On November 9 of the outgoing year, Berliners took to the streets of their city to mark the 25th anniversary of the unification of the two parts and the fall of the notorious Berlin Wall - the main symbol of the end, as it seemed then, of the Cold War.

SHOOTING ALL

The birth of this ugly monster, which stood for 28 years, was preceded by the Second Berlin Crisis. While the Soviet Union actually transferred its sector of the occupation of Berlin to the GDR, its western part remained under the rule of the occupying forces, and. In this regard, the USSR demanded the transformation of West Berlin into a demilitarized free city. It was not possible to reach an agreement with the former allies, and the German question continued to be a stumbling block in relations between the USSR and Western countries. During this period, it was reduced mainly to the problem of the status of West Berlin. In February 1958, Khrushchev proposed to convene a conference of the four great powers and reconsider the status of this city. During his visit to the United States in September 1959, he reached an agreement with Eisenhower to convene such a conference in Paris the following May.

However, the conference did not take place - it was torpedoed by the flight of a spy plane. On May 1, 1960, an American 11-2 reconnaissance aircraft, making another spy flight over the Urals, was shot down by a Soviet missile, and the surviving pilot, Powers, was captured and convicted. A huge scandal followed, as a result of which the visit to the Eisenhower Union and the Paris Conference were cancelled.

Meanwhile, the situation in Berlin escalated to the limit. In the summer of 1961, the American and Soviet tanks that drove onto the streets of the city almost rested their foreheads on each other. On August 12, 1961, free movement in Berlin from east to west, in violation of the Potsdam Agreement, was prohibited. In the early Sunday morning of August 13, the GDR authorities began the process of separating East Berlin from West Berlin, using barbed wire and anti-tank hedgehogs. A few days later, teams of construction workers, guarded by machine gunners, began to replace the temporary barriers with a foundation wall.

By August 22, the inhabitants of East Berlin finally lost the opportunity to visit the West. On the same day, the first victim appeared near the wall: Ida Zikman crashed while trying to jump over it from the window of her apartment. Then he was shot while trying to move from the eastern sector to the western resident of East Berlin, Günter Liftin, who worked in the western part of the city. He planned his move there on the same day that the GDR authorities closed the border. On September 20, the evacuation of buildings located directly at the border began. In August 1962, Peter Fechter was shot dead while trying to cross the Berlin Wall. An 18-year-old boy was left to bleed out in front of many witnesses. The exact number of those who died while trying to overcome the wall separating the two worlds is unknown: it is believed that the victims were from 136 to 245. The unspoken order to shoot the fugitives from the GDR was given back in 1960, and it was legalized only in October 1974. After the reunification of Germany, orders were found in the archives of the security service of the GDR (Stasi) ordering to shoot to kill all fugitives, including women and children. The last victim of the wall was 20-year-old Berliner Chris Gefray, who was shot dead on the night of February 6, 1989. Only 9 months he did not live to see freedom and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

DEATH STRIP

The length of the border between West Berlin and the GDR was 168 km, 45 of which passed inside the city. The border fortifications around West Berlin, 3 to 4 meters high, stretched for 156 km, 112 of them were a concrete or stone wall, the rest was a fence of metal bars. The giant structure also included 186 observation towers, 31 command posts, communication and signaling lines. Service at the Berlin Wall was carried by five hundred watchdogs. On the east side, in front of the wall, there was a strip illuminated by searchlights, called the "death strip". Fugitives caught in the spotlight were shot without warning.

The border cut 192 streets, 97 of which led from West to East Berlin, the rest - into the territory of the GDR. The wall literally cemented the division of the Germans into two Germanys for decades to come. In addition to the mass of practical inconveniences that the wall brought to Berliners (severance of business and family ties, etc.), it exerted a certain oppressive pressure on people. The author of this material happened to visit divided Berlin in the 1960s and feel it. A gloomy gray wall ran along the axis of the street along the dark facades of empty houses, looking at it with blind, tightly bricked windows. Periodically, patrols circulated - open jeeps with machine gunners in helmets of the characteristic German "cut", familiar to us from war films. All this smacked of something sinister.

DEFEATED MONSTER

So who was the initiator of the creation of this structure and the culprit of the tragedies associated with it? Here is what the director of the German Center for the Study of Contemporary History Martin Zabrov says about this: “For historians, there cannot be one reason, just as there cannot be one fault ... you can lay responsibility on certain people and on the system itself. In the end, the division of Germany is a consequence of the Second World War and the struggle of two political forces, the confrontation of which led to the outflow of the population from east to west. Of course, specific individuals also influenced the situation. First of all, the leader of East Germany, Walter Ulbricht, who was much more interested than Khrushchev in stopping the outflow of people. Khrushchev, on the other hand, believed in utopia, believing that socialism would triumph in Berlin without any walls or borders. Ulbricht understood that the situation was getting worse every day, and considered the Berlin Wall a necessary measure to save the GDR. There are different points of view about the role of the Soviet Union - by and large, both sides are responsible for this, but still it was Ulbricht who initiated it.

But time does not stand still. As the Ecclesiastes teaches, "there is a time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones." Documents have been preserved that back in 1987, Gorbachev and Shevardnadze discussed the possibility of demolishing the Berlin Wall and uniting the two Germanys - the FRG and the GDR. The West encouraged them to do this.

In May 1989, under the influence of perestroika in the Soviet Union, the GDR's Warsaw Pact partner destroyed the fortifications on the border with Austria. The leadership of the GDR was not going to follow her example, but soon they lost control of the rapidly unfolding events. Thousands of citizens of the GDR fled to other Eastern European countries in the hope of getting from there to West Germany. Hundreds of East Germans fled west through Hungary. When, in September 1989, Hungary announced the full opening of its borders, the Berlin Wall lost its meaning: within three days of the GDR, 15,000 citizens left through the territory of Hungary. Rallies and demonstrations began in the country. As a result of mass protests, the party leadership of the GDR resigned. On November 4, a mass rally was held in Berlin demanding respect for freedom of speech and assembly. On November 9, 1989, speaking on television, a member of the government of the GDR, Günter Schabowski, announced new rules for entering and leaving the country, according to which citizens of the GDR could now visit West Berlin and the FRG. Hundreds of thousands of East Germans, without waiting for the time appointed by this decision, rushed to the border on the evening of November 9th. The border guards, who did not receive orders, at first, using water cannons, tried to push back the crowd, but then, yielding to the massive pressure, they opened the border. Thousands of residents of West Berlin came out to meet guests from the east. The event was reminiscent of a folk festival. Then the demolition of the wall began, at first spontaneously, and then in an organized manner with the help of heavy equipment. Small fragments of the defeated monster were taken away by people for souvenirs. Separate fragments of the Berlin Wall, richly decorated with graffiti, were left as a monument to the gloomy past and became a tourist attraction. Particularly popular is the area with the painting “ Hot kiss between Brezhnev and Honecker».

However, the end of the GDR for many of its inhabitants meant not only gaining freedom. Many did not know what to do with it, many still experience seizures to this day. ostalgia”, as they call the longing for the bygone socialist past of East (Ost) Germany, or maybe just for the times of their youth. Romantics got freedom, practitioners got the capitalist world of opportunities, pessimists got fears for the future. According to sociologists, from 10 to 15% of former East Germans want a return to the past, and only every second inhabitant of a united Germany is able today to remember the start date for the construction of the Berlin Wall. However, it is much more important that the people remember when, why and thanks to whom it fell.

Every year in October, Germany solemnly celebrates the reunification of the western and eastern parts of the country. But, if for politicians this event is associated with the signing of the Treaty on the final settlement with respect to Germany, then in the minds of the Germans, the symbol of reunification was the cessation of the existence of the most famous anachronism of our time - the Berlin Wall, which for almost 30 years personified the Cold War.

Why was the Berlin Wall needed?

After the defeat of the Third Reich, the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France divided Berlin into four zones of occupation. Subsequently, the sectors of the Western allies were united into a single formation of West Berlin, which enjoyed broad political independence.

The dividing line between West Berlin and East, which became the capital of the GDR, was rather arbitrary. The border had a length of 44.75 km. and passed right through the city blocks. To cross it, it was enough to present an identity card at any of the 81 street checkpoints. Both parts of the city were united by a single transport system, so similar points (13 in total) also operated at the stations of the city's electric train and metro. Didn't make much trouble and illegal border crossing. Therefore, the number of people crossing the dividing line on other days reached half a million people.

The free movement of citizens of the two states belonging to different political camps created a certain tension between the countries. Berliners could freely buy goods in both parts of the city, study and work. Over time, this situation led to a significant imbalance in the personnel situation in the economy, when Berliners preferred to study for free in the eastern part, and work in the western, where they paid more. Many residents of the East subsequently moved to Germany.

Not only personnel flowed to the West, but also cheap goods from the eastern part, mainly food. Domestic conflicts were also frequent. But the city authorities coped with all these problems or put up with them. It can be said that the tension remained within acceptable limits until big politics intervened.

Building the Berlin Wall

In 1955, the German government proclaimed as its official line the so-called Hallstein Doctrine, according to which West Germany could not have relations with any country that recognized the GDR. An exception was made only for the USSR.

The political resonance of this decision was considerable. West Berlin found itself in a very delicate position. The GDR authorities, trying to normalize the situation, proposed the creation of a confederation of two German states, but the FRG agreed only to all-German elections, which automatically led to the disappearance of the GDR due to the significant preponderance of the FRG in population.

Having exhausted available funds, the East German government laid claim to West Berlin, since it was located on the territory of the GDR. At the same time, the USSR government demanded that Berlin be recognized as the capital of the GDR with giving it the status of a demilitarized free city.

After the West rejected these demands, the situation became extremely aggravated. Both sides increased their military contingents in Berlin. The uncontrolled flow of people across the Berlin border became a real problem. The tough economic policy of the leadership of the GDR forced many Germans to leave the country. The easiest way to do this was in Berlin. In 1961, more than 200 thousand people left the GDR, most of them valuable highly paid workers.

The East German government accused the West of poaching personnel, hostile agitation in Berlin, arson and sabotage. Based on this, the head of the GDR, Walter Ulbricht, demanded the closure of the border with the FRG. The leaders of the Warsaw Pact countries in August 1961 supported this decision, and on August 13, 25,000 "volunteers" from the eastern part lined up along the demarcation line in Berlin. Under the cover of the police and army units, the construction of the wall began.

What was the Berlin Wall

For three days, the western part of Berlin was surrounded by a barbed wire fence. Part of the subway lines connecting the areas of the western sector passed through the eastern one - the stations of these lines, located under the East, were closed to the exit. The windows of houses overlooking the line of demarcation were bricked up. Thus began the construction of a powerful defensive structure, called in East Germany the Anti-Fascist defensive rampart, and in Western Germany - the Wall of Shame.

Work on the Berlin Wall continued until 1975. In its final form, it was a whole complex, which included a concrete wall 3.6 m high, protective metal nets equipped with spikes and rockets that fired on contact. Along the wall there were about 300 border towers with machine guns and searchlights. There was also a control-track strip, dotted with fine sand, which was regularly leveled. Border patrols round the clock bypassed the perimeter, looking for traces of violators.

The inhabitants of the houses located near the wall were evicted, and the houses themselves were mostly demolished. Anti-tank hedgehogs were installed along the entire wall, deep ditches were dug in many areas. The total length of the fortifications was more than 150 km, ditches - about 105 km, more than 100 km. concrete wall and 66 km. signal grid. In the future, it was planned to install motion sensors and remote-controlled weapons.

However, the wall was not impassable. The violators dug, crossed the border along rivers, flew over the defensive line in balloons and hang gliders, and even rammed a wall with a bulldozer. The escape was extremely dangerous, since the border guards were ordered to shoot at violators without warning. In just 28 years of the existence of the Berlin Wall, there are 5075 successful escapes. The documented death toll during the crossing is 125, although Western media give ten times the number. All the dead were young people, since there were no obstacles for pensioners at the few remaining checkpoints.

End of the Berlin Wall

Perestroika in the USSR put an end to the Cold War period between East and West. Ronald Reagan urged Gorbachev to destroy the Berlin Wall, ending years of fighting. The governments of the socialist countries began to rapidly improve relations with their neighbors. In 1989, Hungary demolished the border fortifications on the border with Austria and opened the borders. A little later, the border regime was liberalized by Czechoslovakia. As a result, these countries were flooded with East German citizens who wanted to leave for Germany. The Berlin Wall has become useless.

Mass protests began in the GDR, and the leadership of the GDR resigned. The new leaders were much more liberal. On November 9, the secretary of the Central Committee of the SED (the ruling party), Schabowski, announced on television about changes in legislation, according to which residents of the GDR could freely obtain visas to West Berlin and the FRG.

The news was like a bombshell. Hundreds of thousands of Berliners, without waiting for visas, rushed to the checkpoints. The border guards tried to block the crowd, but then retreated. And thousands of residents of West Berlin were already walking towards the flow of people.

In a few days, everyone forgot about the wall as a barrier. It was broken, painted and taken apart for souvenirs. And in October 1990, after the reunification of Germany, the demolition of the Berlin Wall began.

At present, the Berlin Wall memorial, covering an area of ​​4 hectares, reminds of the symbol of the Cold War. Its center is a monument built of rusty steel, dedicated to those who died during the crossing of the Berlin Wall. The Chapel of Reconciliation, built in 2000, is also located here. But of course, the section of the Berlin Wall, from which only 1.3 km remains, attracts the greatest interest.

The Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer) is a complex of engineering structures that existed from August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989 on the border of the eastern part of the territory of Berlin - the capital of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the western part of the city - West Berlin, which had , as a political unit, a special international status.

During this period, there is also a serious aggravation of the political situation around Berlin. At the end of 1958, the head of the USSR, Nikita Khrushchev, proposed making West Berlin a "free city" with a guarantee of its independence, which would mean the end of the occupation by the victors of World War II. If the NATO countries, Khrushchev warned, did not agree to conclude a peace treaty with both Germany, the USSR would conclude one only with the GDR. It will gain control over the routes of communication with West Berlin, and the Americans, British and French, in order to get into the city, will be forced to turn to the East German authorities, inevitably recognizing their existence. But the recognition of the GDR did not take place. Between 1958 and 1961 Berlin remained the hottest spot in the world.

The Cold War, which began after the end of the bloodiest World War II in history, was a long conflict between the USSR on the one hand and Europe and the United States on the other. Western politicians viewed the communist regime as the most dangerous possible adversary, and the possession of nuclear weapons on both sides only increased tensions.

After the end of World War II, the winners divided the territory of Germany among themselves. The Soviet Union inherited five provinces, from which the German Democratic Republic was formed in 1949. The capital of the new state was East Berlin, which, according to the terms of the Yalta Treaty, also fell into the zone of influence of the USSR. The conflict between East and West, as well as the uncontrolled migration of residents to West Berlin, led to the fact that in 1961 the Warsaw Pact countries (a socialist alternative to NATO) came to the decision that it was necessary to build a concrete structure delimiting the western and eastern parts of the city.

Border in the center of Berlin

As soon as possible after the decision to close the border was made, the wall project was implemented. The total length of the Berlin Wall was over 150 kilometers, although in Berlin itself there were only about 40 kilometers. To protect the border, in addition to the directly three-meter wall, wire fences, electric current, earthen ditches, anti-tank fortifications, watchtowers and even control strips were used. All these security measures were used only from the eastern side of the wall - in West Berlin, any resident of the city could approach it.

The ransom of the East Germans cost the German government a total of almost three billion US dollars.

The wall not only divided the city into two parts, and quite absurdly (metro stations were closed, windows facing the west side had to be bricked up in houses), but also became a symbol of confrontation between NATO and the Warsaw Pact countries. Until the destruction of the Berlin Wall in 1990, there were many attempts to illegally cross the border, including undermining, a bulldozer, a hang glider and a balloon. In total, more than five thousand successful escapes were made from the GDR to the FRG. In addition, approximately two hundred and fifty thousand people were released for money.

According to the official point of view of the GDR, during the entire years of the existence of the wall, 125 people were killed trying to cross the border.

In 1989, the beginning of perestroika was announced in the USSR, which prompted Hungary, neighboring the GDR, to open the border with Austria. The existence of the Berlin Wall became meaningless, since everyone who wanted to get to the West could do it through Hungary. After some time, the government of the GDR, under public pressure, was forced to provide its citizens with free access abroad, and in 1990 the already useless Berlin Wall was demolished. However, several of its fragments remained as a memorial complex.

The Berlin Wall is the most odious and sinister symbol of the Cold War

As a result of World War II, Germany was divided into four occupation zones. The eastern lands went to the Soviet Union, while the British, Americans and French controlled the west of the former Reich. The same fate befell the capital. The divided Berlin was to become a real arena of the Cold War. After the proclamation of the German Democratic Republic on October 7, 1949, the eastern part of Berlin was declared its capital, and the western part became an enclave. Twelve years later, the city was surrounded by a wall that physically separated the socialist GDR from capitalist West Berlin.

The difficult choice of Nikita Khrushchev

Immediately after the war, Berliners were free to move from one part of the city to another. The separation was practically not felt, except for the difference in living standards, which was visible to the naked eye. Store shelves in West Berlin were bursting with goods, which could not be said about the capital of the GDR. In the capitalist enclave, the situation was better with wages, especially for qualified personnel - they were welcomed here with open arms.

As a result, a massive outflow of specialists from East Germany to the West began. The part of the ordinary population that was dissatisfied with their life in the "socialist paradise" did not lag behind. In 1960 alone, more than 350 thousand of its citizens left the GDR. The East German and Soviet leadership was seriously concerned about such an outflow, in fact, an exodus of people. Everyone understood that if you do not stop him, the young republic will inevitably collapse.

The appearance of the wall was also caused by the Berlin crises of 1948-1949, 1953 and 1958-1961. The last one was especially stressful. By that time, the USSR had actually transferred its sector of the occupation of Berlin to the GDR. The western part of the city still remained under the rule of the allies. An ultimatum was issued: West Berlin must become a free city. The Allies rejected the demands, believing that in the future this could lead to the accession of the enclave to the GDR.

The situation was aggravated by the policy of the East German government at home. The then leader of the GDR, Walter Ulbricht, pursued a tough economic policy along the Soviet lines. In an effort to "catch up and overtake" the FRG, the authorities did not disdain anything. Increased production standards, carried out forced collectivization. But wages and the general standard of living remained low. This provoked the flight of East Germans to the West, which we mentioned above.

What to do in this situation? On August 3-5, 1961, the leaders of the Warsaw Pact member states urgently gathered in Moscow on this occasion. Ulbricht insisted that the border with West Berlin should be closed. The Allies agreed. But how to do that? The head of the USSR, Nikita Khrushchev, considered two options: an air barrier or a wall. We chose the second. The first option threatened a serious conflict with the United States, perhaps even a war with America.

Split in two - in one night

On the night of August 12-13, 1961, the troops of the GDR were brought up to the border between the western and eastern parts of Berlin. For several hours they blocked its sections within the city. Everything happened on the declared alarm of the first degree. The military personnel, along with the police and work teams, simultaneously set to work, because the building materials for the construction of barriers were prepared in advance. Until morning, the city of 3 million was cut into two parts.

Barbed wire blocked 193 streets. The same fate befell four lines of the Berlin underground and 8 tram lines. In places adjacent to the new border, power lines and telephone communications were cut off. They even managed to weld pipes of all city communications here. The stunned Berliners gathered the next morning on both sides of the barbed wire. The order was given to disperse, but the people did not obey. Then they were dispersed within half an hour with the help of water cannons ...

The wrapping of barbed wire around the entire perimeter of the West Berlin border was completed by Tuesday, August 15th. In the following days, it was replaced by the actual stone wall, the construction and modernization of which continued until the first half of the 70s. Residents of border houses were evicted, and their windows overlooking West Berlin were bricked up. They also closed the border Potsdamer Platz. The wall acquired its final form only in 1975.

What was the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall (in German Berliner Mauer) had a length of 155 kilometers, of which 43.1 km were within the city limits. German Chancellor Willy Brandt called it a "shameful wall", and US President John F. Kennedy called it "a slap in the face of all mankind." The official name adopted in the GDR: Anti-fascist defensive rampart (Antifaschischer Schutzwall).

The wall, which physically divided Berlin into two parts along houses, streets, communications and the Spree River, was a massive structure made of concrete and stone. It was an extremely fortified engineering structure with movement sensors, mines, barbed wire. Since the wall was the border, there were also border guards who shot to kill anyone, even children, who dared to illegally cross the border into West Berlin.

But the wall itself was not enough for the GDR authorities. A special restricted area with warning signs was equipped along it. Rows of anti-tank hedgehogs and a strip dotted with metal spikes looked especially ominous, it was called "Stalin's lawn." There was also a metal mesh with barbed wire. When trying to penetrate through it, flares were fired, notifying the border guards of the GDR about an attempt to illegally cross the border.

Barbed wire was also stretched over the odious structure. A high voltage current was passed through it. Observation towers and checkpoints were erected along the perimeter of the Berlin Wall. Including from West Berlin. One of the most famous is Checkpoint Charlie, which was under the control of the Americans. A lot of dramatic events took place here, connected with the desperate attempts of citizens of the GDR to escape to West Germany.

The absurdity of the idea with the "Iron Curtain" reached its climax when it was decided to wall the Brandenburg Gate - the famous symbol of Berlin and all of Germany. And from all sides. For the reason that they were in the way of an odious structure. As a result, neither the inhabitants of the capital of the GDR, nor the inhabitants of West Berlin could even approach the gate until 1990. So the tourist attraction became a victim of political confrontation.

The fall of the Berlin Wall: how it happened

Hungary unwittingly played a significant role in the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Under the influence of perestroika in the USSR, in May 1989 she opened the border with Austria. This was a signal for the citizens of the GDR, who rushed to other countries of the Eastern bloc in order to get to Hungary, from there to Austria and then to the FRG. The leadership of the GDR lost control of the situation, mass demonstrations began in the country. People demanded civil rights and freedoms.

The protests culminated in the resignation of Erich Honecker and other party leaders. The outflow of people to the West through other countries of the Warsaw Pact has become so massive that the existence of the Berlin Wall has lost all meaning. On November 9, 1989, Günther Schabowski, a member of the Politburo of the SED Central Committee, spoke on television. He announced the simplification of the rules of entry and exit from the country and the possibility of immediately obtaining visas to visit West Berlin and Germany.

For the East Germans, this was a signal. They did not wait for the official entry into force of the new rules and rushed to the border in the evening of the same day. The border guards at first tried to push the crowd back with water cannons, but then they yielded to the pressure of the people and opened the border. On the other side, West Berliners had already gathered, who rushed to East Berlin. What was happening was reminiscent of a folk festival, people laughed and cried with happiness. Euphoria reigned until morning.

On December 22, 1989, the Brandenburg Gate was opened to the public. The Berlin Wall was still standing, but nothing remained of its sinister appearance. It was broken in places, it was painted with numerous graffiti and applied drawings and inscriptions. Citizens and tourists broke off pieces of it as a keepsake. The wall was demolished a few months after the entry of the GDR into the Federal Republic of Germany on October 3, 1990. The symbol of the "cold war" and the division of Germany ordered a long life.

Berlin Wall: today

Accounts of those killed while crossing the Berlin Wall vary. In the former GDR, it was claimed that there were 125 of them. Other sources claim that there are 192 such people. Some media, referring to the Stasi archives, cited the following statistics: 1245. Part of the large Berlin Wall memorial complex, opened in 2010, is dedicated to the memory of the dead (the entire complex was completed two years later and occupies four hectares).

At present, a fragment of the Berlin Wall, 1300 meters long, has been preserved. It has become a memory of the most sinister symbol of the Cold War. The fall of the wall inspired artists from all over the world who flocked here and painted the rest of the site with their paintings. This is how the East Side Gallery appeared - an open-air gallery. One of the drawings, a kiss between Brezhnev and Honecker, was made by our compatriot, artist Dmitry Vrubel.