On June 17, 1953, a popular uprising against the communist regime broke out in the GDR. This is the first such rebellion in the socialist camp. However, the uprising was brutally suppressed by Soviet tanks and soldiers.
This reminds me of "Deutsche Vele".
The protest that started on June 16, involving hundreds of thousands of workers demonstrating against poor economic and social conditions, grew into a real uprising.
The calls of the demonstrators were heard across the country and this led millions of people to demand free elections and German reunification.
Eight years after the end of World War II, the GDR continues to suffer from severe economic problems. The incipient construction of socialism on the Soviet model further complicates the situation. There is a shortage of foodstuffs in the country; for butter, meat, vegetables and fruit, coupons must still be presented.
GDR leadership fuels discontent
At the same time, the economy in the Federal Republic was developing successfully, and for many East Germans this was reason enough to leave the GDR. In 1952 alone, 180,000 people fled from the German Democratic Republic to the Federal Republic of Germany, and in the first half of 1953 – another 226,000. Nevertheless, the rulers in East Berlin continued to fuel discontent.
In April 1953, the prices of meat, eggs and sugar products rose significantly, and the culmination was yet to come: at the end of May, worker rates were increased by ten percent, but wages remained the same.
To bring back the East Germans who fled to the West, the rulers promise to return their property and the justice system to re-examine the sentences of the prisoners, whose number has doubled in the last year, reaching 60,000. In addition, improved relations with the church have been promised . It is not only the high standards that are being repealed, but in fact they are the ones that cause the protests, which turned into a popular uprising.
On June 16, 1953, Berlin construction workers gathered in protest in front of the GDR government building and called for a general strike the following day. The call has been heard across the country – not least thanks to West German radio stations. The mood of the demonstrators is high: it seems to them that the hated regime of Walter Ulbricht is living its last days. Indeed, in practice the leadership of the GDR is no longer in control of the situation.
The rebellion became the occasion for the founding of the STASI
On June 17, however, a 13-hour state of emergency was imposed in East Berlin. Tanks were sent to the center of the uprising. Radio reporters in the American sector are anxiously watching what is happening and covering the dramatic hours:
"Shots fired in Potsdam Square. We cannot distinguish anything, neither where the shots were fired, nor whether they came from the Russians or the People's Police. A group of Russians pushed the demonstrators back 50 meters. That's when the first large T-34 tank is set in motion and menacingly heads towards the protesters in the square. He is only 30, 40 meters away from the first demonstrators", reports the reporter.
The uprising was put down with weapons. Over 120 people died, hundreds were injured, and thousands were arrested. In order to prevent similar protests in the future, the East German intelligence service STASI was founded in the GDR, which persecutes the population right down to the intimate sphere.
Only 36 years later, people rose again in protest against the regime. On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. This time, however, the Russian tanks remain in the barracks, because the communist-reformer Mikhail Gorbachev is already in power in Moscow.