The late Rodney Dangerfield's well-known line from his comedy routines came to mind during my recent visit to Berlin with World News & Prophecy managing editor Darris McNeely. Maybe that is what some 2500 Soviet soldiers would say if they had a chance – soldiers buried just inside what used to be West-Berlin.

The fierce battle for Berlin in April and May 1945 pitched Soviet troops against German defenders, with the battle being decided near the Reichstag and nearby government buildings. 20,000 Soviet and 20,000 German soldiers died in that battle, along with an estimated 30,000 residents of Berlin. Most of the Soviet soldiers who died in the battle for Berlin were buried in Berlin. 2500 of them found their final resting place just a few hundred yards inside what became postwar West-Berlin, in the "Tiergarten" area between the Brandenburg Gate and the "Siegessäule" (victory column) to the west. The Soviets built a memorial to their victory just a short distance from the Reichstag and the Brandenburg gate, and those 2500 soldiers were buried there, in what became the British zone of West-Berlin. When the two Germanys united in 1990 and the four power status for Berlin came to an end, one of the questions that needed to be settled was how those Soviet war cemeteries would be maintained. The responsibility for the upkeep of the Soviet military cemeteries was transferred to the city of Berlin as part of the overall agreement when Soviet troops left their bases in Eastern Germany.

When Darris and I visited the memorial last week, it was obvious that it is being well maintained. However, I wondered what another country would feel if teens on skateboards were using the memorial for a practice area, with the steps near the graves providing an opportunity to hone their skills (like the two fellows in the top picture). How would Americans feel if this kind of activity took place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or at the memorials at the Normandy landing site? What was even more amazing to me was the sign right in front of the Soviet memorial showing that bicycles and roller skates are not allowed on the memorial site. I guess the letter of law would allow skateboards, since they were not depicted specifically on the sign. Interestingly, the Berlin cathedral is located about one kilometer or so to the east of the memorial, with its underground crypt for several generations of Hohenzollern kings. Visitors to the cathedral crypt are asked to respect the site as a cemetery. I didn’t see anyone on a skateboard down there.

Comment from J. Leslie Booth:

Paul, point well made and taken. However, as you know, just about every other memorial, building or place with concrete steps, abutments, rises or rails, found in the U.S., are marred and damaged by the wheels and trucks of skateboarders and rollerbladers . . . Only heavy guard, patrol and/or barrier is what keeps the rolling-menace from defacing every bit of memorial to our national heritage in America. It’s equally sad to see the youth of other nations taking the same path.