Russian Federation / Prokhorovka (Prochorowka)

Memorial to the Battle of Kursk

Мемориальный комплекс Прохоровское поле

In the small Russian town of Prokhorovka about 100 km south of Kursk a monumental memorial complex remembers one of the largest tank battles in history, fought between Wehrmacht and Red Army in 1943.

History

In 1942/43 the Red Army could successfully drive back the Wehrmacht westwards, their advances resulting in the 200 km deep Kursk salient (also known as the Kursk bulge). This sector was of of a highly strategic importance since it had become a stronghold for the Soviet forces and because from Kursk the Wehrmacht would be able to advance south or even towards Moscow. Therefor the Wehrmacht High Command in 1943 planned to encircle the Russian troops in the Kursk bulge in a pincer movement. Because of various shortages Hitler postponed the attack until summer, hoping to be able to attack with a larger army. The Soviet command also expected a German attack. Their plan was to attack the Germans after a successful defensive battle and to drive them back further. Additional troops and tanks were redeployed to Kursk, the battlefield was mined and honeycombed with antitank ditches.
In the morning of July 5, 1943 »Operation Citadel« started: About 900,000 German soldiers and 2,700 tanks faced 1,3 million Red Army soldiers and 3,400 tanks. In the north the Red Army brought the German attack to a halt within days. The stronger and bigger section of the German army was in the south and was able to advance about 30 km. On July 11 the German troops started an attack near Prokhorovka. Following some quick success the armoured forces met with a bigger group of Soviet tanks which had been brought up as reinforcements on July 12. Despite being outnumbered, the German tanks inflicted terribly casualties on the Red Army. Nevertheless the German Wehrmacht abandoned the operation on July 13. On the one hand because the overall goal, the encirclement of Kursk couldn't be achieved, on the other hand because of the allied invasion of Sicily forced the German leadership to redeploy troops elsewhere.

Near Prokhorovka, 1943, A German tank in combat, Bundesarchiv, Bild 101III-Groenert-019-23A, Grönert, CC-BY-SA

rokhorovka, 2008, Victory bell, Adam Jones, Ph.D./Global Photo Archive

Victims

In the battle of Prokhorovka about 500 German soldiers and up to 5,000 red Army soldiers died. Approximately 50 German tanks were destroyed or incapacitated whereas more than 230 Soviet tanks were destroyed. During the entire »Operation Citadel« approximately 180,000 Soviet and about 55,000 German soldiers lost their lives. Despite the high losses of men and material the Red Army continued their attack against Wehrmacht emplacements after July 13, 1943 as planned. Right through into August 1943 the Red Army was able to retake important territory, again accepting heavy casualties.

In the Russian Federation, the 9 May – the anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War against »Hitlerite Fascism« – is the most important public holiday to have been retained from the country’s Soviet past. On 23 August 1939 the Soviet Union, led by Josef Stalin (1878–1953), initially signed a »non-aggression pact« with the Third Reich. This pact defined the »spheres of interest« of both regimes in East Central Europe and contained the provision to divide Poland between them. On June 22, 1941 the German Wehrmacht and its allies commenced their invasion of Soviet territory. Recent research estimates that by the end of the war in 1945 there had been up to 28 million civilian and military deaths in occupied Soviet territory. The Soviet culture of memory continues to have an impact on today’s Russia. Its symbols, such as the monumental style memorials in Saint Petersburg or Volgograd, are still popular and used to stage large-scale memorial services such as on 9 May. However, these sites of memory are less places of mourning and remembrance of the victims than places to honour wartime heroes. For a long time the victims were not remembered at all, and later they were classed as »victims of fascism«. The influence of this approach to the past can be seen, for example, in the conflict surrounding a sculpture put up in 1995 in front of the Great Patriotic War Museum in the capital Moscow. Entitled »Tragedy of Peoples«, the monument is dedicated to the approximately twenty million civilian victims in the Soviet Union between 1941 and 1944 and was intended to bring about a turnaround in the Russian culture of memory. However, the monument had to be moved behind the building following intense criticism, also from the general public, that the message was too pessimistic. At the same time, however, there were also non-governmental human rights organisations such as »Memorial«, which deal with repressed aspects of history, for example the prisoners of war from the Red Army and forced labourers held captive in Germany during the Second World War. Upon their return to the Soviet Union, these individuals were classed as traitors, universally accused of collaborating with the Germans and again imprisoned in camps. In terms of official state remembrance, there are regular remembrance initiatives on the part of committed local departments for culture, which have succeeding in establishing specific memorials as well as a culture of remembrance that includes the victims. It is often thanks to the commitment of individuals or Jewish communities that small sites of memory have been able to emerge in a number of locations, often funded with the smallest of budgets. After 1941, some 100,000 Soviet Jews died on the territory of today’s Russian Federation, mainly as a result of mass shootings carried out by SS Einsatzgruppen and their auxiliaries. They were remembered as »peaceful citizens« in the Soviet period. It is only since the early 1990s that additional plaques have been put up at official monuments and that Jewish victims have been named or commemorated by translating the inscriptions into Hebrew. There was also rudimentary Russian research into the Holocaust. In 2012, the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre was opened in Moscow, acknowledged also by international experts. At the same time, however, the political regime ruling the country has become more and more nationalistic. State propaganda is dominated by an openly revisionist historical narrative which has only turned more aggressive with the war of aggression against Ukraine. Important civil society organisations, including »Memorial«, have been repressed severely.

Remembrance

Although the battles near Prokhorovka were military operations in the context of »Operation Citadel«, they have been glorified in post-war times as the »Battle of Prokhorovka« and the »Greatest Tank Battle in History«. Although no side emerged victorious the Soviet propaganda declared it the victory of Kursk: Thousands of tanks are said to have clashed in Prokhorovka, after battles lasting for days and heavy German casualties the Red Army eventually came off victorious. This version was probably used to justify the Red Army's heavy casualties. The legend of the victorious battle of the Red Army strengthened over the years. The fact of the matter is that after this battle the Wehrmacht was unable to mount any bigger offensives on the eastern front.
In 1995 a monumental memorial was erected near Prokhorovka, remembering the fallen Soviet soldiers and the Red Army's victory. The principle elements of the complex are a victory bell, a church and a burial site for fallen Red Army soldiers. They are flanked by numerous tanks and sculptures. The memorial was designed by the Kursk sculptor Vyacheslav Klykov. In addition a museum was opened in 2010.

Prokhorovka, 2008, Relief of General Zhukov on the victory bell, Adam Jones, Ph.D./Global Photo Archive

Prokhorovka, 2008, Memorial complex for the fallen Red Army soldiers, Adam Jones, Ph.D./Global Photo Archive

Possibilities

Permanent exhibition, cultural centre, hotel, restaurant, library

Open

The memorial is accessible at all times. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.

Contact

http://www.prohorovskoe-pole.ru/

Proh_muz@mail.ru

+7(47242) 22 372

ul. Parkowaja, 47
309000 Prochorowka

Prokhorovka, 2010, Museum and memorial to the battle, Alexander Saprykin

Near Prokhorovka, 1943, A German soldier inspecting a knocked out Soviet tank, Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-219-0553A-36, Koch, CC-BY-SA

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