Berlin

Ever since last spring’s class when we devoted a great deal of time to the subject, I’ve been fascinated by the uprisings on June 17^th, 1953 in East Germany to the oppression of socialism. Berlin as a divided city is a subject I’m certain many of my peers will choose to explore, but this event in particular is one most interesting to me. Although the movements themselves originated outside the city, the culmination of the movement occurred in Berlin, where thousands marched against soldiers and tanks. Many more were arrested and either sentenced to death or Siberian concentration camps. West Berliners met many of the protesters as they made their way through West Berlin, and the event was widely covered and supported in West Germany. What was surprising as I learned about this movement, along with its causes and consequences, was how I had never even heard of it before we covered it in class. Considering how well known the Berlin Wall is in modern culture, it’s amazing that Americans aren’t more familiar with this uprising. A popular resistance against an oppressive regime should ring all too familiar for those of us even just casually versed in American history, but unfortunately the events of that June day remain yet another nearly forgotten historical event for many of us. I would hypothesize that fewer people than ideal are familiar with the movement because it wasn’t responsible for the downfall of socialism in East Germany. Often times, our cut and dry culture of wins and losses views history too stringently and doesn’t consider greater significance when observing a historical event. Maybe if more people understood the stakes of the resistance and what it meant for both East Germans and the SPD (the ruling party of East Germany) at the time, they would have a greater appreciation for the event. I’m already looking forward to visiting the spot in Berlin where thousands of people marched in support of freedom despite the danger and certain 

consequences.

Protesters on June 17th attempt to take on a Russian tank. 

East Germans march into Berlin.

            Another topic that interests me about Berlin was its role at the end of World War II. This was yet another topic covered in a class last year that I wasn’t terribly familiar with. When the army invaded the city during the last days of the wars, the citizens of Berlin experienced an absolutely heinous fate. Thousands upon thousands of women were raped by Russian soldiers as the entire city struggle to stay alive in the face of hunger and despair. The destruction of both the physical city of Berlin, along with the physical and emotion damage done to its people, mirrored what the war had done to Germany as a country. For many Berliners, it seemed impossible that things had turned so bad after all the promise and prosperity of the past decade. They had only just recently begun to feel proud as a people again, only to suffer both a figurative and literal destruction of their country, ideals, and identity. In Berlin, this devastation was particularly amplified, with the enemy within the gates and omnipresent in the city. I could not believe the staggering amount of rape and abuse that occurred in just a few weeks—especially considering the “good guys” were the perpetrators. It certainly brings up a number of interesting questions. For example, just because we call ourselves the good guys, does that make it true? From a very early age we’re taught that our country and our allies are the noble and “good” countries of the world, while our enemies are inherently “bad”. I think people who lived in Berlin in April, 1945 might have something to say about that.  

Red Army soldiers place a Soviet flag on the Reichstag building.

Streets of Berlin in 1945.

Stealing bicycles was the lesser of the offenses committed by Soviet forces against the women of Berlin.