home / Success stories/ The protest of workers in the GDR suppressed by army units. Uprising in the GDR against the USSR: how many victims were there?

The workers' protest in the GDR was suppressed by army units. Uprising in the GDR against the USSR: how many victims were there?

Friends, today there will be a post about interesting and at the same time little-known events for the Russian-speaking reader that took place in Germany in the summer of 1953 - being in Germany, I could not ignore this story. What happened in East Germany these days? Soviet historiography at first called these events a “fascist putsch”, and closer to the eighties they simply kept it bashfully silent - at that time Soviet citizens would have easily guessed that this was a real popular uprising directed against the oppressors who had seized the means of production and established own orders- in fact, exactly what all Soviet mythology is built on.

The summer protests of 1953 swept, without exaggeration, all of Germany - in East Berlin alone, 150,000 thousand people took to the streets, demanding a normal life and humane treatment. And in the end, the Berlin demonstrators still won - however, this happened after the fall of communism in Europe.

First, a little history and a story about how it all began. After the end of World War II, East Berlin and part of Germany found themselves in the Soviet occupation zone, where “comrades from Moscow” began to build socialism at an accelerated pace. The construction of socialism under the leadership of the military administration and according to the Soviet model presupposed, first of all, a number of repressive measures - private property and small trade began to be eliminated, mass nationalization of enterprises began, mass dispossession and the creation of collective farms began on the Soviet model - in Germany they were called LPG ( Landwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaft).

In addition, in 1946, under the leadership of the Soviet military administration, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) was created, which exactly copied the Soviet CPSU of the Stalinist model. Persecution of the Protestant Church began, and in higher schools and universities, a compulsory course on Marxism-Leninism was introduced - in general, from the newly defeated Hitlerism, the Germans were plunged into Soviet-style Stalinism.

As a result of such activities, there were more and more prisoners in the prisons of the GDR, and less and less goods on store shelves; a card system was introduced in trade. In those stores where customers were given goods without cards, there were extremely high prices- in 1952 average salary in the GDR was 300 marks, while a kilogram of sugar cost 12 marks, a kilogram of butter cost 24 marks, and a kilogram of pork cost 15 marks.

At the same time, workers were required to increase labor productivity, while their wages did not allow them to feed their families. The Germans had at hand the example of the successful Federal Republic of Germany, where people lived much better, and many fled there from the Soviet occupation zone, which further worsened the situation in the GDR - the best and most active fled beyond the Soviet occupation zone, from June 1952 to May 1953 312,000 people left, and the figure grew in geometric progression- More than 50,000 people left in May alone.

The East Germans expected that things would get better after Stalin's death, but this did not happen - he died in March 1953, and already in May the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Germany decided to further increase production standards - workers had to work 10-15% more while maintaining the same salary, which was already miserable. The leadership of the trade unions, theoretically, was supposed to protect the workers, but it was under the heel of the Soviet military, and said - “yes, that’s right, raising standards is correct.”

This was the last straw, after which a massive workers' uprising began in East Germany.

02. In East Berlin there is a whole avenue of prestigious “Stalin buildings,” which were erected in the late forties and early fifties, they are located on the current Karl Marx Allee, which in the fifties was called Stalin Allee. These luxurious houses were supposed to show the “triumph of socialism” and the “free life of the common people in East Germany,” but in fact these houses were built for the party nomenklatura, and they were erected (just like in the USSR) by half-starved workers who lived in barakah - those same simple people.

03. It was the builders of these very Stalinist buildings who were the first to rebel - they were probably the first to see with their own eyes how much the words about “universal equality and brotherhood” diverge from reality. The unrest began on June 15, 1953 - a delegation of workers drove a truck to the House of Ministries and demanded not to increase production standards - but instead of answering the facts, the workers were told that they were acting “on orders from West Berlin,” and in general “scoundrels and fascists.”

04. At the same time, the party leadership began to train agitators who were supposed to “explain” to the builders that working for free is very correct and communist. On June 16, some of the striking workers were closed on the territory of one of the Berlin construction sites, which immediately became known among the workers on Stalin Alley - the workers began to gather to go and free their friends.

05. As a result, a whole workers’ demonstration began on Stalin Alley, the number of participants in which quickly reached 10,000 people; workers walked along these streets among the rich new buildings erected by poor people for party officials. The workers loudly chanted: “Colleagues, join us! We want to be free people!”

06. A few hundred meters from Potsdamer Platz, close to the intersection with Leipzig Strasse, is the former Goering Aviation Ministry, which has housed Soviet ministries since 1949; the building became known as the House of Ministries. On June 16, 1953, at 2 p.m., a mass rally began in front of the House of Ministries - a crowd of workers came there from Stalin Alley, which was joined along the way by other workers - masons, plasterers, metallurgists, general workers, and railway workers.

07. Soviet propaganda called this speech a “fascist attack,” but in fact, not a single Nazi slogan was heard at the House of Ministries and not even anything bad was said about it (Soviet informants themselves wrote about this). The workers from Stalin Alley demanded that Prime Minister Otto Grotewohl come to them. "Down with exploitation!" Down with the government of hunger,” the demonstrators chanted.

08. The government did not take any action, and in the early morning of June 17, a general strike began in East Berlin. Tens of thousands of workers gathered at Strausbergplatz - on the central square, among those very nomenklatura “Stalinist” buildings, stood a crowd of half-starved and poorly dressed workers who erected all this splendor for the “communist masters.”

09. In the courtyards of Stalin Alley, workers tore down Soviet posters that called for working more and more, exceeding the standards. By noon, the number of demonstrators in the center of East Berlin reached 150,000 people.

10. Tens of thousands of people also came out to Alexanderplatz - Stalin Alley, which is now called Karl Marx Allee, leads directly to this square. People chanted "We don't want to be slaves, we want to be free people!"

11. The workers who gathered at Alexanderplatz demanded the same thing - an increase in wages, the creation of humane working conditions and the abolition of incredibly high production standards. The workers also put forward demands for the creation of truly independent trade unions that would defend their rights.

12. The authorities were not going to comply with the demands of the demonstrators, and army armored vehicles began to enter Alexanderplatz, Stalin Allee and other central streets of Berlin. Russian soldiers armed with rifles and machine guns sat on the armor. The equipment entered the center of Berlin in full combat gear, with an attached field hospital and a field kitchen.

13. Around noon on June 17, 1953 soviet tanks were thrown at the protesters - this happened here, near the Zeichhaus building, which is located at the very beginning of Unter den Linden Boulevard.

14. Soon, near the Zeichhaus building, the tracks of one of the tanks crushed a worker - later a cross was erected at this place, and now inside the Zeichhaus there is a separate exhibition hall telling about the events of the summer of 1953 in Berlin.

15. The tanks took up combat positions around Zeichhaus, after which they moved to the Wilhelmstrasse area and to the Potsdamer Platz area. Soon after this, the first shots rang out - according to the stories, the soldiers shot mostly over their heads, but there were also casualties among the protesters.

16. According to eyewitnesses of the events and even Soviet “informants” who were among the protesters, there were no attacks by demonstrators on Soviet tanks; the protesters did not have any weapons, there were no Molotov cocktails or anything like that. Several photographs of the events of those years show several young people throwing stones at Soviet tanks - they were trying to damage the radio antenna, and this was rather the exception.

17. Meanwhile, a column of tanks moved from Zeichhaus along Unter den Linden Boulevard to the Brandenburg Gate - where mass demonstrations of German workers also took place.

18. Here is what geology student Erich Kulik, who found himself in the center of the column of demonstrators in those days, recalls about those events:

“At the corner of Friedrichstrasse I looked back for the first time. I was scared when I saw how many people had joined the column. Down the street, right up to the Brandenburg Gate, there was no crowd, the crowd grew and grew...

At the corner of Charlottenstrasse we suddenly heard the roar of approaching tanks and immediately saw demonstrators running away in panic. The head of our column now advanced slowly and cautiously. Tanks appeared on the bridge over the Spree. They increased the gas and moved straight towards us, three heavy tanks walking in a row, and armored cars along the sidewalk. I don’t know how the demonstrators managed to clear the street so quickly and where so many people were able to take refuge. I hid behind the Humboldt monument in front of the university entrance. In the blink of an eye, there was not a single free space left on the high metal fence behind me. The faces of the Russians sitting on the tanks were shining, they were smiling with all their might, waving at us and looking very friendly. The tanks, there were 15 of them, were followed by trucks with infantry, light artillery, a field kitchen and a hospital. Everything is like in war.

About six minutes later, when it was all over, people were still watching the retreating column of equipment. I went to the square in front of the Berlin Cathedral. Not long before this, the Russians had run over an old woman there. “She didn’t have enough strength to run to the side,” eyewitnesses said, “even though the car slowed down, it was too late. They quickly built a small brick tombstone at the scene of the incident, covered it with a black-red-gold flag, and placed a small wooden cross on top."

19. The Unter den Linden boulevard in those days was completely cut up by tank tracks - the military was traveling to the area of the Brandenburg Gate to disperse the workers who had gathered there.

20. In parallel with the military, the East German police also worked - numerous barriers were installed in the city, the police tried to prevent the uprising from growing. Meanwhile, there was nothing “truly anti-Soviet” in it - workers at the factories organized strike committees and tried to take power into their own hands.

21. A significant event occurred near the Brandenburg Gate - the red flag that was flying on the gate suddenly flew down - two young people climbed up and threw the flag at the feet of the protesters.

22. Striking workers cordoned off buildings - 5 district offices of the Ministry of State Security, two district SED committees, dozens of police stations were under popular control. And perhaps the unification of Germany would have happened already in 1953, but Soviet tanks prevented the matter - they did not allow the protesting workers to do this and dispersed the demonstrators.

23. During the June events of 1953, more than 50 people died - the exact data on the dead is still unknown. 16 divisions took part in suppressing the uprising, of which three divisions with 600 tanks were in Berlin alone. Commissar Vladimir Semenov was appointed responsible for suppressing the uprising - according to him, Moscow demanded bloody reprisals against the workers, but he replaced Beria’s order to “shoot at people” with the order to “shoot over their heads.” Otherwise there could have been many more victims...

What was the outcome of the Berlin Uprising of 1953? As a result, German workers still received their rights, real trade unions and humane working conditions, and Germany became united - even if this did not happen in the summer of 1953, but in 1989.

And instead of an epilogue, I would like to place a poem by Bertolt Brecht dedicated to the 1953 uprising:

After the uprising of June 17
By order of the Secretary of the Writers' Union
Leaflets were distributed on Stalinallee,
In which it was reported that the people
Lost the government's trust
And he could only return it with double the work.
Wouldn't it be easier for the government?
Dissolve the people
And choose a new one?

Write in the comments what you think about this.

On May 14, 1953, the 13th plenum of the SED Central Committee decided to increase production standards by 10 percent in order to combat economic difficulties. At the same salary, workers had to work 10% more. The increased standards led to wage cuts of up to 25%. Against the background of a constant decline in living standards, this decision provoked discontent.

On May 13 and 16, 900 workers went on strike at the Leipzig steel plant. Small strikes took place at construction sites and other enterprises in Berlin. The actions gradually acquired a political character.
June 9 - Steelworkers in Hennigsdorf went on strike against increasing production standards. The administration of the enterprise appointed a reward of 1000 marks for identifying the leaders of the strike, five of them were arrested.
June 12 - workers of the Justus Perthes people's enterprise in Gotha, as a sign of protest, turned all the portraits of the leaders of the GDR to face the wall.
June 13-14 - workers demanded the cancellation of the increase in production standards and a reduction in prices in state retail trade by 40%. At many private enterprises that were returned to their previous owners, workers organized real holidays.
On June 15, the first strikes began among builders of prestigious construction projects on Stalin Allee in Berlin.
On June 16, numerous gatherings of demonstrators were observed in the center of East Berlin. They tore down propaganda posters and chanted “Down with the SED”
On the morning of June 17, a general strike began in Berlin. Already at 7 o'clock a crowd of 10 thousand had gathered at Strausberger Platz. A huge column of steelworkers moved through the French sector to the center of East Berlin from Hennigsdorf. By noon, the number of strikers in the city reached 150,000 people.

Although the Soviet leadership foresaw the possibility of popular indignation in the GDR, such a rapid and powerful development of the armed uprising still came as a surprise to them. On the night of 16–17 June, Walter Ulbricht, Otto Grotewohl and Minister of State Security Wilhelm Zeisser met in Karlshorst with High Commissioner Vladimir Semyonov and the commander of the occupation forces Andrei Grechko to discuss and prepare the possible use of police and army. It was provided only for Berlin
At about 10 a.m. on June 17, Semyonov called the SED Central Committee, where an emergency meeting of the Politburo had just begun, and for security reasons summoned the entire leadership to Karlshorst. At 11:45 he announced to his German comrades that Moscow had demanded a state of emergency. Around noon, Soviet tanks were thrown against the protesters.

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At 11:35 the tanks took up positions in the Wilhelmstrasse area and moved towards Potsdamer Platz. Soon after this, the first shots were fired. Demonstrators shouted “Ivan, get out of here!” “Home, home!” “Ivan, let’s go home!” The seriously wounded were sent to hospitals in West Berlin. At the same time, there were almost no attacks by demonstrators on Soviet tanks and soldiers. Well-known photographs of young people on Leipziger Strasse throwing rocks and bottles at tanks or trying to damage radio antennas show the exception rather than the rule.

From 13:00 on June 17, 1953, a state of emergency was declared in the Soviet sector of Berlin.
1. All demonstrations, meetings, rallies and other gatherings of people of more than three people on streets and squares, as well as in public buildings are prohibited.
2. All movement of pedestrians and vehicles is prohibited from 21:00 to 5:00.
3. Violators of this order are punished according to martial law.

According to updated data from the Center historical research in Potsdam, the number of victims confirmed by sources is 55, of whom four were women. About 20 more deaths could not be investigated.
According to the GSVG command as of June 20, during the anti-government protests in the GDR, 33 riot participants were killed and 132 were wounded

The Berlin crisis of 1953 is widely known as the "Berlin Uprising"; in Germany - as the "People's Uprising of June 17" - mass anti-government popular uprisings in the GDR.

In the era" cold war"Berlin concentrated the interests and contradictions of the great powers - the USA and the USSR, the West and the East. The crisis that arose in the late 1940s and led to the formation of two states - the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic - was far from the last. The construction of two radically different models of state devices in neighboring German countries (the border between which, in fact, ran right along the streets of Berlin) led to the emergence social tension in these countries themselves. But politicians were not ready to return to the idea of German unity.

Causes

In March 1953, I. Stalin died. His death put on the agenda the reform and liberalization of the Stalinist system in all socialist countries. But the political regime in the GDR, headed by W. Ulbricht, adhered to the course of building socialism in the same spirit. The causes of the new crisis were largely of an economic nature. Things in this regard were much worse in socialist countries than in capitalist ones. The lack of a proper market, the command and administrative system, the refusal to participate in the Marshall Plan - all this deprived the economy of the countries controlled by the USSR of the necessary dynamism, the people lived poorly and could not afford, even with the money they earned, many of the benefits that the French, British, West Germans etc. In such a situation, there was a mass exodus of residents to the western zone, primarily highly qualified personnel - a “brain drain” (50 thousand people fled in March 1953 alone), which in turn created new economic problems.

At the same time it was not canceled earlier decision raise production standards for workers to combat economic difficulties. This decision on a 10% (and in some areas up to 30%) increase in the production rate was made at the plenum of the Central Committee on May 14, 1953 and published on May 28 in the following wording:

“The Government of the German Democratic Republic welcomes the workers’ initiative to raise production standards. It thanks all workers who have raised their standards for their great patriotic cause. At the same time, it responds to the wishes of the workers to review and raise standards.”

The increase in standards was supposed to be introduced gradually and completed by June 30. This caused strong dissatisfaction among workers.

The leadership of the (communist) trade unions, theoretically called upon to protect the interests of workers, also spoke out in support of raising standards. The corresponding article appeared in the Tribune newspaper on June 16 and became an important stimulator of the uprising that began that day.

Another source of discontent was the increase in prices for marmalade, which was the standard breakfast of the German worker. This gave rise to the expression “marmalade riot.”

Causes and prerequisites of the crisis

"Planned construction of socialism"

Increasing production standards

At the same time, the previously adopted decision of the SED Central Committee “to increase production standards for workers in order to combat economic difficulties” was not canceled. This decision to increase production standards by 10% (and in some areas up to 30%) was made at the plenum of the Central Committee on May 14, 1953 and published on May 28 in the following wording:

The Government of the German Democratic Republic welcomes the workers' initiative to increase production standards. It thanks all the workers who raised their standards for their great patriotic cause. At the same time, it responds to the wishes of workers to revise and improve standards

The increase in standards was supposed to be introduced gradually and completed by June 30 (W. Ulbricht’s birthday). This caused another strong discontent among the workers.

The leadership of the (communist) trade unions, theoretically called upon to protect the interests of workers, also spoke out in support of raising standards. The historical literature claims that an article in defense of the course to increase production standards, which appeared on June 16, 1953 in the trade union newspaper Tribuna, was the last straw that overflowed the cup of popular discontent.

A crisis

Start of the strike

After the workers received their salaries and discovered deductions in them, as for shortcomings, fermentation began. On Friday, June 12, the idea arose among workers at a large Berlin construction site (a hospital in the Friedrichshain area) to go on strike. The strike was scheduled for Monday 15 June. On the morning of June 15, Friedrichshain builders refused to go to work and at a general meeting demanded the abolition of the increased standards.

Events of June 16

On the morning of June 16, a rumor spread among workers that the police were occupying the hospital in Friedrichshain. After this, about 100 construction workers from the elite party housing projects on Stalin Alley moved towards the hospital to “liberate” their colleagues. From there, the demonstrators, joined by some of the hospital builders, already numbering about 1,500 people, moved to other construction sites. Then the demonstration, whose number reached 10,000 people, went to the building of the communist trade unions, but, finding it empty, by noon they approached the House of Ministries on Leipzigerstrasse. The demonstrators, in addition to reducing production standards, demanded a reduction in prices and the dissolution of People's Army. A rally began in front of the House of Ministries. Industry Minister Fritz Selbmann, speaking to the strikers, tried to calm the crowd and promised the return of previous production standards (the corresponding decision was immediately made at an emergency government meeting); but this was not successful. The speaker at the rally began to put forward political demands: German unification, free elections, release of political prisoners, etc. The crowd called for Ulbricht or Grotewohl, but they did not appear. Demonstrators then marched towards the Stalin Alley construction sites, calling for a general strike and for a protest rally at Strausberger Square the following morning. Cars with loudspeakers were sent to calm the crowd, but the demonstrators managed to take possession of one of them and use it to spread their own messages.

The West Berlin radio station RIAS (Radio in the American Sector) regularly reported on what was happening. At the same time, the journalists deliberately violated the instructions of the American owners of the station, who demanded not to interfere in what was happening and limit themselves to dry reports about the events. The editor of the radio station, Egon Bahr (later a prominent Social Democratic politician), even helped the strikers choose slogans and clearly formulate demands for broadcast on the radio. The demands boiled down to four points: 1. Restoration of old wage standards. 2. Immediate reduction in prices for basic products. 3. Free and secret elections. 4. Amnesty for strikers and speakers. In the evening, the leader of the West Berlin branch of the German Federation of Trade Unions, Ernst Scharnovsky, in a radio speech, called on West Berliners to support the protesters:

“Don't leave them alone! They fight not only for the social rights of workers, but for the general human rights of the entire population of the eastern zone. Join the East Berlin builders movement and take your places on Strausberg Square!

On the evening of June 16, the West Berlin newspaper Der Abend also called for a general strike in the GDR.

Events of June 17

On the morning of June 17 in Berlin there was already a general strike. The workers who gathered at the enterprises lined up in columns there and headed to the city center. Already at 7 o'clock a crowd of 10 thousand had gathered at Strausberger Square. By noon, the number of demonstrators in the city reached 150,000 people. The slogans of the demonstrators were: “Down with the government! Down with the People's Police! “We don’t want to be slaves, we want to be free!” . Slogans directed personally against W. Ulbricht gained great popularity: “A beard, belly and glasses are not the will of the people!” “We have no other goal - Goatbeard must leave!” Slogans were also put forward directed against the occupying forces: “Russians, get out!” However, the anti-Soviet slogans, enthusiastically put forward by West Berliners who joined the demonstrators, did not find much support among East Berliners.

Border markers and structures on the borders of the Soviet and western sectors of the city were destroyed. The crowd destroyed police stations, party buildings and government agencies and newsstands selling communist press. Participants in the unrest destroyed symbols of communist power - flags, posters, portraits, etc. Police barracks were besieged; The rebels also tried to free prisoners from prison. The House of Ministries was destroyed; from there the crowd moved to the Friedrichstadtpalast theater, where a meeting of the SED activists was taking place, and the party leadership hastily evacuated under the protection of Soviet troops to Karlshorst. The city actually found itself in the hands of the riot participants.

The unrest spread throughout East Germany. In industrial centers, strike committees and workers' councils spontaneously arose, taking power in factories and factories into their own hands. In Dresden, rioters seized a radio station and began broadcasting messages exposing state propaganda; in Halle, newspaper editorial offices were seized; in Bitterfeld, the strike committee sent a telegram to Berlin demanding “the formation of a provisional government composed of revolutionary workers.” According to the latest research, there were unrest in no less than 701 settlements in Germany (and this is apparently still an incomplete number). The official authorities of the GDR estimated the number of participants in the movement at 300 thousand. Other sources estimate the number of striking workers at approximately 500 thousand, and the total number of demonstrators at 3-4 million out of a population of 18 million and 5.5 million workers (it should be borne in mind that peasants could not take part in the movement)

In total, 250 (according to other sources - 160) government and party buildings were besieged and stormed. The rebels occupied 11 buildings of district councils, 14 offices of the burgomaster, 7 district and 1 district committee of the SED; 9 prisons, 2 buildings of the Ministry of State Security and 12 police institutions (districts and stations) were seized, as a result of which about 1,400 criminals were released. According to official figures, 17 SED functionaries were killed and 166 wounded.

Suppression of unrest

The GDR government, in turn, turned to the USSR for armed support. There were 16 Soviet regiments in the GDR at that moment total number 20,000 people; in addition, the government could count on the “people's police” of 8 thousand people. The fundamental decision on armed intervention was made in Moscow on the evening of the 16th. At night, at the residence of the Soviet occupation administration in Karlshorst, the German delegation consisting of Ulbricht, Prime Minister Otto Grotewohl and Minister of State Security Zeisser met with the Soviet High Commissioner V.S. Semyonov and the commander of the occupation forces Andrei Grechko and discussed with them the details of the actions against the rebels. USSR Minister of Internal Affairs Lavrentiy Beria urgently flew to Berlin.

On June 17th and 18th, the Soviet military administration declared a state of emergency in more than 167 of the 217 administrative city and rural areas(Kreise) countries.

Around noon on June 17, police and Soviet tanks were moved against the protesters. Demonstrators threw stones at the tanks and tried to damage their radio antennas. The crowd did not disperse, and Soviet troops opened fire. At 13:00 a state of emergency was declared. At 14:00, Grotewohl read out a government message on the radio:

The measures taken by the government of the German Democratic Republic to improve the situation of the people were marked by fascist and other reactionary elements in West Berlin with provocations and serious violations of order in the democratic<советском>sector of Berlin. (...)
The riots (...) are the work of provocateurs and fascist agents of foreign powers and their collaborators from the German capitalist monopolies. These forces are dissatisfied with the democratic authorities in the German Democratic Republic, which organizes the improvement of the situation of the population.
The government calls on the population:
Support measures to immediately restore order in the city and create conditions for normal and quiet work at enterprises.
Those responsible for the unrest will be brought to justice and severely punished. We call on workers and all honest citizens to seize the provocateurs and hand them over to government authorities. (...)

Clashes between Soviet troops and riot participants and shooting continued until 19-00. The next morning there were again attempts at demonstrations, but they were harshly suppressed. Strikes, however, broke out again sporadically; in July there was a new rise in the strike movement.

Results and consequences

Victims

Mass grave and museum of the 11 dead Berliners at the Seestrasse cemetery-columbarium

Based on documents declassified in 1990, it can be concluded that at least 125 people died. In particular, the Soviet occupation authorities sentenced 29 people to death. In general, the Soviet High Commissioner Semyonov received an order from Moscow to shoot at least 12 instigators with their names widely published; The first to be shot by the Soviet authorities was 36-year-old unemployed artist Willi Göttling, father of two children. 100 people were sentenced by Soviet courts to terms ranging from 3 to 25 years, approximately a fifth of them were sent to Soviet camps, the rest were kept in GDR prisons. In total, about 20 thousand people were arrested, of which at least 1,526 were sentenced by German courts (apparently this is an incomplete figure): 2 - to death, 3 - to life imprisonment, 13 - for terms of 10-15 years, 99 - for terms of 5-10 years, 994 - for terms of 1-5 years and 546 for terms of up to one year.

On the part of the authorities, 5 were killed and 46 policemen were wounded, 14 of them seriously. The total material damage amounted to 500,000 marks.

The number of victims in the West was greatly exaggerated - for example, the figure was 507 killed. Modern German researchers Joseph Landau and Tobias Sander note the relative moderation shown by the Soviet authorities in suppressing the unrest: “despite everything, the Soviet occupation power is not as unceremonious and bloodthirsty as the Western world claimed. With such treatment of the rebels, there could have been many more casualties, given that the Soviets sent several divisions and several hundred tanks.

According to Soviet researchers and intelligence officials, this rumor was a manifestation of anti-Soviet propaganda during the Cold War. In the eyes of the Germans themselves, this supposed fact served to honor Soviet soldiers, and on June 16, 1954, former participants in the uprising erected in the western district of Berlin Zehlendorf, on the Potsdamer Highway, a kind of obelisk - a truncated stone pyramid with the inscription (in German): “To the Russian officers and soldiers who had to die because they refused to shoot to freedom fighters June 17, 1953"

According to the latest data from German scientists who conducted a special study of this issue, it has been established that the execution of Soviet soldiers in 1953 is a legend that has no basis.

Nevertheless, a number of researchers consider the fact not fundamentally impossible, but rather unclear due to the lack and/or inaccessibility of archival sources.

Western reaction

The Americans were taken by surprise by the events and at first decided that these were GDR-inspired actions with the goal of capturing all of Berlin, which had already taken place earlier during the first Berlin crisis, so at first they behaved very restrained. The American military authorities in Vienna refused to provide a special plane to the mayor of West Berlin, who at that moment happened to be in the Austrian capital for Europe Day. Later, when the anti-government nature of the unrest became obvious, the Americans decided that the government-inspired demonstration had gotten out of control. In view of the developments, CIA Director Allen Dulles flew to West Berlin to clarify the situation. Then American planes began to appear over Soviet military installations in the GDR, scattering leaflets “containing hostile attacks against the Soviet Armed Forces and socialist construction in East Germany". American soldiers in West Berlin openly expressed sympathy for the demonstrators: at the Brandenburg Gate, for example, they provided gasoline for the burning of the Soviet flag.

There were simply no leaders in West Berlin itself at the time of the uprising: the burgomaster, as indicated, was in Vienna, his deputy was on vacation, the head of the SPD was undergoing treatment in Italy, and the head of the CDU was in Bonn. German Chancellor Adenauer arrived in West Berlin only on June 19 to honor the memory of the victims. For his passivity, he was subjected to sharp criticism in Germany.

France exercised restraint itself and encouraged others to do the same; British Prime Minister Winston Churchill guaranteed the USSR the opportunity to suppress the unrest with troops. Churchill was generally extremely dissatisfied with the unrest, since they jeopardized his plan for a new quadruple (Soviet-British-French-American) conference.

According to some sources, the democratic West betrayed the uprising: for example, the West Berlin radio station RIAS, mentioned above, reported the failure of the uprising even before the head of the Soviet sector of Berlin declared a state of emergency, after which the suppression of the uprising began.

Consequences

The crisis itself did not weaken, but rather strengthened Ulbricht’s position. At that moment, there was strong opposition to Ulbricht and his Stalinist course in the SED (including the leadership), which had every reason to hope for support from Moscow. The crisis allowed Ulbricht to purge the party of his opponents, accused of passivity and social democratic deviation. Thus, by the end of the year, about 60% of the elected district committees of the SED were expelled.

Relying on unconditional Soviet support, the government demonstrated “firmness”: on June 21, the announced restoration of old production standards was canceled; in October prices were increased by 10-25%. On the other hand, the USSR hastened to reduce reparations demands (they now amounted to only 5% of the GDR budget), which improved the financial situation. However, the flight to Germany intensified: if in 1952 136 thousand people fled, then in 1953-331 thousand, in 1954-184 thousand, in 1955-252 thousand.

An immediate consequence of the crisis was also the end of the occupation regime in 1954 and the acquisition of sovereignty by the GDR.

Willy Brandt defines the psychological consequences of the crisis for the inhabitants of the GDR in his memoirs as follows:

“It became clear to the rebels that they were left alone. Deep doubts arose about the sincerity of Western policy. The contradiction between big words and small deeds was remembered by everyone and benefited those in power. In the end, people began to settle down as best they could.”

The GDR authorities declared the unrest the result of foreign intervention. The official East German newspaper Neues Deutschland called the incident an “adventure of foreign agents,” a “crime of West Berlin provocateurs,” and, finally, an “attempt at a fascist putsch.” The statement of the SED Central Committee, drawn up after the suppression of the unrest, regarded it as an “attempt at a fascist putsch” and a “counter-revolution” directed by West German and American politicians from West Berlin. “Thanks to their agents and other bribed individuals, who, above all, arrived en masse from West Berlin to the GDR, the aggressive forces of German and American monopoly capital managed to incite parts of the population to strike and demonstrate in the capital Berlin and several populated areas republics. On June 16 and 17, thousands of fascist fighters, as well as many disoriented West Berlin youth, moved in organized groups to the sector borders, distributing leaflets and setting department stores and other buildings on Potsdamerplatz on fire. […] However, riots occurred in total in only 272 of the approximately 10,000 communities of the GDR, namely only where the imperialist secret police had their bases or where they could send their agents.”

The idea that the crisis was inspired by Western intelligence agencies is still popular in the Russian press. As confirmation, West Berlin radio broadcasts and Sharnovsky’s speech are indicated. It is also alleged that the cars with loudspeakers through which the rebels spread their calls were American.

Memory of events

June 17 was declared a national holiday in Germany - the Day of German Unity. In 1990, the holiday was moved to October 3, the date of unification.

In Berlin, as indicated, soon after the events a monument was erected to the alleged Soviet victims, and the section of Unter den Linden street from the Brandenburg Gate to Kaiser Damm was called “June 17th Street”.

Notes

Radio Liberty. “Berlin uprising of June 17, 1953 – half a century later”
Poster "Der Volksaufstand des 17. Juni"
Chronology of events (German)
Willy Brandt. Memories// “Questions of History”, No. 1, 1991, p. 101
"Der kalte Krieg - Zeittafel" (German)
"DOKUMENTE Projekt „17. Juni 1953"" (German)
Kurt Gossweiler. Hintergründe des 17. Juni 1953 (German)
Akte 17. Juni 53 - Der Aufstand (German)
Litvin G. A. “On the ruins of the Third Reich, or the pendulum of war.” - M.: Forward, 1998
Igor Popov, Sergey Lavrenov “The Soviet Union in local wars and conflicts”
17.6.1953: Aufstand in der DDR
Memoirs of Peter Brun, participant in the uprising (German)
20th century: Berlin crisis
Christian Ostermann, “Relations Between the United States and GDR” in the collection “The United States and Germany in the Era of the Cold War: A Handbook. Vol 1", Cambridge University, 2004, p. 174.
Anatoly Anisimov

Plan:

1 Causes and prerequisites of the crisis
- 1.1 "Planned construction of socialism"
- 1.2 April price increase
- 1.3 " New course»
- 1.4 Increasing production standards
2 Crisis
- 2.1 Start of the strike
- 2.2 Events of June 16
- 2.3 Events of June 17

Introduction

Mass anti-government protests in Berlin on June 16-17, 1953, commonly known collectively as the Berlin Uprising, was the first step of the Events of June 17, 1953 in the GDR.

1. Causes and prerequisites of the crisis

1.1. "Planned construction of socialism"

In July 1952, at the Second Conference of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, its General Secretary Walter Ulbricht proclaimed a course for the “planned construction of socialism,” which amounted to the consistent Sovietization of the East German system: measures against small owners and private trade, mass nationalization of enterprises. At the same time, the traditional territorial division(instead of 5 historical “lands”, 14 districts were introduced). According to the Soviet model, heavy industry was intensively developed, which led to a serious shortage of food and consumer goods, and propaganda blamed “speculators and kulaks” for the food crisis. Finally, the creation of the People's Army was announced, and militarization, combined with reparations, had a heavy impact on the country's budget: military spending accounted for 11% of the budget, and together with reparations - 20% of unproductive spending. In such a situation, there was a mass exodus of residents to the western zone, primarily highly qualified personnel - a “brain drain” (50 thousand people fled in March 1953 alone), which, in turn, created new economic problems. Political and anti-church repressions also increased. In particular, two evangelical youth organizations, the “Young Community” and the “Evangelical Student Community,” were destroyed and arrested in full.

However, the death of Stalin in March 1953 suspended power pressure and led to a weakening of Soviet control: the Soviet Control Commission was disbanded, replaced by a High Commissioner.

1.2. April price increase

In April 1953, two months before the uprising, there was an increase in prices for public transport, clothing, shoes, baked goods, meat and sugar-containing products. At the same time, the lack of sugar led to a shortage of artificial honey and marmalade, which served as one of the main components of the standard breakfast of most Germans. According to a participant in those events, this already caused a wave of indignation among German workers. . The outrage over the rise in price of marmalade met with bewilderment and misunderstanding among the Soviet leadership, who had no idea about the role of marmalade in the nutrition of German workers, and was perceived as a “marmalade revolt.” In Russian historical literature there is a thesis that the beginning of the development of the crisis of 1953 was largely the “marmalade riot”. But most Russian historians, like historians from other countries, do not use the term “marmalade riot”.

1.3. "New Deal"

Continuing the course of liberalizing its policies after Stalin’s death, on May 15, the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs presented the leadership of the GDR with a memorandum demanding an end to collectivization and a weakening of repressions. On June 3, the leaders of the GDR were summoned to Moscow, upon returning from which they announced (June 9) the cessation of the systematic construction of socialism, proclaimed the “New Deal,” publicly admitted that mistakes had been made in the past, and planned a slowdown in the development of heavy industry to improve the supply of the population. canceled a number of economic measures that caused sharp discontent among the population.

1.4. Increasing production standards

The Government of the German Democratic Republic welcomes the workers' initiative to increase production standards. It thanks all the workers who raised their standards for their great patriotic cause. At the same time, it responds to the wishes of workers to revise and raise standards.

The increase in standards was supposed to be introduced gradually and completed by June 30 (W. Ulbricht’s birthday). This caused another strong discontent among the workers.

2. Crisis

2.1. Start of the strike

2.2. Events of June 16

On the morning of June 16, a rumor spread among workers that the police were occupying the hospital in Friedrichshain. After this, about 100 construction workers from the elite party housing projects on Stalin Alley moved towards the hospital to “liberate” their colleagues. From there, the demonstrators, joined by some of the hospital builders, already numbering about 1,500 people, moved to other construction sites. Then the demonstration, which numbered up to 10,000 people, went to the building of the communist trade unions, but, finding it empty, by midday approached the House of Ministries on Leipzigerstrasse. The demonstrators, in addition to reducing production standards, demanded a reduction in prices and the dissolution of the People's Army. A rally began in front of the House of Ministries. Industry Minister Fritz Selbmann, speaking to the strikers, tried to calm the crowd and promised the return of previous production standards (the corresponding decision was immediately made at an emergency government meeting); but this was not successful. The speaker at the rally began to put forward political demands: the unification of Germany, free elections, the release of political prisoners, etc. The crowd called for Ulbricht or Grotewohl, but they did not appear. Demonstrators then marched towards the Stalin Alley construction sites, calling for a general strike and for a protest rally at Strausberger Square the following morning. Cars with loudspeakers were sent to calm the crowd, but the demonstrators managed to take possession of one of them and use it to spread their own messages.

RIAS transmissions played an important catalytic role. Bar himself still believes that if not for RIAS, everything could have ended on June 16. Thanks to these broadcasts, news of the events in Berlin and the plans for the 17th spread throughout East Germany, in turn inciting workers there to take action.

At the same time, there is an opposite Western point of view that the RIAS radio station, on the contrary, betrayed the rebels by reporting the failure of the uprising even before the head of the Soviet sector of Berlin declared a state of emergency, and this significantly reduced the intensity of the uprising.

On the evening of June 16, the West Berlin newspaper Der Abend also called for a general strike in the GDR.

2.3. Events of June 17

Border markers and structures on the borders of the Soviet and western sectors of the city were destroyed. The crowd destroyed police stations, party and government buildings, and newsstands selling communist press. Participants in the unrest destroyed symbols of communist power - flags, posters, portraits, etc. Police barracks were besieged; The rebels also tried to free prisoners from prison. The House of Ministries was destroyed; from there the crowd moved to the Friedrichstadtpalast theater, where a meeting of the SED activists was taking place, and the party leadership hastily evacuated under the protection of Soviet troops to Karlshorst. The city actually found itself in the hands of the riot participants.

The workers' protest in the GDR was suppressed by army units. Uprising in the GDR against the USSR: how many victims were there?

Causes

Causes and prerequisites of the crisis

"Planned construction of socialism"

Increasing production standards

A crisis

Start of the strike

Events of June 16

Events of June 17

Suppression of unrest

Results and consequences

Victims

Western reaction

Consequences

Memory of events

Links

Notes

Plan:

Introduction

1. Causes and prerequisites of the crisis

1.1. "Planned construction of socialism"

1.2. April price increase

1.3. "New Deal"

1.4. Increasing production standards

2. Crisis

2.1. Start of the strike

2.2. Events of June 16

2.3. Events of June 17

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