The rooms are half-lit on purpose, and the photos are illuminated.

1. To achieve clarity in the Naval War Fleet's measures in the event of the capture or surrender of Petersburg, the Chief of the Staff of the Naval War leadership raised the question of further war measures as regards this city with the General War Command. This document informs about the answer.

2. Der Fuhrer decided to wipe the city of Petersburg off the face of the earth. After the defeat of Soviet Russia there is no interest in the further existence of this large population concentration. Finland has also made known that it has no interest in the future existence of the city in the immediate vicinity of its new borders.

3. The General War Command knows about the Naval War Fleet's previous request that shipyards, ports and other important naval installations be preserved. However, the satisfaction of this demand does not appear to be possible in light of the general line as regards Petersburg.

4. It is proposed to blockade the city tightly, and through artillery shelling with all calibres and uninterrupted air bombardment, level it with the ground.
If as a consequence of the following situation in the city requests about surrender are made, they will be denied, as the problems of defending and feeding the population cannot and shall not be solved by us. From our side, in this war for life and death, there is no interest in keeping even a part of the population of this large city.
Added with pencil: In the event of necessity, a forced evacuation to the east of Russia might be carried out.

5. Consequences of the already commencing annihilation of Petersburg, that is, already executed or prepared organisational and personnel measures, are being worked out by the General War Command, and corresponding supplementary instructions will be given. If the group commanders have any suggestions, I ask them to send them as soon as possible to the Naval War Command.

S SKL
Translated from German by Colonel S. Rozenblat.

People were dying from hunger, the constant bombardments, and artillery shelling.

From 22 November 1941 vehicles carried food and necessary items across the ice on Lake Ladoga. This road was the only connection with the city under siege, and it was called the "Road of Life". Because of the thin ice, and shelling along the route, more than a thousand vehicles and many people were lost.

The burial urn is a symbol of grief.
The sprig is a symbol of life that continues.

A year or two ago, they started to build a chapel beside the park. It's good that it's not inside the actual memorial; I can just imagine what it would look like. Anyway, there might be more ahead.