32 - The Way To Berlin
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(From the Tapestry): “March 1945. Along with the 5th Division of the Russian Army, my Polish Army unit crossed the Oder River into Germany. We passed the site of an earlier battle. The Russians had hung Nazi officers on every tree along the road. They looked as though they were still alive. Many other dead Nazis lay scattered across the field, at the edge of which a young pretty Russian soldier stood, pointing the way to Berlin.”
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Embroidery and fabric collage, 1998.
36-9/16″W x 31-1/8″H.
Transcript of Narration
"In March 1945, Esther was on her way to Berlin with the 5th division of the Russian Army and her Polish Army unit. Along the way, they came to the site of an earlier battle, where Russian soldiers had killed and then hung German officers from trees along the road. Esther said that every tree had a soldier.
"Esther was a great admirer of the Russian women soldiers who had enormous courage and impressive strength and skill—they could change a truck tire, for example, my mother would say. Here, she includes one such soldier standing in the road, holding a flag to point the trucks in the direction of Berlin."