Reich Chancellery Eagle Mystery

TL;DR

A massive bronze eagle from Hitler's Reich Chancellery ended up at London's Imperial War Museum, but how it left Soviet-controlled Berlin remains unknown.

Key Points

• 1.The eagle on display in London likely came from the Mosaic Hall inside the Reich Chancellery. Sculpted by Kurt Schmidt-Ehmen, it has a 113-inch wingspan, stands 75 inches tall, weighs 550 lbs, and depicts a Reichsadler (state eagle) looking over its right shoulder.
• 2.A second eagle from the same site is now in Moscow. British Army photographs from July 1945 show Red Army troops and German civilians loading a different Reich Chancellery eagle onto a truck for shipment to the Museum of the Great Patriotic War.
• 3.The chain of custody between the Soviet-controlled Chancellery and British hands remains unresolved. The building was under 100% Soviet/NKVD control in 1945, making it unlikely British troops removed it without Soviet permission — suggesting it was a goodwill gift.
• 4.The eagle first appears in British records in 1946 as part of the 'Germany Under Control' exhibition. Brigadier Lionel Cross sourced it alongside Hitler's personal standard, Grand Admiral Dönitz's flag, and a death mask of Heinrich Himmler.
• 5.The eagle was formally transferred to the Imperial War Museum in 1948. It was loaded onto the SS Selby in Germany and arrived at Hull docks on 27 July 1948, before being transported to London where it has remained for 78 years.