Fifty years ago today: construction of the Berlin Wall

When I was a child for the first time from the Berlin Wall When I heard about it, I was deeply impressed. A wall, just like that, suddenly, right in the middle of the city where you live. People brutally separated from family, friends, and acquaintances overnight. A gruesome act with a dramatic impact on the lives of thousands and thousands of people. And now, exactly 50 years after the construction of this terrible wall, I am still silenced by the thought of all the suffering that this separation between West and East Berlin has caused.

The Berlin Wall: total lockdown

In the beginning, family and friends could still wave to each other over the wall. This resulted in heartbreaking scenes. Security by the East German border police soon became increasingly strict. A total sealing off followed. The barrier became wider and better secured to prevent escape attempts. Thus, alongside the concrete walls, the death zone featured, among other things, anti-vehicle ditches, watchtowers, signaling equipment, and searchlights. The border guards were even ordered to shoot at people attempting to cross the border. Nevertheless, over the years, many attempts were made to escape from the DDR to escape. An estimated 200 people died in the process.

Berlin Wall GDR stamps

The communist German Democratic Republic issued special stamps on the occasion of the 10th and 25th years of the Berlin Wall.

Symbol of the Cold War

The Berlin Wall was the most famous symbol of the Cold War and the division of Germany. After the end of the Second World War, Germany was divided into four occupation zones. The United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and France were each assigned a part of the country. Berlin was also divided in this process, despite the fact that the city fell entirely within the Soviet zone. four sectorsThe Berlin sectors of the other three Allied states thus effectively formed an enclave within the territory occupied by the Soviet Union. In 1949, the western occupation zones merged into the Bondsrepubliek Duitsland (West Germany) and the GDR (East Germany) was founded on the territory of the Soviet zone. Berlin formally remained independent of the two German states. But the practice was different. West Berlin increasingly functioned as a state of the Federal Republic, and East Berlin was even declared the capital of the GDR.

Cinderella stamps 50 years of the Berlin Wall

The first Cinderella stamp refers to both the construction of the Berlin Wall and its fall. The left side of the stamp depicts the construction. Overlaid on the brick section of the wall is the date when construction began 50 years ago. On the right side, a hole in the Wall is clearly visible. The hole is surrounded by the zero of the number 50, containing the date of the fall of the Wall: November 9, 1989. The second Cinderella stamp shows the coats of arms of West and East Berlin. They stand opposite each other and are separated by barbed wire. In the background is the German flag. Incidentally, the bear in the West Berlin coat of arms is facing the wrong way. This is undoubtedly a deliberate choice, so that the two animals stand clearly facing each other.

Why was the Berlin Wall built?

After the war, there was great poverty. West Berlin tackled poverty, among other things, with the Marshall Hulp from the United States. East Berlin was not allowed to accept this aid from the Soviet government. Moreover, the Russians looted East Germany as revenge and compensation for the suffering endured during the war. This created a large disparity in the level of prosperity between communist East Berlin and capitalist West Berlin. It was therefore very attractive for East Berliners to leave for West Berlin. The result was a massive exodus. Since it largely involved young, highly educated people leaving for the West, the exodus posed a threat to the economy of the GDR and ultimately perhaps even to the survival of the country. In 1961, it was decided Walter ulbricht (Chairman of the State Council of the GDR) and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev therefore to put an end to the exodus. On the night of August 12 to 13, construction of the Berlin Wall began.

Fall of the Wall

Over the years, people in the GDR rose up in revolt more and more, culminating in the large demonstration on Alexanderplatz in East Berlin. On November 9, 1989, one of the highest party leaders in the GDR gave Gunter Schabowski, a remarkable press conference in which he announced that from that moment on, every GDR citizen could henceforth travel to the West without restriction. The beginning of the end of the Wall. However, the precise content and intent of this announcement were rather unclear and consequently sowed much confusion. East Germans flocked to the Wall en masse to see if they could indeed go to West Berlin. The border guards, too, were taken aback; guidelines were lacking. The commander of the Bornholmer Straße border crossing, like many of his colleagues, had crowds of people standing in front of his gates. At 23:52 PM, he made the decision: “They (his superiors) can figure it out themselves…. I am throwing the border open….. The GDR citizens are free.” Soon, more border crossings were opened. More than 70 East Berliners crossed the border that night. On the western side, they were mostly greeted with cheers. A true national celebration ensued. It was the night of freedom. A historic event.

Postage stamps commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall

The fall of the Berlin Wall was naturally world news. The Federal Republic of Germany issued special stamps in 1990 to celebrate this historic event.

Various countries commemorated the fall of the Wall 10 years later. Belgium (2000) and Romania (2001)

Gruesome action with a long aftermath

Now, some 22 years after the fall of the Wall, the differences between East and West Berlin are still visible and noticeable. The construction of the Berlin Wall 50 years ago: a gruesome act with a long aftermath.