BERLIN
After Reunification
Our first visit in 1991 was 10 months after
the first demolitions of the infamous Berlin Wall. There were still some
lengths remaining in the centre of the city.
Brief Background
Following years of East-West tension after the end of
World War 2 the East German authorities had introduced many measures to stop
the flood of residents from the communist controlled eastern side of Berlin
flocking into the more free and affluent sectors controlled by France, Britain
and USA.
From about 1951 many streets linking East and West Berlin were
barricaded leaving 81 controlled crossing points. The trains of the East German
railway company no longer passed through West Berlin. Tram and bus traffic
between the two parts was discontinued and even telephone links were reduced.
Still the enormous tide of emigrees
continued and by 1961 an estimated 2.7 million East Germans had escaped to the
West. After increased tension a huge sudden military operation on the 12th
August 1961 sealed off West Berlin in a matter of hours.
In 1963 a wide
border zone around West Berlin was created, subjected to strict controls. Over
the next few years the Wall was strengthened and became more impassable.
As Berlin was totally inside the German Democratic Republic ( East Germany) the
Wall also was continued right around the Western Sector, so making West Berlin
a virtual island. there were 8 controlled crossing points into East Berlin and
4 direct into East Germany.
The "Wall" was not just a wall but a whole
series of barriers. The total length was 155 km with 300 watch towers.
For almost 30 years access from the West was by strictly
controlled road and rail routes, or by air. A whole generation of Berlin youth
grew up not knowing their nearby neighbours just over the wall. Our friends
lived 2 miles from the border and knew nothing of what existed in that
direction. In some places the Wall was built along the middle of a street with
apartment buildings on either side facing one another over the impassable
barrier.
Artistry on the
Wall |
|
First attempts at
demolition |
On the outer side the real graffiti artists have made the
most of the available "canvas". The height of the wall at about 3 metres was a
surprise, and the top was smooth and rounded.
Escapes
Due to the oppressive regime in East Berlin many people,
particularly young ones, wanted to move to the West. They went to the ultimate
extreme to do so and risked their lives on many occasions. The wide River Spree
formed a boundary between the former East and West Berlin near the famous
Reichstag building.
In 28 years, the Wall claimed well over 200 victims,
shot by guards, drowned in the waters of the Spree or one of the lakes, or
killed jumping out of their houses.
Altogether, over 5000 East Germans,
including 574 border guards, managed to scale the Wall, the first one being
Conrad Schuman who lost no time in jumping over the barbed wire, on 15th August
1961. Most of these escapes in fact took place in the early months when the
border had not yet been completely sealed.
Sixty thousand were sentenced for
attempting to " flee the Republic ". Life imprisonment was the penalty for
providing organized assistance to fugitives.
Escapees used a variety of
methods including cars; heavy lorries; a train; a boat was hi-jacked by 14
people. In October 1964 57 East Berliners passed under the Wall in a tunnel dug
over a period of 6 months. Over two days 31 women, 23 men and 3 children passed
through this narrow tunnel 145 metres long by 70 cms high. Their escape, the
eighth through a tunnel since the Wall was built, ended with a gun battle in
which an East German soldier was killed.
There were actually two parallel
walls separated by a wide cleared area of "no man's land" patrolled by Border
Guards and dogs. |
No Man's Land
across
the River Spree |
|
No Man's Land
near Potsdam |
In the outlying suburban area of
Potsdam the wall (between West Berlin and East Germany) was gone but the
chemically cleared strip of "no man's land" was clearly visible. Along the
centre is the access track and floodlights trained on the Eastern boundary.
Many escapees swam to safety across the River Spree
after climbing the wall and crossing the open patrolled area, but others died
in their attempt.
There is a simple Memorial near the Reichstag to those
who died.
|
Memorial near River Spree |
|
Reichstag before its Renovation |
The Wall comes down
In the Autumn of 1989 dramatic changes in Eastern Block
countries saw Hungary opening its borders and thousands of GDR inhabitants left
their country. The dramatic swell of public opinion led to similar changes in
Poland and Czechoslovakia.
In East Berlin a demonstration on 4th
November on the Alexanderplatz brought out nearly a million people, who
whistled at the SED representatives and called for basic freedoms. Four days
later, the party leaders resigned en bloc. On November 9th 1989 the GDR
unexpectedly opened the crossing points in West Berlin and thousands of people
flocked through. |
There were unforgettable scenes of rejoicing, with
shouting, tears, applause, laughter and singing. East Germans were welcomed
with flowers. Rockets went off to the popping of champagne corks and lighting
of candles. The Wall was taken by storm by the crowds singing and dancing.
Coffee and mulled wine were served to police officers on either side. The Vopos
were heckled.
At Checkpoint Charlie, every Trabant sounding its horn
was cheered by the crowd and its occupants congratulated. The
Kurfürstendamm was overrun by a great flood of people and traffic was
prohibited.
In the days that followed, an army of human " woodpeckers "
hammered at the Wall, opening up bigger and bigger holes in it. The cellist
Rostropovich came to play Bach at the foot of the Wall.
Long queues
formed at the crossing points and in front of banks, where the East Germans
were given DM 100 as a welcome gift (Begrüssungsgeld), in front of shops,
especially the big KaDeWe store, that temple of commerce and luxury.
In just three days, West Berlin took in 2 million East
Germans. |
| |
Celebrations
Reunification Celebrations outside
Reichstag
(November 1989) |
Removal
Official destruction of the Wall began on 13th June 1990.
Today, the Wall is barely visible, although where it stood has been
marked out in central Berlin over a distance of 20 kilometres with a red line
or a double row of cobblestones. All that remains are a few sections here and
there, kept as memorials.
The people of Berlin were impatient to see the
back of this "painful" structure. But as the German writer Peter Schneider
stated," demolishing the Wall in the head will take longer than it will take
for a demolition firm to do the same job ".
A fuller account of the
Berlin Wall can be found at http://www.wall-berlin.org |
Our next visit was in 1998 and there were very noticeable
changes in the former Eastern sector. The whole central shopping area was much
brighter with many modernised shops.
In the area of Potsdamer Platz there was a vast
redevelopment scheme in progress, and a 3-storey observation tower had been
erected for the public.
