"Parashuting marines": the Soviet view of the participation of the Kriegsmarine sailors in the battle of Berlin and an attempt of its deconstruction

The purpose of the research is to study Soviet sources related to the participation of Kriegsmarine sailors in the Battle of Berlin and to analyse them critically.Methodology.The research was conducted using the general scientific methods of deduction and induction, as well as the methods of critical and comparative analysis.Scientific novelty.For the first time in historiography is made an attempt to critically analyse Soviet sources on the participation of Kriegsmarine sailors in the Battle of Berlin.The main role in this attempt was played by the data obtained during the study of the operation Reichskanzlei, which, in turn, allowed us to compare them with the Soviet ones and draw a conclusion about the degree of truthfulness and objectivity of these sources.Conclusions.The analysis of Soviet sources on the participation of Kriegsmarine sailors in the Battle of Berlin has shown that the information provided in them is extremely inaccurate and contains a number of falsifications.The original data obtained during the previous study of the German operation Reichskanzlei allowed us to critically analyse Soviet sources that refer to the participation of Kriegsmarine soldiers in the Battle of Berlin and verify the data provided in them.In turn, this made it possible to refute Soviet falsifications.In particular, the claims of Marshal Georgy Zhukov about the parachute landing of a marine battalion in the Reichstag area and Major General Viktor Shatilov about the attack of the same battalion on the positions of the Soviet 150th Infantry Division were refuted.Soviet reports about their parachute landing and the specific equipment were also not confirmed.The study has shown that Soviet archival sources and memoirs about the Berlin operation should be taken with a certain degree of scepticism and used for research only after a comprehensive critical analysis in order to verify their authenticity.