Museum Berlin-Karlshorst: the 1945 surrender room, free admission

Updated on October 5, 2026

Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender was signed in the night of 8 to 9 May 1945 in this former officers' mess of the Wehrmacht engineers' school in Berlin-Karlshorst. The room where the signatories sat is still there, in its original state, and the museum around it tells the story of the German-Soviet war from 1941 to 1945. Long known as the German-Russian Museum, it has officially been called Museum Berlin-Karlshorst since 2022. Admission is free. Allow an hour and a half to two hours for the visit, plus the journey: the museum is in the east of the city, far from the usual tourist routes.

Highlights

The surrender building

Built in the late 1930s for the Wehrmacht engineers' school, it housed the Soviet military administration in Germany from June 1945. From 1967 to 1994 a Soviet military museum presented the "Great Patriotic War" here; the German-Russian Museum took over in May 1995.

The surrender room

Left as it was, it shows continuous screenings of footage of the signing of the instrument of surrender. It is the heart of the visit and the reason to come all the way to Karlshorst.

The permanent exhibition

Over roughly 1,000 m², it traces German-Soviet relations from 1917 to 1990 and above all the war of 1941-1945, from the point of view of both countries and the occupied lands, with objects, photos and testimonies.

The grounds

Military equipment of the period stands outdoors around the building, freely accessible during the museum's opening hours.

Practical info

Tips

Admission to the museum is free. The audio guide costs €3 at reception (€1 reduced) and is available in German, English, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, French and Polish (prices checked in October 2026). The building is wheelchair accessible (lifts and ramps), and wheelchairs can be borrowed on request. To put the visit in context, see the Soviet war memorial in Treptower Park, built for the soldiers who fell in the Battle of Berlin, and our guide Berlin and World War II. The district is covered in our Lichtenberg guide.

How to get there

Zwieseler Straße 4, 10318 Berlin-Karlshorst. By S-Bahn, take the S3 to Karlshorst (about 32 minutes from Friedrichstraße), then bus 296. Or take the U5 to Tierpark (about 28 minutes from Alexanderplatz), then bus 296. The Tierpark is a few minutes away by bus: the two visits combine well in a single day.