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Zoo Tower

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Towers completed in 1941World War II artillery of Germany
Maj 1945 schron Berlin ZOO
Maj 1945 schron Berlin ZOO

The Zoo flak tower (German: Flakturm Tiergarten, Tiergarten Flak Tower or commonly referred to as the "Zoo Tower") was a fortified flak tower that existed in Berlin from 1941 to 1947. It was one of several flak towers that protected Berlin from Allied bomber raids. Its primary role was as a gun platform to protect the government building district of Berlin; in addition, the Hochbunker (blockhouse) was designed to be used as a civilian air-raid shelter. It also contained a hospital and a radio transmitter for use by the German leadership, and provided secure storage facilities for art treasures.During the Battle of Berlin, it acted as a citadel and by depressing its large anti-aircraft artillery, its garrison was able to provide support for ground operations against the Soviet Red Army.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Zoo Tower (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Zoo Tower
Hardenbergplatz, Berlin Tiergarten

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 52.51 ° E 13.3358 °
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Address

Zoo Berlin (Zoologischer Garten Berlin)

Hardenbergplatz 8
10787 Berlin, Tiergarten
Germany
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Phone number
Zoologischer Garten Berlin AG

call+4930254010

Website
zoo-berlin.de

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Maj 1945 schron Berlin ZOO
Maj 1945 schron Berlin ZOO
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Assassination of Talaat Pasha
Assassination of Talaat Pasha

On 15 March 1921, Armenian student Soghomon Tehlirian killed Talaat Pasha—former grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire and the main architect of the Armenian genocide—in Berlin. At his trial, Tehlirian argued, "I have killed a man, but I am not a murderer"; the jury acquitted him. Tehlirian came from Erzindjan in the Ottoman Empire but moved to Serbia before the war. He served in the Armenian volunteer units of the Russian army and lost most of his family in the genocide. Deciding to take revenge, he assassinated Harutiun Mgrditichian, who helped the Ottoman secret police, in Constantinople. Tehlirian joined Operation Nemesis, a clandestine program carried out by the Dashnaktsutyun (the Armenian Revolutionary Federation); he was chosen for the mission to assassinate Talaat due to his previous success. Talaat had already been convicted and sentenced to death by an Ottoman court-martial, but was living in Berlin with the permission of the Government of Germany. Many prominent Germans attended Talaat's funeral; the German Foreign Office sent a wreath saying, "To a great statesman and a faithful friend." Tehlirian's trial was held 2–3 June 1921, and the defense strategy was to put Talaat on trial for the Armenian genocide. Extensive evidence on the genocide was heard, resulting in "one of the most spectacular trials of the twentieth century", according to Stefan Ihrig. Tehlirian claimed he had acted alone and that the killing was not premeditated, telling a dramatic and realistic, but untrue, story of surviving the genocide and witnessing the deaths of his family members. The international media widely reported on the trial, which brought attention and recognition of the facts of the Armenian genocide; Tehlirian's acquittal brought mostly favorable reactions. Both Talaat Pasha and Tehlirian are considered by their respective sides to be heroes; historian Alp Yenen refers to this relationship as the "Talat–Tehlirian complex". Talaat was buried in Germany, but Turkey repatriated his remains in 1943 and gave him a state funeral. Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin read about the trial in the news and was inspired to conceptualize the crime of genocide in international law.