Geography of the USSR. Smolensk under the german occupation

[TabsTabs1964]

Now we are going to look at that building badly damaged by the explosions, from which even a part of its concrete structure has collapsed. It was the great printing press of the Pravda Newspaper of the Red Army, whose headquarters and administrative building are right next door. The Germans called it: Druckerei, the printing house.



Above an image prior to the blasting and demolition by German sappers of the most damaged part of the building's structure

[TabsTabs1964]

We will see the office building of the Krasnoarmeyskaya Pravda newspaper now.



Is this marked with the red arrow



Photo taken by a member of the Sturm Pi.Btl.43



In several places it is said that there was a Luftwaffe dental clinic here, but the building is completely destroyed inside. If you look closely at the map, that clinic was actually across the street.


Haus der Prawda

[TabsTabs1964]

I will now try to give a perimeter panoramic view with several images taken almost from the same point of the square.


The destroyed Printing House and the Krasnoarmeyskaya Pravda newspaper


Building on Smirnov Square On the left, the NKVD Workers' House (built in 1938-1941), the wooden houses on the right have not survived.


The Press House destroyed, again, and the kiosks in Smirnov Square To the right is the House of the NKVD workers.


another forest of signs next to the BT7 tank.

[TabsTabs1964]

Finally a different view.
The orderlies get injured from the ambulances in the background you can see a piece of the department store building and the roof of the hotel.



The photo is taken from here:



On Smirnova street, almost in front of the department store building (which we will talk about later)





The reason is that there was a hospital there.

[Chopperman]

Really interesting thread.

[wpheaton]

Thank You.

William

[toot]

please keep them coming!

[TWS]

Great work Santi! Very interesting thread.

[TabsTabs1964]

Now we have to talk about the Smolensk Hotel.
It´s a "Soviet" style building built in the 30s



In the previous posts we saw the city from the terrace or upper gallery of the hotel.
Now we go down to the street and walk across the square to the Soviet BT7 tank and turn our gaze to the building of the Smolensk Hotel.
This is what the German soldiers saw

[TabsTabs1964]