*** Cold War : Erecting the Berlin Wall








The Cold War: Erecting the Berlin Wall (August-September 1961)


Figure 1.--Here a West German boy and girl looking over the concrete wall the East Germans had begun to errect. This is what the Wall looked like after 2 weeks. The children are standing on bricks to help them peep over the concrete wall topped with barbed wire. The press caption read, "On the lookout - Berlin: On the lookout for some friends to chat with, West Berlin boy and girl stand on bricks as they peer over high sector wall into East Berlin Aug. 29th. The East German Communist regime Aug. 29th renewed demands for a separate peace treaty with the Soviet Union, and there were mounting indications that such a pact would be signed before the Communist party congress meets in Moscow in October." One newspaper added, "The Wall has split up families and separated friends. Here two children in the early days of the barrier keep a hopeless vigil."

The most visible aspect of the Cold War became the Berlin Wall and the Wall The Communists built between all of East and West Germany. East German leader Walter Ulbricht secretly signed the order to close the border (afternoon of August 12). The East German army, police and the Kampfgruppen in a well coordinated operation began building the Wall at midnight Sunday (August 13). Berliners awoke to a makeshift barricade separating their city. The first step was barbed wire, behind which the East Germans began building a crude cement block wall. Soon Berlin's most prominent symbol, the Brandenberg Gate. was isolated. The Wall that began to take shape behind the barbed wire a fairly simple concrete block wall. Streets as well as railway and the S-Bahn links were broken. Stations of the U-Bahn were closed. Even cemeteries were cut in two. There were some complications as the border of Western Berlin was not a series of straight lines. There were some jigs and jags that made wall building completed. One such complication was 12-year old Erwin Schaba. The East Germans, however, in 2-3 weeks managed to surround all of West Berlin with a rudimentary cement block wall topped with barbed wire. As a result of the completed Wall, the East Germans ended virtually all crossings, Very limited crossings were possible at only a few breaks in the Wall, notably Checkpoint Charlie. At first, East Germans could still peakover the Wall, hoping to catch a last glimpses of family and friends. The Communit authorities, however, would soon put a stop to that. This was just the first step, the East Germans would eventually errect a much more sinsister and deadly barrier.

Background

First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party and GDR State Council chairman Walter Ulbricht had decided that he could not allow East German citizens to vote with their feet and a wall was needed. One might wonder what was going through his mind. One would expect that in crearing a worker's paradise that workers would flock to the new state. What happened in reality was that worker's revolted (1953) and when suppresed by Soviet tanks began voting with their feet. This was the first of several such workers' uprising in the Soviet Empire. Fleeing Communism and economic failure is not just a phenomenon in East Germany, but anywhere where Communism was established and flight was possible (Cambodia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Vietnam). No where did workers flock to Communist regimes. The reason of course is that the dream of a workers paadise no matter how beautiful a concept was a vision along the line's of children's concepts like Santa Clause and the Toot Fairy. Unable to create a worker's paradise, Ulbricht decided that needed a wall to keep his people in and to force them to accept his policies. This of course was not unlike Fedual Europe where serfs were tied to the land. Ulbricht whatever his vision, essentially wanted a wall to turn East Germans into grateful serfs of the state. He had been pushing for a wall for some time. He believed it was essential for the future of the DDR. [Sebetsyen] Unlike workers in most Communis countries, East German workers had aay out. They could simply get on S-Bahn or U-Bahn and step off at a West Berlin station. The Soviets were hesitant. Premier Khrushchev was reluctant about building a wall, concerned about the Western reaction. And Ulbrict could not act without Soviet approval.

Preparations

Ulbricht believed that Soviet approval was pending. He began preparations for a wall in secret. He did not make his plan public, fearing a rush to the West. At a international press conference stated, "Niemand hat die Absicht, eine Mauer zu errichten! (June 15, 1961)" (No one has the intention of erecting a wall!). It was the first time the colloquial term 'Mauer' (wall) came up in the discussion of the issue. The fact that he used the term shows just how advanced the Wall ws in his thinking. Preparations to build the Wall went on in secret. Materials were stockpiled. Senior officers prepred a plan for rapidly deploying units and severing contacts with the West.

Soviet Approval (August 1)

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and Ulbricht spoke by tekephone (August 1). A transcript of that conversation has never surfaced. Historians thus debate what was said. Some believe that Khrushchev was taking the initiative for the building the Wall. [Wiegrefe} More likely it was Khrushchev giving Ulbricht the green light to build the WAll he had been advocating. Some historians contend that what finally convinced Khrushchev was that President Kennedy�s seemed to tacitly indicate that the United States would not forcibly oppose actions in the Soviet sector of Berlin. [Kempe, p. 247.] The security forces had already formulated a plan to act and now began preparing a plan to act.

Secret Order (August 12)

The most visible aspect of the Cold War became the Berlin Wall and the Wall The Communists built between all of East and West Germany. East German leader Walter Ulbricht convened the leaders of the DDR for a garden party at a government guesthouse in D�llnsee, a wooded area just north of East Berlin. It was there surrounded by his senior subordinates that Ulbricht signed the secret order to close the border and erect the wall he had so long wanted (afternoon August 12).

Make Shift Wall (August 13)

The East German army, police and the Kampfgruppen in a well coordinated operation closed the border between East and West Berlin and began building the Wall at midnight Sunday (August 13). It was entirely an East German operation. The SovietRed Army units in East Berlin did not partiipate. Red Army units, however, must have been alerted so they could be prepared for any American reaction. It was a huge operation. There was 156 kilometres (97 mi) border between East Germany proper and the three western sectors as well as the 43 kilometres (27 mi) border that dividing West and East Berlin. Berliners awoke to a closed border and makeshift barricade separating their city. The first step was barbed wire entanglements, behind which the East Germans began building a crude cement block wall. The Wall was built afew feet inside East Berlin / East German territory, This was done to make sure that it did not encroach on West Berlin at any point.

Wall Construction (August 17)

Within only a few days, the East Germans began building a real wall. The first concrete elements and large blocks appeared (August 17). East German security forces and workers also began to tear up streets running alongside the border so that they were impassable to vehicles. While the Wall was being built, Ulbricht deployed units of the National People's Army (NVA) and Combat Groups of the Working Class (KdA) to close off the area to any East Germans contemplating flight. They had orders to shootany one trying to cross into West Nerlin. Soon Berlin's most prominent symbol, the Brandenberg Gate was isolated. The Wall that began to take shape behind the barbed wire was a fairly simple high concrete block wall. Construction was not just limited to Berlin. The East Germans began hardening the entire border with West Germany. The East Germans erected chain-length fences, walls, minefields and other obstacles all along the border turning that border into an all too real Iron Curtain. As part of this process, a wide no man's land was cleared to provide a clear line of fire for border guards armed with automatic weapons. They also had orders to shoot to kill.

Connections Broken

The strip between the two halfs of Berlin began as a simple barbed wire strip and gradually grew into a concrete aad steel attrocity. The western side of the Wall was not particularly scary and was eventually civered with grafiti and art work. The business side of the wall was very different. Here there were tanks, soldiers with machine guns, snarling dogs, and the intimidating barrier ever erected. Here the Iron Curtain took on its most horific form. Streets were closed and ripped up. Railway and the S-Bahn links were broken. Stations of the U-Bahn were closed. Even cemeteries were cut in two. Telephone lines were cut. Buildings in the path of the Wall as he Germans perfected it were razed. The idea was to create an impassible wide-open 'killing strips' along the Wall. This eventually made escape virtually impossible--although some flew over it. Bright lights iluminatedthe Wall all night. Electrified fences increased the lethality. Soldiers manned 302 watchtowers along the wall. Military grade anti-personnel mines were added. Berliners who had family and friends in the other sector of Berlin were unable to visit or even communicate. Even people who lived across the street were cut off from each other. It would be 28 years before most famiiy and friends would see each other again. There was some one way travel. West Beliners could apply for occasional passes to visit family in East Berlin. East Berliners could simply not leave. The Wall could not block everthing. The East Germans, must to their frustration, could not easily block radio and television broadcasts. One might think that thus propaganda got through. But the East Beliners like most East Germns could listen to uncensored news broadcasts. Some think that the most effective propaganda was actually the lowly comnercials. Strange as it may seem, commercials may have been the most effective connections beq=tween East and West. East Berlin children grew up seeing all that was readily availble in the West. Teens could see and hear rock-and-roll.

Complications

There were some complications as the border of Western Berlin was not a series of straight lines. There were some jigs and jags that made wall building completed. One such complication was 12-year old Erwin Schaba.

Children

Children in East and West Germany were at the front line of the Cold War. It was here that American and Soviet tanks were mussle to mussle. They watched the Wall go up. And it was covered in great detail on television and newspapers. The younger children could not understand the issues, but theycould not miss the wall going up, it became the major construction feature of the city. Many lost contacts with granparents, aunt and uncles, and cousins as well as family friends. We see West German boys playing with wall building. We do not know if this occurred in East Germany. We suspect tht girls were less interested in wall construction and do not know if the Wall affected their play. The Wall must have been discussed at school. Children in East Berlin would have received the standard Party line. The East Germans called the Wall the 'anti-fascist protective rampart" ( antifaschistischer Schutzwall ) and was built to counter Western agression. There were a number of other justifications. We are unsure to what extent the children believed that. It probably depended on what was being said at home. Of course the parents of younger primary children probably exercized caution about what they said. Children in West Berlin were more able to openly discuss the Wall with their parents and at school. The issues involved are complicated, but what was not complicated was a wall in cement and barbed wire. This must have affected children's thinking. And for many children the Wall affected their lives in a negative way. This was something that Communist propaganda no matter how often rpeated could not alter.

Results

The East Germans in 2-3 weeks managed to surround all of West Berlin with a rudimentary cement block wall topped with barbed wire. As a result of the completed Wall, the East Germans ended virtually all crossings, Very limited crossings were possible at only a few breaks in the Wall, notably Checkpoint Charlie. At first, East Germans could still peak over the Wall, hoping to catch a last glimpses of family and friends. The Communit authorities, however, would soon put a stop to that. This was just the first step, the East Germans would eventually erect a much more sinister and deadly barrier.

Sources

Kempe, Frederick. Berlin 1961 (Penguin Group, 2011).

Sebetsyen, Victor. Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire (New York City: Pantheon Books, 2009).

Wiegrefe, Klaus. "Wir lassen euch jetzt ein, zwei Wochen Zeit", Spiegel Online � einestages (May 2009).







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Created: 5:33 PM 8/22/2012
Last updated: 9:24 PM 1/26/2016