1945. The natives thanked the Soviet soldiers who smashed fascism and had defended the independence of the Soviet Union.”

Of note, the Soviets ranked the captured banners in their order of precedence, with the staff of the 1st SS Panzer Division “Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler” (LSSAH) shown first. From the publication, “Die Sowjetarmee Unser Waffenbruder” Courtesy of the Library of Congress. Lot-8066-1

They included not only standards captured on the battlefield but also those from garrisons and museums encountered while on the march across Eastern Europe. They included the circa 1813 colors of the old Prussian 4th Hussar Regiment, which had been carried at Waterloo, but also Luftwaffe, SS, and Army flags of all stripes, including regimental, battalion, and company (Abteilung) level ensigns.

Most standards are now housed in the Central Armed Forces Museum in Moscow.