Who needed the Berlin Wall and why? Berlin - a divided city Flight from the Republic.
According to the agreements concluded by the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition during the war years, the defeated Germany was divided into zones of occupation. Although the capital of the Third Reich, Berlin, was stormed only by Soviet troops, occupation zones were created there as well. The USSR occupied the eastern part of the city, the Americans - the southwestern, the British - the western, and the French gained control of the northwestern section.
At first, the city was jointly ruled by an allied Control Council, which included representatives from all four sides. The border between the western and eastern parts of the city at first was purely arbitrary. Later, a dividing line with checkpoints appeared in its place. However, it did not extend to the entire length of the border. The crossing mode was free, residents different parts Berliners calmly moved around the city, went to visit friends and work from the western to the eastern part and vice versa.
Relations between the allies began to deteriorate very quickly. At first, they did not affect Berlin, touching only on German territories. The allies, under the pretext of more efficient economic activity, united their zones of occupation, first into Bisonia, and then Trizonia.
In 1948, a meeting of representatives of the six Western powers was held in London, which worked out mechanisms for the revival of German statehood. This was perceived with hostility in the Kremlin, and the USSR (whose representatives were not even invited) boycotted the activities in the Control Council in protest.
In the summer of the same year, the allies, without agreement with Moscow, carried out a monetary reform in Trizonia. Since the eastern and western parts of Berlin were still economically connected at that time, in the USSR the separate monetary reform was regarded as an attempt at sabotage (the reform forced West Berliners to "dump" money in the eastern part, where old money was still in circulation) and the message was completely closed for several days between parts of the city. These events went down in history as the blockade of West Berlin and had a very negative impact on the image Soviet Union. Although there was no famine or even a hint of it in the western part of the city, the whole world went around the footage of "raisin bombing", when American planes parachuted sweets dropping sweets to the joyful Berlin children.
The blockade of West Berlin meant that the final disengagement was only a matter of time. In 1949, the Western Allies restored the statehood of the Germans, creating the Federal Republic of Germany.
The USSR proclaimed the GDR with a six-month delay. Shortly before his death, Stalin made a last attempt to settle the issue. He invited the Western allies to unite Germany into one state, but on the categorical condition of its neutral and non-bloc status. However, the Americans, for whom West Germany was the main outpost in Europe, were afraid of losing control, so they agreed only on the condition that Germany could voluntarily join NATO. If, of course, she has such a desire. But the USSR could not agree to this.
Instead of rapprochement, there was a final disengagement. Germany fundamentally did not recognize the existence of the GDR, even on the maps of its territory were designated as German, but under Soviet control. West Germany automatically broke off diplomatic relations with any country that recognized the existence of the GDR until the early 1970s.
Free City of Berlin
In 1958, Nikita Khrushchev attempted to resolve the German issue. He made an offer to the Western Allies that became known as the Berlin Ultimatum. Khrushchev's idea boiled down to the following: the western part of Berlin is declared an independent free city. The allies leave the zone of occupation and transfer control under the control of an independent civilian administration. The USSR and its allies take upon themselves the obligation not to interfere in the life of a free city, whose inhabitants themselves choose its economic and political structure. Otherwise, the USSR threatened to hand over control of the border to the GDR authorities, who would tighten it.
The British reacted rather neutrally to Khrushchev's proposal and were ready for further discussion of the proposal on compromise terms that would suit everyone. However, the American side was strongly opposed. If this proposal was satisfied, West Berlin turned out to be an island, surrounded on all sides by the territory of the GDR. Under these conditions, its independence and economic development were directly dependent on East Germany and it is quite obvious that over time it would either be completely absorbed or brought under control.
Khrushchev postponed the final decision several times, trying to arrange meetings with the Western allies. But the parties did not come to a compromise. In April 1961, he announced that by the end of the year, full control of East Berlin would be transferred to the administration of the GDR.
Flight from the Republic
Fearing that communication between parts of the city would soon be cut off, many residents of the eastern part of the city decided to take the last chance to defect to the west. The flight of East Germans to the western part was quite common from the first years of the occupation. Then communication between parts of the country was still free. Several hundred thousand people moved from the eastern zone of occupation to the western one. A feature of this flight was that a significant part of the fugitives were highly qualified specialists. They did not want to live in the Soviet system of values with a lot of restrictions, both political and economic.
Of course, big business also fled, the existence of which was not provided for in the Soviet system. So, almost all the factories of the Auto Union concern ended up in the Soviet zone of occupation. But all their leadership and almost all employees managed to move to the western part, where they resumed business. So the world-famous auto concern Audi appeared.
The Kremlin has been worried about the flight from the GDR for a long time. After Stalin's death, Beria offered to radically solve the German problem. But not in the way one might assume based on his image. He proposed not to hurry at all with the establishment of a socialist economy in the GDR, while retaining the capitalist one. It was also proposed to develop light industry as opposed to heavy industry (under Stalin it was the other way around). Later, at the trial, Beria was blamed for this.
Free communication between the GDR and the FRG was terminated during Stalin's lifetime, in 1952. However, these restrictions did not apply to Berlin, its inhabitants continued to move between zones. In only half of 1961, about 200 thousand inhabitants fled from East Berlin. And in the last month of free movement, 30 thousand people became defectors.
Start of construction
On August 12, 1961, the GDR authorities announced the closure of communications between the eastern and western parts of the city. All city communists, police officers and some employees were mobilized to guard the "border" at night. They stretched out in a human chain, not letting anyone through. Troops were stationed nearby.
The GDR authorities accused the FRG of provocations, acts of sabotage and attempts to destabilize the situation. They also expressed their indignation at the luring of East Berliners into the western sector, which led to the disruption of the economic plans of the GDR and financial damage. Under this pretext, on the night of August 13, 1961, the construction of a wall began, which divided the city into two parts.
For two days, the border guards did not let anyone through to either side. At the same time, the border line was surrounded by barbed wire. The construction of concrete barriers began only on 15 August.
The border was completely closed, no one was supposed to leave East Berlin and get there. Even the metro and railway lines connecting the western and eastern parts of the city were blocked.
World War III is close
The construction of the Berlin Wall led to a serious political crisis that almost turned into a full-scale military clash. In response to the beginning of the construction of fortifications in the United States, a set of reservists was announced. Then, forcibly, the term of service of officers who were supposed to retire to the reserve was extended for one year. An additional one and a half thousand American soldiers were transferred to West Berlin, with the prospect of transferring a division. Separate units were put on high alert.
On August 24, the American military, supported by tanks, lined up along the wall under construction. In response, the Soviet army also canceled the transfer to the reserve. A few days later, the military contingent began to build up in the western part of the city. By October, it was additionally increased by 40,000 soldiers. An explosive situation was created that threatened to escalate into a military conflict.
The conflict came closest to the hot phase on October 26, 1961. From the side of the American checkpoint "Charlie" several bulldozers drove up to the wall under the cover of 10 tanks. The Soviet side, fearing that the Americans would try to demolish parts of the wall, sent several Soviet tanks to the checkpoint. These events went down in history as a tank confrontation.
American and Soviet combat vehicles stood opposite each other all night without taking any action. Any careless movement could lead to the most serious consequences. Tankers stood like that for a whole day. Only on the morning of October 28 did the Soviet side withdraw the cars. The Americans did the same. The threat of a military clash was temporarily over.
Anti-fascist defensive rampart
In the GDR, the wall was called the Anti-Fascist Defensive Wall for a long time. Which hinted at the need to build this fortification in order to protect against the attempts of the West German "fascists" to interfere with the people's rule in the GDR. In West Germany, for a long time it was called wall of shame. This went on for 10 years. In the early 1970s, the GDR and the FRG recognized each other and a gradual process of détente began. Therefore, the naming of the wall, offensive to each other, began to disappear from official statements.
However, the wall remained and even improved. At first, these were minor fortifications. In some areas, the matter was limited to simple Bruno spirals from barbed wire, which could be jumped over with due skill. Therefore, the main barrier functions were performed by the soldiers of the GDR army, who had the right to shoot to kill at border violators. True, this rule applied only to East Berliners. West Berliners, who wanted to make their way in the opposite direction, were not fired upon. Although the flight from east to west became much more common, isolated cases of flight in the opposite direction also occurred.
However, most often the wall jumpers, as they were called, had no political or economic motives. Mostly they were drunk young people who, out of hooligan motives or to impress friends, climbed over the wall with a demonstration of their prowess. Most often, they were detained and, after interrogation, expelled back.
Despite the gradual rapprochement of the two Germanys, the wall soon turned into a real masterpiece of fortification. By the end of the 1970s, it had become an almost insurmountable obstacle. Seen from East Berlin, potential fugitives first had to overcome a concrete wall or barbed wire. Immediately behind them began a continuous row of anti-tank hedgehogs. Having passed them, the fugitives again found themselves in front of a barbed wire fence, which was equipped with an alarm system that alerted patrols to violations of the border.
Next was the patrol zone, along which foot and car guards moved. Behind it was a barrage ditch, with a depth of three to five meters. Then followed the control-track strip of sand, which was illuminated by powerful lanterns located a few meters apart. And finally, a wall of concrete blocks 3.6 meters high, on top of which cylindrical asbestos-cement barriers were installed to prevent catching. In addition to everything, every 300 meters there were watchtowers. In some areas, even anti-tank fortifications were installed.
This is perhaps the only case in history when such a solid barrier was built to prevent the flight of its citizens, and not to protect against the intrusion of intruders.
The total length of the wall was 106 kilometers. Concrete blocks were installed along its entire length, but it was only so well reinforced in the most potentially dangerous places. In other parts, some elements were missing. Somewhere there was no barbed wire, somewhere earthen ditches or signaling.
The houses adjoining the border fence were initially evicted, and all windows and doors were concreted. Later they were completely demolished.
Only pensioners had the right to move freely around the city. But the economically active population of the eastern part of Berlin had to receive a special pass, which, however, did not allow permanent residence in another part of the city. Meanwhile, by the time the Berlin Wall was erected, the standard of living in the western part of Germany exceeded that of the GDR. And in the future, this gap has only increased.
The flow of fugitives with the erection of the wall thinned out, but did not dry up. The Germans went to the most incredible tricks to bypass the wall. They dug huge underground tunnels, used hang gliders and balloons to escape. In this regard, an article was introduced into the criminal code punishing flight from the republic with imprisonment.
Destruction
The Berlin Wall lasted almost three decades. Back in the mid-80s, plans were made for its further improvement using the most modern means alarms and surveillance. However, the beginning of the wave of velvet revolutions in Europe dramatically changed the situation. In early 1989, Hungary unilaterally opened its border with capitalist Austria. From that moment on, the wall turned into a meaningless artifact. Germans who wanted to leave for Germany simply came to Hungary and through its border got to Austria, from where they moved to the west of Germany.
The authorities of the GDR, under the influence of rapidly unfolding historical processes, were forced to yield. In November 1989, the free issuance of visas to all those wishing to visit the western part of Germany was announced. And in December, part of the wall near the Brandenburg Gate was dismantled. In fact, 1989 was the last year of the wall's existence, although it stood a little longer.
The fortification was demolished at the end of 1990 after the unification of the GDR and the FRG into one state. Only a few of its small sections, it was decided to keep in memory of the symbol cold war, separating two political and economic systems for 30 years.
This article will consider the Berlin Wall. The history of the creation and destruction of this complex illustrates the confrontation between the superpowers and is the embodiment of the Cold War.
You will learn not only the reasons for the appearance of this multi-kilometer monster, but also get acquainted with interesting facts related to the existence and fall of the Anti-Fascist Defensive Wall.
Germany after World War II
Before understanding who built the Berlin Wall, we should talk about the current situation in the state at that time.
After the defeat in World War II, Germany was under the occupation of four states. Its western part was occupied by the troops of Great Britain, the USA and France, and the five eastern lands were controlled by the Soviet Union.
Next, we will talk about how the situation gradually heated up during the Cold War. We will also discuss why the development of the two states based in the western and eastern zones of influence followed completely different paths.
GDR
In October 1949, it was created. It was formed almost six months after the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The GDR occupied the territory of five lands that were under Soviet occupation. These included Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Brandenburg, Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Subsequently, the history of the Berlin Wall will illustrate the gulf that can form between two warring camps. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, West Berlin differed from East Berlin in the same way that London of that time differed from Tehran or Seoul from Pyongyang.
Germany
In May 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany was formed. The Berlin Wall will separate it from its eastern neighbor in twelve years. In the meantime, the state is rapidly recovering with the help of countries whose troops were on its territory.
So, the former French, American and British occupation zones, four years after the end of the Second World War, turn into the Federal Republic of Germany. Since the division between the two parts of Germany passed through Berlin, Bonn became the capital of the new state.
However, later this country becomes the subject of a dispute between the socialist bloc and the capitalist West. In 1952, Joseph Stalin proposes the demilitarization of the FRG and its subsequent existence as a weak but unified state.
The US rejects the project and, with the help of the Marshall Plan, turns West Germany into a rapidly developing power. In fifteen years, starting from 1950, there is a powerful boom, which in historiography is called the "economic miracle".
But the confrontation between the blocks continues.
1961
After a certain "thaw" in the Cold War, the confrontation begins again. Another reason was an American reconnaissance aircraft shot down over the territory of the Soviet Union.
Another conflict broke out, the result of which was the Berlin Wall. The year of erection of this monument to perseverance and stupidity is 1961, but in fact it has existed for a long time, even if not in its material incarnation.
So, the Stalin period led to a large-scale arms race, which temporarily stopped with the mutual invention of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Now, in the event of war, no superpower had nuclear superiority.
Since the Korean conflict, tensions have risen again. The peak moments were the Berlin and Caribbean crises. In the framework of the article, we are interested in the first one. It took place in August 1961, and the result was the creation of the Berlin Wall.
After the Second World War, as we have already mentioned, Germany was divided into two states - capitalist and socialist. During a period of particular heat of passion, in 1961, Khrushchev transferred control of the occupied sector of Berlin to the GDR. Part of the city, which belonged to the FRG, was blockaded by the United States and its allies.
Nikita Sergeevich's ultimatum concerned West Berlin. The leader of the Soviet people demanded its demilitarization. Western opponents of the socialist bloc responded with disagreement.
The situation had been for several years in what seemed to be a defuse situation. However, the incident with the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft put an end to the possibility of mitigating the confrontation.
The result was one and a half thousand additional American troops in West Berlin and the construction of a wall stretching across the city and even beyond it from the GDR.
wall construction
So, the Berlin Wall was built on the border of the two states. The history of the creation and destruction of this monument to stubbornness will be discussed further.
In 1961, in two days (from August 13 to 15), barbed wire was stretched, suddenly dividing not only the country, but also the families and destinies of ordinary people. This was followed by a lengthy construction, which ended only in 1975.
In total, this shaft lasted twenty-eight years. At the final stage (in 1989), the complex included a concrete wall about three and a half meters high and over a hundred kilometers long. In addition, it included sixty-six kilometers of metal mesh, more than one hundred and twenty kilometers of signal electric fencing and one hundred and five kilometers of ditches.
Also, the structure was equipped with anti-tank fortifications, border buildings, including three hundred towers, as well as a control and trace strip, the sand of which was constantly leveled.
Thus, the maximum length of the Berlin Wall, according to historians, was more than one hundred and fifty-five kilometers.
It has been reconstructed several times. The most extensive work was carried out in 1975. Notably, the only gaps were at checkpoints and rivers. At first, they were often used by the most daring and desperate emigrants "to the capitalist world."
Border crossing
In the morning, the Berlin Wall opened to the eyes of the civilians of the capital of the GDR, who did not expect anything. The history of the creation and destruction of this complex clearly shows the real face of the warring states. Millions of families were divided overnight.
However, the construction of the rampart did not prevent further emigration from the territory of East Germany. People made their way through the rivers and dug. On average (before the construction of the fence), about half a million people traveled daily from the GDR to the FRG for various reasons. And in the twenty-eight years since the wall was built, only 5,075 successful illegal crossings have been made.
For this, waterways, tunnels (145 meters underground), balloons and hang gliders, rams in the form of cars and bulldozers were used, they even moved along a rope between buildings.
The following feature was interesting. People received free education in the socialist part of Germany, and began to work in Germany, because there were higher salaries.
Thus, the length of the Berlin Wall allowed young people to trace its deserted sections and make escapes. For pensioners, there were no obstacles in crossing the checkpoints.
Another opportunity to get to the western part of the city was cooperation with the German lawyer Vogel. Between 1964 and 1989, he signed contracts totaling $2.7 billion, buying a quarter of a million East Germans and political prisoners from the GDR government.
The sad fact is that when trying to escape, people were not only arrested, but also shot. Officially, 125 victims have been counted, unofficially this number is increasing many times.
US Presidential Statements
After the Caribbean crisis, the intensity of passions gradually decreases and the crazy arms race stops. From that time on, some American presidents began to make attempts to call the Soviet leadership to negotiations and come to a settlement of relations.
In this way, they tried to point out to those who built the Berlin Wall their erroneous behavior. The first of these speeches was the speech of John F. Kennedy in June 1963. The American President spoke before a large gathering near the Schöneberg City Hall.
From this speech, the famous phrase still remains: "I am one of the Berliners." Distorting the translation, today it is often interpreted as saying by mistake: "I am a Berlin donut." In fact, every word of the speech was verified and learned, and the joke is based only on ignorance of the subtleties. German language audiences in other countries.
In this way, John F. Kennedy expressed support for the people of West Berlin.
Ronald Reagan was the second president to openly talk about the ill-fated fence. And his virtual opponent was Mikhail Gorbachev.
The Berlin Wall was the vestige of an unpleasant and outdated conflict.
Reagan told the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU that if the latter is looking for liberalization of relations and a happy future for the socialist countries, he should come to Berlin and open the gates. "Tear down the wall, Mr. Gorbachev!"
Wall fall
Shortly after this speech, as a result of the procession of "perestroika and glasnost" through the countries of the socialist bloc, the Berlin Wall began to fall. The history of the creation and destruction of this fortification is considered in this article. Earlier we remembered about its construction and unpleasant consequences.
Now we will talk about the elimination of the monument of stupidity. After Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union, the Berlin Wall became. Previously, in 1961, this city was the cause of conflict on the path of socialism to the West, but now the wall interfered with the strengthening of friendship between the once warring blocs.
The first country to destroy its section of the wall was Hungary. In August 1989, near the town of Sopron, on the border of this state with Austria, there was a "European picnic". The foreign ministers of the two countries laid the foundation for the elimination of the fortification.
Further, the process could no longer be stopped. Initially, the government of the German Democratic Republic refused to support this idea. However, after fifteen thousand East Germans crossed through the territory of Hungary to the Federal Republic of Germany in three days, the fortification became completely superfluous.
The Berlin Wall on the map runs from north to south, crossing the city of the same name. On the night of October 9-10, 1989, the border between the western and eastern parts of the German capital officially opens.
Wall in culture
In two years, starting in 2010, the Berlin Wall memorial complex was built. On the map, it occupies about four hectares. Twenty-eight million euros were invested to create the memorial.
The monument consists of the "Window of Memory" (in honor of the Germans who crashed while jumping from East German windows onto the pavement of Bernauer Straße, which was already in the Federal Republic of Germany). In addition, the complex includes the Chapel of Reconciliation.
But the Berlin Wall is not only famous for this in culture. The photo clearly illustrates what is probably the largest open-air graffiti gallery in history. If it was impossible to approach the fortification from the east, then the western side is all decorated with highly artistic drawings of street craftsmen.
In addition, the theme of the “valve of dictatorship” can be traced in many songs, literary works, films and computer games. For example, the mood of the night of October 9, 1989 is dedicated to the song “Wind of Change” by the Scorpions, the film “Goodbye, Lenin!” Wolfgang Becker. And one of the maps in Call of Duty: Black Ops was created to commemorate the events at Checkpoint Charlie.
Data
The value cannot be overestimated. This fencing of the totalitarian regime was perceived by the civilian population with unambiguous hostility, although over time the majority came to terms with the existing situation.
Interestingly, in the early years, the most frequent defectors were East German soldiers guarding the wall. And there were neither more nor less of them - eleven thousand composition.
The Berlin Wall was especially beautiful on the day of the twenty-fifth anniversary of its liquidation. The photo illustrates a view of the illumination from a height. The two Bauder brothers were the authors of the project, which consisted of creating a continuous strip of luminous lanterns along the entire length of the former wall.
Judging by the polls, the inhabitants of the GDR were more satisfied with the fall of the shaft than the FRG. Although in the early years there was a huge flow in both directions. East Germans abandoned their apartments and went to a richer and more socially protected Germany. And enterprising people from the FRG strove for the cheap GDR, especially since there was a lot of abandoned housing there.
During the years of the Berlin Wall in the east, the mark was worth six times less than in the west.
Each box of the video game World in Conflict (collector's edition) contained a piece of the wall with a certificate of authenticity.
So, in this article, we got acquainted with the manifestation of the economic, political and ideological division of the world in the second half of the twentieth century.
Good luck, dear readers!
The Berlin Wall at first glance simply divides the streets in half. But in fact, this is a difficult story about how in one moment thousands of families were separated forever.
Separation of Berlin by a wall
When the Great Patriotic War ended, the capital was divided by the states that were part of the anti-Hitler coalition. The eastern part was occupied by the troops of the USSR and then it was called East Berlin. The West was dominated by such countries as France, the United States of America and Great Britain. From that moment on, a collective body began to manage Berlin, where all the representatives were.
Top Secret Berlin
Not just an excursion, but a real journey through the main suburbs of the capital, which will tell more about the history and life of the 20th century. All these parts of the city are so different from each other that it can even give the impression that the journey began in Germany, continued in Italy, and ended in Switzerland.
Important nuances:
- duration - 4 hours;
- from 1 to 3 people;
- allowed with children;
- cost - €175 for the whole tour.
Reviews:
I liked the route, unusual, with walks through quiet picturesque parks and villages, where once it was far from being so quiet and simple. Loved the stories from the Cold War period. In general, a very good impression of the time spent. And we saw a fox that crossed the road and hid in the bushes. Probably a spy. Or scout.)
Daria is a very pleasant conversationalist. She carefully thought out the route and the content of the excursion and has a good command of the material. The tour may be of interest to those who have been to Berlin more than once and would like to learn something non-standard about it.
Daria is an excellent guide - knowledgeable and passionate about her city. She revealed to us unusual places in Berlin and Potsdam, where tourists rarely set foot. She brought her own vision and an original look at seemingly familiar things to the story about the history of the city.
Berlin outside Alexanderplatz
This story is about how managers lived behind barbed wires, and workers walked around in palaces. Includes walking and driving tour of the main districts of the city, as well as their history, which can surprise.
What you need to know:
- price - €175 per tour;
- prohibited with children;
- up to 3 people allowed;
- lasts 4 hours.
Reviews:
An interesting tour and a wonderful guide Daria! I advise both those who are in Berlin for the first time and those who have already been in the city: the peculiarities of the architecture of East Berlin are a topic as interesting as it is rare in tourist guides.
On the advice of the guide Andrey, we turned to Daria with a request to show an alternative Berlin, as a result we were very pleased! Daria showed us the quarters of Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain, the route had a lot of non-standard graffiti, monuments to punks and migrants, postmodern buildings, as well as stories about places of worship and anarchist squats. We also looked at Stalin's alley out of the corner of our eye, the scope was impressive! I really liked the Escrucia, we recommend it!
Today it is just a landmark, near which photographs of crowds of foreigners are taken all the time. But the story behind it all makes you appreciate every moment of your life. It is enough to know it "from the inside".
The first thing I noticed when I arrived in Berlin was that construction cranes were visible everywhere, and the roads were fenced off because pipes and tiles were being changed.
Berlin is a city under construction, or rather, recovering. And he restores his imperial pre-war greatness. Almost every building in the center has a stand with a photograph showing what the building or empty space looked like before the war.
In this regard, the Berliners and I are similar: the Second World War is still alive for us or ended only yesterday. All the rest, I don't care for a long time.
As an example, I will show how the royal palace is being restored.
Elector Frederick II, nicknamed the "Iron Tooth", began the construction of the palace in 1443. On the site where the palace would later appear, there was a fortress. By order of Elector Joachim II, a luxurious residence in the Renaissance style was built on the site of the fortress. After the Thirty Years' War, the Great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm took up the beautification of the dilapidated palace. The palace was turned into a magnificent royal residence by Elector Frederick III, who became King Frederick I of Prussia in 1701. Under the leadership of the architect Andreas Schlüteran, starting in 1699, a large-scale transformation of the palace into a grandiose example of Protestant baroque architecture began. With the exception of the domed building erected in 1845-1853, the appearance of the palace remained practically unchanged until the middle of the 20th century. As a result of large-scale bombing of Berlin on February 3 and 24, 1945, the building of the City Palace was damaged by destruction and fire. The palace, in which only the external and load-bearing walls, flights of stairs and separate rooms of the wing with the White Hall were preserved, was a picturesque and dramatic picture of grandiose ruins. From 1945 to 1950 some rooms of the palace, including the White Hall, were somehow restored for exhibitions. For the new authorities, the palace was a symbol of Prussian absolutism, and the leadership of the GDR abandoned the idea of an expensive restoration of the destroyed building and decided to demolish it. At the end of 1950, on the orders of Walter Ulbricht, the City Palace was blown up.
After the demolition of the palace, the Marx and Engels Square from May 1, 1951 became the venue for demonstrations and parades with a platform for the country's leadership. In 1973-1976, the Palace of the Republic was built on the site of the tribune. On the south side of the square, in 1964, the building of the State Council of the GDR was erected, into which the portal of the City Palace was built, from the balcony of which Karl Liebknecht proclaimed a socialist republic in Germany in 1918.
Now the palace is being restored. One of its facades will acquire its former appearance, the other will become modern. It is expected that construction will be completed in 2019, when the building of the future complex will house museums, a library, laboratories, a cafe and a restaurant with a panoramic view.
From a historical point of view, such a "restoration" is insignificant, but it is important from an ideological standpoint. In Moscow, for example, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was restored; restored imperial Russia, and the Germans are restoring imperial Germany.
Another distinguishing feature of Berlin is the memory of the Berlin Wall, dividing the city into East and West Berlin.
I do not know why Stalin in 1944 agreed to the division of Berlin, which was located in the depths of the zone that the USSR was supposed to occupy. This was probably the condition without which our dear allies did not want to open a second front.
In fact, the USSR occupied historical Prussia, and the rest of Germany went to the allies. By the way, this was very correct, because it was Prussia who at one time reunited Germany; Prussia was the first to acquire a truly modern army; Prussia is responsible for all German expansion in the 19th and 20th century.
Prussia always wanted to fight and rule, while the rest of Germany wanted to live well, but quietly.
After all, Prussia arose from the Northern March, created to protect the rest of the German world, including the Teutonic Order, which not only defended itself from the Slavic and Baltic peoples, but also actively advanced to the East, was actively engaged in reformatting these peoples in the German manner. And after all, this was partly successful: where are the Prussians, Curonians - the completely disappeared Baltic ethnic groups?
While reunified Germany is only 27 years old - what will happen next?
Here, for example, is the monument to the Victory Column (Golden Elsa), designed by the architect Heinrich Strack in 1864-1873 as a national monument to the German unification wars. Previously, this monument stood at the Reichstag. But Hitler ordered him to be moved. After the war, the column remained in West Berlin, and although they wanted to demolish it, it survived.
Nearby, monuments to German military leaders are being restored.
But back to divided Berlin. Here is the Brandenburg Gate: everything behind the tail of the horses is West Berlin, and everything in front of the heads of the horses is East Berlin.
Thus, the territory of historical Berlin entered East Berlin, and the former suburbs of Berlin, included in the city only in 1920, became part of West Berlin.
What is the Brandenburg Gate? This is the gate from the fortress wall of the city. This version of the gate was already symbolic, but once there was a real wall and a real gate.
And those gates that we see were built by Karl Gottgard Langgans in 1789-1791. and are the first significant work done in the style of Berlin classicism. The Propylaea of the Acropolis in Athens served as a model for the Brandenburg Gate.
Why the Brandenburg Gate? The Nordic Mark became the Mark of Brandenburg. According to the Golden Bull of 1356, the margraves ruling Brandenburg received the prestigious title of Electors, which gave them the right to vote in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor, after which the state was called the Electorate of Brandenburg. Since 1605, the Electors of Brandenburg, as regents, ruled the Duchy of Prussia. After the death of the last of the Prussian dukes, Albrecht Friedrich, in 1618, the Duchy of Prussia was formally inherited by the Elector of Brandenburg, Johann Sigismund, and from that time on, the Brandenburg Mark and the Duchy of Prussia were ruled in personal union by the Electors of Brandenburg, and the history of the margraviate became an integral history of the united state of Brandenburg-Prussia, which finally managed to unite only in the second half of the XVII century. In the XVIII century it was transformed into the Kingdom of Prussia.
As for Berlin, it was the capital of the Margraviate/Electorate of Brandenburg from 1417, and then the capital of Prussia, and then the capital of Germany. As the Germans used to say in the 19th century, Berlin is at the head of Prussia, Prussia is at the head of Germany, Germany is at the head of the world.
We note in parentheses that the Duchy of Prussia for about 300 years was in vassal dependence on the kingdom of Poland, and part of Prussia - Royal Prussia (Pomerelia, Kulmerlandia, Pomesania - Malbork Voivodeship (Marienburg), Gdansk (Danzig), Torun (Thorn) and Elblag (Elbing )) and was completely part of Poland from 1466 to 1772, when Poland was divided between Prussia, Austria and Russia.
These lands changed hands. Initially, they belonged to the indigenous Baltic peoples.
Then came the Slavs. The Slavs were ousted by the Germans, but not for long: the kingdom of Poland appeared, and the Germans lost to them. The Germans had to become vassals and subjects of Poland. But they did not forget about anything - as soon as the opportunity presented itself, they regained Malbrock, Danzing, etc. After the 1st World War, part of these lands returned to the newly formed Poland, during the 2nd World War they returned to Germany, and at the end of it they returned to Poland again. But it should be noted that until 1945 the Germans still lived there. Only then did they think of evicting them.
Have the Germans come to terms with the current state of affairs? I am not sure. In any case, I saw posters calling for visiting the monuments of German culture located in Poland - in Elbląg and others.
Behind the Brandenburg Gate (they were in East Berlin), in the most prominent place is our embassy - the former embassy of the USSR
Stalin, by the way, did not want either the division of Germany or the division of Berlin. He hoped that communism would win throughout Germany, but we had to be content with what was left.
And now, imagine this idiocy: in the middle of the GDR there is a tiny piece of the FRG. Back in 1944-1945, it was agreed that the USSR should not interfere with the delivery there of building materials, food and other goods that went to West Berlin by rail from the FRG. This road was guarded by the border guards of the GDR.
Where did electricity, water, gas come from? Not by railroad.
At any moment, the GDR, it would seem, could stop passing trains, supply water and electricity, but did not. Everyone understood that then the Third World War.
True, in 1948-1949, the Soviet Union carried out a blockade of the railway and road routes of the Western Allies to the western sectors of Berlin, which were under their control.
On January 1, 1947, the American and British authorities, without notifying the Soviet side, through the economic merger of their zones, decide to create the so-called Bizonia. Customs barriers between both zones have been abolished in order to promote economic development. As a result of the London Conference in the spring of 1948, as a result of the annexation of the French zone of occupation, Bizonia becomes Trizonia and is included in the economic organization Western Europe. The six Western states participating in the London Conference are preparing the monetary reform of West Germany. They recommend that the German administration consider establishing a democratic government. In protest against unilateral agreements, on March 20, 1948, the Soviet Union leaves the Control Council, thus putting an end to the four-sided administration.
After the Allies carried out a monetary reform in their occupation zone on June 20, 1948 (replacing the old depreciated Reichsmark with new brand German Emission Bank), the Soviet occupation authorities, in turn, on June 23, 1948, carried out a similar monetary reform in the Eastern Zone. Since the economic ideologies of the victorious countries radically diverged, the Soviet occupation authorities closed the borders, thereby completely blocking West Berlin, which was inside the zone of Soviet occupation.
Between March 31 and April 10, 1948, the USSR demanded that all trains to Berlin from the western zones be subject to screening.
On June 20, 1948, the three western zones accept the Deutsche Mark instead of the old occupation money. With this monetary reform, the West economically separates Trizonia from the Soviet zone. As a result, two completely different currencies come into circulation in Berlin.
In response, Soviet forces block all rail and river traffic at the entrance to Berlin. The power supply to the western part of the city is cut off.
On June 24, 1948, the blockade becomes absolute, which is a complete violation of the quadripartite agreement, according to which the supply of Berlin is carried out by joint efforts. Air supply remains the only possible way to deliver food to the blockaded zones.
Therefore, the Western Allies organized an air bridge, through which American and British transport aircraft supplied the population of the city. The blockade continued for a year.
It is now believed that the planes saved West Berlin.
It's funny, of course.
Firstly, you can’t transfer the same water over an air bridge, and in general, you won’t transfer much. Secondly, the planes could shoot down.
But they didn't crash.
The movement of civilians from the western sectors of the city to the eastern was limited by the SVAG (Soviet military administration in Germany) for only 5 days (from June 24 to 29) in order to streamline the process of exchanging old banknotes for new ones in the eastern sector. Further, the population could, without any obstacles, buy everything they needed in the Soviet sector. Warehouses, which were located in the western sectors of the city, could fully meet the needs of citizens during these 5 days. accumulated in warehouses a large number of food stocks, in particular grain belonging to the SVAG, but the military administration of the western sectors blocked the delivery of products intended for the entire city, and used them only to supply the western sectors. The food reserves collected in these warehouses were enough to provide the inhabitants of the western sectors with the established rations for two months (July and August).
On the territory of the Soviet sector there were 2,800 food stores of various kinds. A large number of these stores were deployed directly near the border with the western sectors. Thus, residents of the western sectors could receive food in the Soviet sector using cards that were issued to them not only in their own sectors, but also in the Soviet one. On August 17, the Information Bureau of the SVAG announced the provision of coal to the population of all four sectors of Berlin. As a result of the measures taken by the SVAG, residents of all sectors of Berlin received 60,000 tons of coal briquettes and a large amount of firewood in the second half of August alone. On the twenty-sixth of August, the SVAG ordered the distribution of milk from September 1, 1948, to all children under 14 years old from the western sectors registered in the eastern sector. In total, 55 thousand liters of milk were allocated. Through the line of the SVAG, as well as from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Holland and through the markets of the land of Brandenburg to West Berlin, only in August - October (that is, in three months) 1948, about 383 thousand tons of food supplies were delivered, which accounted for ¾ of the total the volume of food transported over the "air bridge" in ten months. Every day, up to 900 tons of products arrived from the Soviet zone through official channels to West Berlin, not counting coal, textiles and other goods (clothing, shoes, etc.).
On August 3, 1948, in negotiations between the USSR and representatives of the three Western governments, Stalin actually abandoned his original conditions, which complete failure West from plans to create a West German state. Stalin declared that he was ready to lift the blockade if the Western powers agreed to a joint communique, which would include a provision on the “unshakable position of the Soviet government”, which disagreed with the London decisions, which actually declared the intention to create the FRG.
Why did the USSR retreat? Apparently, there was no more strength to fight. In the summer of 1949, the USSR carried out the first test of an atomic bomb, but the United States had atomic bombs for a long time.
Following the FRG, the GDR was created - the dream of a united socialist Germany had to be abandoned. By the way, it was October 7, 1949: today is another anniversary.
Another Berlin crisis ended with the building of the Berlin Wall.
Allied troops continued to stand in West Berlin. On April 7, 1961, Khrushchev issued an ultimatum on the Berlin issue, announcing that the USSR would conclude a peace treaty with the GDR before the end of the year and transfer full power over the eastern part of Berlin to it. He demanded that US troops withdraw from West Berlin.
On July 25, 1961, President Kennedy, in his speech, listed a number of measures to improve the combat capability of the American military, and on July 28, he issued a statement confirming the US determination to defend West Berlin.
It became obvious that the confrontation was escalating and that some urgent measures were about to be taken.
But many Germans from the GDR worked in West Berlin, as they paid more there. They began to emigrate. Emigration from East Berlin intensified.
On August 12, free movement between West and East Berlin was banned. The German communists acted resolutely: on alarm, all the rank and file members of the party were mobilized, who created a living cordon along the border of East and West Berlin. They stood until all of West Berlin was surrounded by a concrete wall with checkpoints. This was a violation of the Potsdam Agreement, which provided for free movement in the city. The Berlin Wall for many years became a symbol of confrontation, it was here that the border of the warring blocs was now.
Both blocs tried to make life as good as possible on their side of the Berlin Wall.
Historical monuments remained on the side of the GDR.
Modern buildings were also being built - the same television tower.
Or here is the Alexander Platz area. House with a mosaic - the House of the Teacher. How familiar!
But nothing helped. East Germans rushed to West Berlin at the risk of their lives, storming the Berlin Wall.
What could possibly be on the other side of the extraordinary to put everything at stake?
You might think that the Germans were starving in the GDR. On the contrary, it was some Soviet leader who went into a rage could completely cut off the supply of West Berlin. And by the way, it is not yet a fact that the war would have begun. But they didn't take the risk.
You might think that a German who escaped from the GDR in the West became rich and famous - but nothing like that. You might think that he was starting to travel around the world - and the East Germans had many opportunities for this. The GDR was a member of the UN and was a member of all international organizations - there was scope for careers.
So why did they run?
I think it's the innate adventurousness of some people. There is a breed of people who think that there is something around the corner that will make them happy. Thanks to these people, the whole planet was once mastered. What is their percentage in the total population? Nobody considered.
Probably, they climbed.
What are they doing now? They just leave, who goes where. But when there is no wall, it is imperceptible.
From this it follows that the freedom of movement of a person does not need to be limited - this is his natural right.
In other posts, I will talk about some of the architectural monuments of Berlin, about museums, and, basically, it will be East Berlin. In fact, this name is not entirely correct: East Berlin is central Berlin, historical Berlin, and West Berlin is the outskirts.
On August 13, 1961, the construction of the Berlin Wall began in the GDR. She not only divided the city into two dissimilar parts, but also became the main symbol of the Cold War. Life found out the reasons for the construction of the Berlin Wall and the consequences to which it led.
13 08 2017
20:32
According to the agreements concluded by the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition during the war years, the defeated Germany was divided into zones of occupation. Although the capital of the Third Reich, Berlin, was stormed only by Soviet troops, occupation zones were created there as well. The USSR occupied the eastern part of the city, the Americans - the southwestern, the British - the western, and the French gained control of the northwestern section.
At first, the city was jointly ruled by an allied Control Council, which included representatives from all four sides. The border between the western and eastern parts of the city at first was purely arbitrary. Later, a dividing line with checkpoints appeared in its place. However, it did not extend to the entire length of the border. The mode of crossing was free, residents of different parts of Berlin moved around the city calmly, went to visit friends and work from the western to the eastern part and vice versa.
Relations between the allies began to deteriorate very quickly. At first, they did not affect Berlin, touching only on German territories. The allies, under the pretext of more efficient economic activity, united their zones of occupation, first into Bisonia, and then Trizonia.
In 1948, a meeting of representatives of the six Western powers was held in London, which worked out mechanisms for the revival of German statehood. This was perceived with hostility in the Kremlin, and the USSR (whose representatives were not even invited) boycotted the activities in the Control Council in protest.
In the summer of the same year, the allies, without agreement with Moscow, carried out a monetary reform in Trizonia. Since the eastern and western parts of Berlin were still economically connected at that time, in the USSR the separate monetary reform was regarded as an attempt at sabotage (the reform forced West Berliners to "dump" money in the eastern part, where old money was still in circulation) and the message was completely closed for several days between parts of the city. These events went down in history as the blockade of West Berlin and had a very negative impact on the image of the Soviet Union. Although there was no famine or even a hint of it in the western part of the city, the whole world went around the footage of "raisin bombing", when American planes parachuted sweets dropping sweets to the joyful Berlin children.
The blockade of West Berlin meant that the final disengagement was only a matter of time. In 1949, the Western Allies restored the statehood of the Germans, creating the Federal Republic of Germany.
The USSR proclaimed the GDR with a six-month delay. Shortly before his death, Stalin made a last attempt to settle the issue. He invited the Western allies to unite Germany into one state, but on the categorical condition of its neutral and non-bloc status. However, the Americans, for whom West Germany was the main outpost in Europe, were afraid of losing control, so they agreed only on the condition that Germany could voluntarily join NATO. If, of course, she has such a desire. But the USSR could not agree to this.
Instead of rapprochement, there was a final disengagement. Germany fundamentally did not recognize the existence of the GDR, even on the maps of its territory were designated as German, but under Soviet control. West Germany automatically broke off diplomatic relations with any country that recognized the existence of the GDR until the early 1970s.
Free City of Berlin
In 1958, Nikita Khrushchev attempted to resolve the German issue. He made an offer to the Western Allies that became known as the Berlin Ultimatum. Khrushchev's idea boiled down to the following: the western part of Berlin is declared an independent free city. The allies leave the zone of occupation and transfer control under the control of an independent civilian administration. The USSR and its allies take upon themselves the obligation not to interfere in the life of a free city, whose inhabitants themselves choose its economic and political structure. Otherwise, the USSR threatened to hand over control of the border to the GDR authorities, who would tighten it.
The British reacted rather neutrally to Khrushchev's proposal and were ready for further discussion of the proposal on compromise terms that would suit everyone. However, the American side was strongly opposed. If this proposal was satisfied, West Berlin turned out to be an island, surrounded on all sides by the territory of the GDR. Under these conditions, its independence and economic development were directly dependent on East Germany, and it is quite obvious that over time it would either be completely absorbed or brought under control.
Khrushchev postponed the final decision several times, trying to arrange meetings with the Western allies. But the parties did not come to a compromise. In April 1961, he announced that by the end of the year, full control of East Berlin would be transferred to the administration of the GDR.
Flight from the Republic
Fearing that communication between parts of the city would soon be cut off, many residents of the eastern part of the city decided to take the last chance to defect to the west. The flight of East Germans to the western part was quite common from the first years of the occupation. Then communication between parts of the country was still free. Several hundred thousand people moved from the eastern zone of occupation to the western one. A feature of this flight was that a significant part of the fugitives were highly qualified specialists. They did not want to live in the Soviet system of values with a lot of restrictions, both political and economic.
Of course, big business also fled, the existence of which was not provided for in the Soviet system. So, almost all the factories of the Auto Union concern ended up in the Soviet zone of occupation. But all their leadership and almost all employees managed to move to the western part, where they resumed business. So the world-famous auto concern Audi appeared.
The Kremlin has been worried about the flight from the GDR for a long time. After Stalin's death, Beria offered to radically solve the German problem. But not in the way one might assume based on his image. He proposed not to hurry at all with the establishment of a socialist economy in the GDR, while retaining the capitalist one. It was also proposed to develop light industry as opposed to heavy industry (under Stalin it was the other way around). Later, at the trial, Beria was blamed for this.
Free communication between the GDR and the FRG was terminated during Stalin's lifetime, in 1952. However, these restrictions did not apply to Berlin, its inhabitants continued to move between zones. In only half of 1961, about 200 thousand inhabitants fled from East Berlin. And in the last month of free movement, 30 thousand people became defectors.
Start of construction
On August 12, 1961, the GDR authorities announced the closure of communications between the eastern and western parts of the city. All city communists, police officers and some employees were mobilized to guard the "border" at night. They stretched out in a human chain, not letting anyone through. Troops were stationed nearby.
The GDR authorities accused the FRG of provocations, acts of sabotage and attempts to destabilize the situation. They also expressed their indignation at the luring of East Berliners into the western sector, which led to the disruption of the economic plans of the GDR and financial damage. Under this pretext, on the night of August 13, 1961, the construction of a wall began, which divided the city into two parts.
For two days, the border guards did not let anyone through to either side. At the same time, the border line was surrounded by barbed wire. The construction of concrete barriers began only on 15 August.
The border was completely closed, no one was supposed to leave East Berlin and get there. Even the metro and railway lines connecting the western and eastern parts of the city were blocked.
World War III is close
The construction of the Berlin Wall led to a serious political crisis that almost turned into a full-scale military clash. In response to the beginning of the construction of fortifications in the United States, a set of reservists was announced. Then, forcibly, the term of service of officers who were supposed to retire to the reserve was extended for one year. An additional one and a half thousand American soldiers were transferred to West Berlin, with the prospect of transferring a division. Separate units were put on high alert.
On August 24, the American military, supported by tanks, lined up along the wall under construction. In response, the Soviet army also canceled the transfer to the reserve. A few days later, the military contingent began to build up in the western part of the city. By October, it was additionally increased by 40,000 soldiers. An explosive situation was created that threatened to escalate into a military conflict.
The conflict came closest to the hot phase on October 26, 1961. From the side of the American checkpoint "Charlie" several bulldozers drove up to the wall under the cover of 10 tanks. The Soviet side, fearing that the Americans would try to demolish parts of the wall, sent several Soviet tanks to the checkpoint. These events went down in history as a tank confrontation.
American and Soviet combat vehicles stood opposite each other all night without taking any action. Any careless movement could lead to the most serious consequences. Tankers stood like that for a whole day. Only on the morning of October 28 did the Soviet side withdraw the cars. The Americans did the same. The threat of a military clash was temporarily over.
Anti-fascist defensive rampart
In the GDR, the wall was called the Anti-Fascist Defensive Wall for a long time. Which hinted at the need to build this fortification in order to protect against the attempts of the West German "fascists" to interfere with the people's rule in the GDR. In West Germany, for a long time it was called the Wall of Shame. This went on for 10 years. In the early 1970s, the GDR and the FRG recognized each other and a gradual process of détente began. Therefore, the naming of the wall, offensive to each other, began to disappear from official statements.
However, the wall remained and even improved. At first, these were minor fortifications. In some areas, the matter was limited to simple Bruno spirals of barbed wire, which could be jumped over with due skill. Therefore, the main barrier functions were performed by the soldiers of the GDR army, who had the right to shoot to kill at border violators. True, this rule applied only to East Berliners. West Berliners, who wanted to make their way in the opposite direction, were not fired upon. Although the flight from east to west became much more common, isolated cases of flight in the opposite direction also occurred.
However, most often the wall jumpers, as they were called, had no political or economic motives. Mostly they were drunk young people who, out of hooligan motives or to impress friends, climbed over the wall with a demonstration of their prowess. Most often, they were detained and, after interrogation, expelled back.
Despite the gradual rapprochement of the two Germanys, the wall soon turned into a real masterpiece of fortification. By the end of the 1970s, it had become an almost insurmountable obstacle. Seen from East Berlin, potential fugitives first had to overcome a concrete wall or barbed wire. Immediately behind them began a continuous row of anti-tank hedgehogs. Having passed them, the fugitives again found themselves in front of a barbed wire fence, which was equipped with an alarm system that alerted patrols to violations of the border.
Next was the patrol zone, along which foot and car guards moved. Behind it was a barrage ditch, with a depth of three to five meters. Then followed the control-track strip of sand, which was illuminated by powerful lanterns located a few meters apart. And finally, a wall of concrete blocks 3.6 meters high, on top of which cylindrical asbestos-cement barriers were installed to prevent catching. In addition to everything, every 300 meters there were watchtowers. In some areas, even anti-tank fortifications were installed.
This is perhaps the only case in history when such a solid barrier was built to prevent the flight of its citizens, and not to protect against the intrusion of intruders.
The total length of the wall was 106 kilometers. Concrete blocks were installed along its entire length, but it was only so well reinforced in the most potentially dangerous places. In other parts, some elements were missing. Somewhere there was no barbed wire, somewhere earthen ditches or signaling.
The houses adjoining the border fence were initially evicted, and all windows and doors were concreted. Later they were completely demolished.
Only pensioners had the right to move freely around the city. But the economically active population of the eastern part of Berlin had to receive a special pass, which, however, did not allow permanent residence in another part of the city. Meanwhile, by the time the Berlin Wall was erected, the standard of living in the western part of Germany exceeded that of the GDR. And in the future, this gap has only increased.
The flow of fugitives with the erection of the wall thinned out, but did not dry up. The Germans went to the most incredible tricks to bypass the wall. They dug huge underground tunnels, used hang gliders and balloons to escape. In this regard, an article was introduced into the criminal code punishing flight from the republic with imprisonment.
Destruction
The Berlin Wall lasted almost three decades. Back in the mid-80s, plans were made for its further improvement using the most modern means of signaling and surveillance. However, the beginning of the wave of velvet revolutions in Europe dramatically changed the situation. In early 1989, Hungary unilaterally opened its border with capitalist Austria. From that moment on, the wall turned into a meaningless artifact. Germans who wanted to leave for Germany simply came to Hungary and through its border got to Austria, from where they moved to the west of Germany.
The authorities of the GDR, under the influence of rapidly unfolding historical processes, were forced to yield. In November 1989, the free issuance of visas to all those wishing to visit the western part of Germany was announced. And in December, part of the wall near the Brandenburg Gate was dismantled. In fact, 1989 was the last year of the wall's existence, although it stood a little longer.
The fortification was demolished at the end of 1990 after the unification of the GDR and the FRG into one state. Only a few of its small sections were decided to be preserved in memory of the symbol of the Cold War, which separated the two political and economic systems for 30 years.