The Battle of Berlin | The Counterattack by Felix Steiner
April 21, 1945. In the center of the Reich's capital, a sound was heard that was unlike any other Berliners had heard before; it was different from the whistling of falling bombs or the crackling of anti-aircraft fire. Intrigued, the shoppers queuing at the entrance to the Karlstadt department store on Hermannplatz listened: it was a high-pitched sound coming from far away and intensifying into a terrible, piercing shriek. For an instant, the shoppers seemed mesmerized. Then, suddenly, the lines of people broke up. But it was too late. Artillery shells, the first to reach the city exploded in the square. Pieces of human flesh smashed against the store front. Men and women screamed and writhed in agony in the middle of the street. It was exactly 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 21. Berlin had become the front line.