BERLIN : Farewell to Allies
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About 2,000 American, British and French soldiers will march down Berlin’s monument-studded Strasse Des Siebzehnten Juni this Saturday as the city of Berlin bids its final, official farewell to the Western Allies who have occupied it since 1945. The last American soldiers are scheduled to leave Germany on Sept. 8.
Although it was the Soviet Red Army that virtually single-handedly overwhelmed Berlin and broke the Nazi power base there 49 years ago, no Russian troops will participate in Saturday’s parade through the city. German authorities instead have scheduled a separate Russian farewell parade in the Berlin suburb of Koepenick.
Though Russians say they would prefer to march down Berlin’s most historic boulevard with their World War II Allies, authorities say it was routine to hold separate Eastern and Western ceremonies during the time the Berlin Wall marked the division of East and West Germany.
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