THE DIVISION OF BERLIN

Germany and Berlin are divided between the four allied nations. By 1949 the Allied occupied zones combine into the Federal Republic of Germany. The USSR’s zone becomes the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR).

In June 1961 a reporter asks East German leader Walter Ulbricht how he planned to stop the flood of refugees. He answers “No one intends to build a wall.”

After the division of Germany and Berlin millions flee to the west to escape communist rule.

The Iron Curtain Personified

Two months later, Berliners find barbed wire and fencing dividing the city. It cuts through streets, rail lines, cemeteries and rivers. By the 1980’s the Berlin Wall is a complex system of walls, fences, barriers and watch towers.

During the 28 years of the wall 235 people were killed attempting escape. 5,043 people escaped successfully including 574 border guards.

Cold War Battleground

In West Berlin the US sets up spy networks to intercept and decode messages between the Warsaw Pact countries.

In East Berlin the HVA, an espionage agency, is set up to infiltrate NATO and West German intelligence.

Glienicke Bridge, linking West Berlin to Potsdam, becomes famous as the exchange point for spies and dissidents between the two sides.

Berlin Becomes the World Stage for Propaganda“Walter Ulbricht established peace in 1961 when he closed the doors to the provocations of warmongers and front city hyenas by bringing order to Potsdamer Platz. “Election Commission 1961

"The wall is the most obvious and vivid

demonstration of the failures of the Communist

system."John F. Kennedy, June 26,

1963

“The wall is being put up to stop the hostile activities of the revanchist and militaristic forces of West Germany,*“-Ulbricht

“Today I say: As long as the gate is closed, as long as this scar of a wall is permitted to stand, it is not the German question alone that remains open, but the question of freedom for all mankind.” Ronald Reagan

“The wall will remain as long as the conditions that had led to its construction are not changed. It will still exist. It will still exist in 50 and even in 100 years." -- Erich HoneckerJan.9 1989

“The Berlin Wall is the defining achievement of socialism.” -George Will

"Don't get cocky, Mr. Brandt," one message warned the then Governing Mayor of Berlin. "We're good shots."

Two Sides-One Story

“The Wall must go,” West Berlin Mayor Willy Brandt said. “But, until it goes the city must live.”

Life in West Berlin returns to normal. Lifted by the Marshall Plan the city flourishes.

The Wall becomes part of the landscape and a regular stop for the tourist busses.

East Berliners also began to adjust to their new life under communism.

As time went on unemployment and poverty were virtually eliminated.

The cost for this social order was the loss of both physical and intellectual freedom. The Berlin Wall was a constant reminder of that cost.

Two WorldsTwo Worlds

“Nightlife on Ku’damm was glamorous yet devoid of interpersonal interaction.”

“Nightlife on Unter den Linden was dull and subdued but characterized by intense personal interaction.”

7% of residents have telephones7% of residents have telephones

98% of residents have phones98% of residents have phones

Apartment costs 75 East Apartment costs 75 East German marks per monthGerman marks per month

Apartment costs 411 Apartment costs 411 DM per monthDM per month

Average earnings Average earnings are1300GDR marks / are1300GDR marks / monthmonth

Average earnings Average earnings are 3000DM/ monthare 3000DM/ month

“Art helps sharpen understanding, whether by glancing at other religions or behind an ‘iron curtain.’” —photographer Lutz Masanetz

The Berlin Wall as a CanvasThe Berlin Wall as a Canvas

In 1984 two French artists Thierry Noir and Christophe Bouchet living in Kreuzberg (west) begin painting the wall, just 5 meters from their house. They also screw objects into the wall as part of their artistic expression.

It is forbidden to paint the wall so they work quickly with a look out for soldiers.

The Vopos take the objects off the wall. The artists are monitored by the Stasi and are not allowed to travel in the east.

"We are not trying to make the wall beautiful because in fact it's absolutely impossible. 80 persons have been killed trying to jump over the Berlin wall, to escape to west-Berlin, so you can cover that wall with hundred of kilos of color, it will stay the same. -Christophe Bouchet

The perfection of this frontier was at the same time, through the graffiti on the concrete wall, a reflection of its absurdity. -Thierry Noir

(It was) “a sort of physical reaction against the pressure of daily life near the Berlin wall.” -Noir

The RevolutionaryIn 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev becomes head of the USSR.

"Gorbachev gave us great hope. First of all, he tried to change his country in the same way as we wanted to change our country, through perestroika -- a gradual liberalization." Ulrike Poppe, East German opposition

His policies of perestroika and glasnost quietly usher in a period of revolution that would see the collapse of the Iron Curtain and the Soviet Empire.

Gorbechev signs a treaty with Reagan that reduces nuclear weapons. He withdraws troops from Afghanistan and loosens restrictions on his people.

Reagan visits Berlin in 1987 and delivers a powerful speech in front of Brandenburg Gate.

The Cold War Begins to Thaw

The Iron Curtain Unravels

Hungary opens its borders with Austria. Moscow does nothing to stop them. Within six months 220,000 East Germans cross this border into the west.

"Honecker's first reaction was to send the minister of foreign affairs to Moscow to protest against this decision. Moscow's answer was: 'We can't do anything about it.' This was unique. It was the first time that Moscow had said anything like this to us."

Gunter Schabowski, East German Politburo

"The Soviet Union has no moral or political right to interfere in the affairs of its East European neighbors. They have the right to decide their own fate." -- Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev in Finland, October 1989.

Poland begins talks with Solidarity the previously banned trade union and both sides agree to free elections. Solidarity wins an overwhelming victory taking 99 of 100 seats in the senate.

When the communists phone Gorbechev to see if they should abide by the election results or take the government by force he answers, “The time to yield power has come.”

In Leipzig every Monday demonstrators gather at Nikolai church. It grows into a weekly mass protest. They are met with police brutality, but they continue anyway. They chant ..”We are staying here.” and “Stasi down, Stasi down…Stasi down to the coal mines.”and “keine Gewalt.”

"'We are staying here' was a protest against what the GDR had done: namely to drive young people to leave. That was a turning point, and people said, 'We still have hope.” Jochen Lassig, East German opposition, Leipzig

40th Anniversary of East Germany

On October 7, 1989 Gorbachev is the guest of honor even though Honecker opposes his liberal policies.The celebration turns into a protest march. The people chant “Gorbi, help us!”

(The Polish minister) 'Do you understand German?' I said, 'I do, a little bit.' 'Can you hear?' I said, 'I can.' He said, 'This is the end.' And that was the end: The regime was doomed."

Mikhail Gorbachev

Gorbechev warns Honecker if he doesn’t acknowledge the changes happening he will lose. On October 17 Honecker is ousted from power.

On November 4, 1989 unsatisfied with their new leader Krenz over 500,000 people gather in East Berlin. They are unsure if the government will intervene to stop them. Despite this they march and demand their rights saying “We are the people.”.

"If you live in a system that is suppressive, you don't walk upright, you always go this way, with your head down, and now was a chance to walk upright and to show your face and to show the power of the people." Stefan Heym, East German writer

November 9, 1989Gunter Schabowski announces restrictions on travel to the west would be lifted. Mistaking the timing, he says it would be effective immediately.

The border guards, who have standing orders to shoot anyone attempting escape, are taken by surprise as huge crowds rush to the checkpoints. The guards stand aside. The border is open.

By midnight hundreds of thousands of people were crossing the wall. East and West Berliners embraced each other for the first time in over forty years.

• By December almost one million East Germans had moved to the West

• No one wants Eastern goods causing mass unemployment.

• The West sees Easterners as a burden and the Easterners feel like second class citizens.

• Germany is officially reunited on October 3, 1990, but the divisions run deeper than just geography.

• The reunification effort costs $200 billion by 1993• Many from the East feel like they have been given

no voice in their future, but instead have been peacefully taken over by the West Germans.

“Die Mauer im Kopf”

“The first few months were great-everyone was…like a big family. But after a year the problems started.”

-Anke Dzincielewski former resident East Berlin

Ossies und Wessies“East Germans developed, during 40 years of oppression…a deep sense…of community. It was this communitarian experience that made the events of 1989 possible, East Germans are somewhat reluctant to embrace the colder and more impersonal imperatives of a competitive market society.” -Gunter Scheft

“After billions of marks in financial help, they complain about inequality and still vote for the communists. Haven’t they learned anything in 10 years?” -Kurt Nolte

“I couldn’t imagine marrying an Ossi. Their past and their lives are so different.” -Nadja Berendes, West Berliner

“There is still a huge gap between the East and the West.”H. Michel Institute for Applied Demographics

"I think 40 years of a different identity and a different kind of culture, and a different kind of thinking, and a different kind of language, it's about two generations really. It's not one people any more, not in a sense. So we don't really belong. It's a kind of refugee attitude," Schmidt former East Berlin resident.

“There is a difference between east and west here, a difference of political socialization. The people of the east, in my opinion, expect the state to do more than the state can do. From a state perspective, we have created one Germany. But if you look into people’s hearts, we haven’t yet.” -Gerhard Schröder 2004

A Country United; A People Still Divided

"The days when the East looks to the West as an example are long gone," he said. "For fifteen years the basic principle was that all the changes have to occur in the East, and the West can stay as it is. Now it's time the whole country changed."

After reunification Berlin quickly becomes known as the biggest construction site in the world as the city tries to remove it’s scars. By 2000 Berlin has become one of the most modern cities in the world.

10th Anniversary of Nov. 9

In 1989 the banner in this spot In 1989 the banner in this spot read “We are the People”. read “We are the People”. 10 years later it reads “We were 10 years later it reads “We were the People.”the People.”

Ostalgia parties, or nostalgia for the old Ostalgia parties, or nostalgia for the old eastern way of life, are extremely popular. eastern way of life, are extremely popular. People dance to East German bands, watch People dance to East German bands, watch old East German shows and drink Vita Cola, old East German shows and drink Vita Cola, the communist Coke.the communist Coke.

“People link the parties…to a dive back into a part of their personal life that is gone. People are able to stand apart from the system now.” -Raif Heckel Ostalgia party organizer

"In our heads, we are "In our heads, we are much further apart much further apart than we were in 1990." than we were in 1990." -- Guenther Krause, -- Guenther Krause, East German East German negotiator on negotiator on unification, 1997. unification, 1997.

15 Years Later

• Today the feelings haven’t really changed from East to West. In 2004 the former West Berlin districts voted for the Christian Democrats. The Eastern districts voted for the Democratic Socialist party, which succeeded the communists.

• A few recent polls show some Germans wouldn't mind seeing the Wall return; Easterners would like to return to their former job security, generous social benefits and a slower, less consumer-oriented way of life. Westerners would like to stop supporting the East.

“It’s a consequence of the Wall and decades of division. The east Berliners and west Berliners don’t know each other. Half of the westerners never set foot in the east. There is an estrangement that will take another 15 years to overcome.”

Bibliography

• http://www.andreas.com/berlin.html• http://www.maaa.org/exhi_usa/exhibitions/berlin/

berlin.html• http://www.mikhailgorbachev.org/

• http://www.wall-berlin.org• http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/

rreaganbrandenburggate.htm• http://www.wall-berlin.org/gb/ciel.htm• http://www.berlinwall.itgo.com/climb.htm