The Soviet War Memorial in Vienna, more formally known as the Heroes' Monument of the Red Army is located at Vienna's Schwarzenbergplatz.

The Stalinesque monument consists of a 12 meter tall Red Army soldier on Schwarzenberg Platz who stands atop a 20 meter tall stone pedestal, weapon slung over his shoulder as he guards over the square between Belvedere Castle and the Ring.

At the end of World War II, just like in Berlin, Vienna was divided into four zones occupied by soldiers of the American, British, French and Russian armies. Stalin ordered the construction of the “Heroes’ Monument of the Red Army” (das Heldendenkmal der Roten Armee) immediately after the Russians took over the city on April 14, 1945. On August 19, 1945 the memorial was unveiled to commemorate the approximately 17,000 soldiers of the Russian Red Army who fell during the battle for Vienna in World War II.

The monument has many names which reflect the degree of public acceptance of the memorial – everything from outrage (sometimes ending in vandalism) to tacit acceptance. The names include: Soviet War Memorial, Heroes’ Monument of the Red Army, the Liberation Memorial, the Victory Memorial and Pea Memorial (referring to the 1000 tons of peas Stalin had ordered be sent to the city on May 1, 1945 to be distributed to Vienna’s starving inhabitants).

Inscribed in the memorial are the following words:

"Monument to honor the soldiers of the Soviet army, who died for the liberation of Austria from fascism." Memorial plaque draped in red carnations: “Monument to honor the soldiers of the Soviet army, who died for the liberation of Austria from fascism.”

Eternal glory to the heroes of the Red Army who fell in battle against the German fascist invaders for the freedom and Independence of the peoples of Europe.

Ewiger Ruhm den Helden der Roten Armee, die gefallen sind im Kampf gegen die deutsch-faschistischen Landräuber – für die Freiheit und Unabhängigkeit der Völker Europas.

And also in the middle of the columns, on a metal cube in Russian and German are the following words:

Monument to honor the soldiers of the Soviet army, who died for the liberation of Austria from fascism.

Denkmal zu Ehren der Soldaten der Sowjetarmee, die für die Befreiung Österreichs vom Faschismus gefallen sind.

Though more places were considered for the site of the memorial, Prater, for example, it isn’t hard to imagine why the Viennese would have suggested this spot as the perfect place for such a construction. I wasn’t along for the location tour in 1945 but I can imagine, in a supreme Austrian move of diplomacy, that the good gentlemen of the committee arranged for the large fountain also on the square to be turned off during the site tour. And they kept the high pressure stream fountain (Hochstrahlbrunnen) off throughout the construction period. Those darn fountains – always out of order. And since we’re doing a bit of construction work at this site anyway, why don’t we too use some prisoners of war to do some repair work on our old fountain.