Hawk1981
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- Apr 1, 2020
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In the early morning hours of August 13, 1961, temporary barriers were put up at the border separating the Soviet sector of East Berlin from West Berlin. Over the next few days and weeks, the coils of barbed wire strung along the border to West Berlin were replaced by a wall of concrete slabs and hollow bricks. The wall was built by East Berlin construction workers closely watched by East German border guards and militia. The Berlin Wall succeeded in completely sealing off the two sections of Berlin, and came to symbolize the Cold War.
The border between the two Germanys had been sealed off for some time, but when the Wall went up, the loophole into West Berlin, through which East Germans had been able to flee to West Germany, was also closed. The East German regime had effectively locked up its own population. Between 1949 and 1961, about 2.7 million people left East Germany for the west, causing increasing difficulties for the East German Communist Party. Many of the people who fled the East were much needed youth, half of the refugees in 1960 and 1961 were under 25 years old. In the planned economy of the East, all workers were needed to try to keep pace with the economic advances in the West.
During a press conference in East Berlin in June, 1961, Walter Ulbricht, head of the State Council of East Germany told reporters that, "No one has the intention of building a wall." But during the summer Ulbricht and the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev had been in conversations about how to stem the flow of Germans crossing the border to West Berlin. About 200,000 had left in 1960 alone, which was seriously endangering economic planning. When Khrushchev told Ulbricht, "When I attended your party convention two years ago, everything was fine. What happened? You wanted to pull ahead of West Germany by 1961/62." Ulbricht replied candidly, "The population is making demands that cannot be met."
Walter Ulbricht had been the effective head of the German Democratic Republic in eastern Germany since 1950. A veteran of the First World War on the eastern front, Ulbricht had deserted at the end of the war and during the German Revolution, became the head of the soldier Soviet in his army corps. During the Weimar Republic he rose rapidly through the ranks of the German Communist Party and was a member of the Central Committee. When the National Socialist regime assumed power in Germany, Ulbricht fled to France and the Soviet Union.
During the Second World War, Ulbricht became a close ally to Nikita Khrushchev, who organized the city's defenses during Battle of Stalingrad while Ulbricht used a bullhorn to encourage German soldiers to change sides. Following the conclusion of the battle in 1943, Ulbricht and other German communist exiles conducted a large communist rally in downtown Stalingrad that many German prisoners were forced to attend.
At the conclusion of the war, Ulbricht returned to Germany to build up the Communist Party following an orthodox Stalinist plan. Personally loyal to Stalin, cold and calculating, Ulbricht was known for his inflexibility and unwillingness to make compromises. Disliked even among his German Communist peers, he was a shrewd and intelligent politician well known for denouncing his rivals and having a talent for escaping difficult situations.
Walter Ulbricht
The plans for building a wall around Berlin's western sectors were well along during the summer of 1961. Ulbricht had managed to keep secret the purchase of vast amounts of building materials, including barbed wire, concrete pillars, timber, and mesh wire. Khrushchev sent his ambassador to see Ulbricht in order to "explain to him my idea of taking advantage of the current tensions with the West and laying an iron ring around Berlin."
On August 13, 1961, Ulbricht issued a communique stating "Beginning tomorrow, checkpoints will be erected and transit will be prohibited. Anyone who wishes to cross the border can do so only with the permission of certain authorities of the German Democratic Republic."
Ulbricht's implementation of his New Economic System after the construction of the Wall failed to match the pace of West Germany's economy, and he found himself increasingly isolated. The construction of the Berlin Wall became a public relations disaster for him, not only in the West, but even with the Eastern Bloc. Ulbricht was out of step under the new Soviet regime under Brezhnev and was forced to step down from most of his duties as Chairman of the East German Communist Party in 1971. He continued in the honorary role of head of state until his death in 1973.
The border between the two Germanys had been sealed off for some time, but when the Wall went up, the loophole into West Berlin, through which East Germans had been able to flee to West Germany, was also closed. The East German regime had effectively locked up its own population. Between 1949 and 1961, about 2.7 million people left East Germany for the west, causing increasing difficulties for the East German Communist Party. Many of the people who fled the East were much needed youth, half of the refugees in 1960 and 1961 were under 25 years old. In the planned economy of the East, all workers were needed to try to keep pace with the economic advances in the West.
During a press conference in East Berlin in June, 1961, Walter Ulbricht, head of the State Council of East Germany told reporters that, "No one has the intention of building a wall." But during the summer Ulbricht and the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev had been in conversations about how to stem the flow of Germans crossing the border to West Berlin. About 200,000 had left in 1960 alone, which was seriously endangering economic planning. When Khrushchev told Ulbricht, "When I attended your party convention two years ago, everything was fine. What happened? You wanted to pull ahead of West Germany by 1961/62." Ulbricht replied candidly, "The population is making demands that cannot be met."
Walter Ulbricht had been the effective head of the German Democratic Republic in eastern Germany since 1950. A veteran of the First World War on the eastern front, Ulbricht had deserted at the end of the war and during the German Revolution, became the head of the soldier Soviet in his army corps. During the Weimar Republic he rose rapidly through the ranks of the German Communist Party and was a member of the Central Committee. When the National Socialist regime assumed power in Germany, Ulbricht fled to France and the Soviet Union.
During the Second World War, Ulbricht became a close ally to Nikita Khrushchev, who organized the city's defenses during Battle of Stalingrad while Ulbricht used a bullhorn to encourage German soldiers to change sides. Following the conclusion of the battle in 1943, Ulbricht and other German communist exiles conducted a large communist rally in downtown Stalingrad that many German prisoners were forced to attend.
At the conclusion of the war, Ulbricht returned to Germany to build up the Communist Party following an orthodox Stalinist plan. Personally loyal to Stalin, cold and calculating, Ulbricht was known for his inflexibility and unwillingness to make compromises. Disliked even among his German Communist peers, he was a shrewd and intelligent politician well known for denouncing his rivals and having a talent for escaping difficult situations.
Walter Ulbricht
The plans for building a wall around Berlin's western sectors were well along during the summer of 1961. Ulbricht had managed to keep secret the purchase of vast amounts of building materials, including barbed wire, concrete pillars, timber, and mesh wire. Khrushchev sent his ambassador to see Ulbricht in order to "explain to him my idea of taking advantage of the current tensions with the West and laying an iron ring around Berlin."
On August 13, 1961, Ulbricht issued a communique stating "Beginning tomorrow, checkpoints will be erected and transit will be prohibited. Anyone who wishes to cross the border can do so only with the permission of certain authorities of the German Democratic Republic."
Ulbricht's implementation of his New Economic System after the construction of the Wall failed to match the pace of West Germany's economy, and he found himself increasingly isolated. The construction of the Berlin Wall became a public relations disaster for him, not only in the West, but even with the Eastern Bloc. Ulbricht was out of step under the new Soviet regime under Brezhnev and was forced to step down from most of his duties as Chairman of the East German Communist Party in 1971. He continued in the honorary role of head of state until his death in 1973.