East Germany:The Fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989

What do we know?

• Think back to our earlier work on Germany and Berlin.

• When had Germany been divided into East and West?

• How had Berlin been divided?

Germany and Berlin: 1945

The Western zones were combined in 1946 to form one zone, which became known as West Germany(the FRG or BRD) in 1949. The Eastern zone became known as East Germany (the GDR or DDR), also in 1949.

The Berlin Wall

• The Berlin Wall had been erected in August 1961, at the height of Cold War tensions. It completely sealed off the people of West Berlin from East Germany. The wall became the most famous symbol of the Cold War.

• Why had it been built?

What had changed by 1989?• Gorbachev’s announcement of the end

of the Brezhnev Doctrine was of particular concern to the East German regime, led by Erich Honecker.

• The creation of East Germany had been the result of superpower tensions and hostility after the Second World War.

• As an ‘artificial’ country, East Germany was more reliant on the USSR for support than other regimes in Eastern Europe.

• Large numbers of East Germans had already fled to the West through Hungary during the summer of 1989 and the desire for change was spreading rapidly across Eastern Europe.

Erich Honecker

Gorbachev’s Visit to East Berlin, October 1989

• How would you expect Gorbachev to be received by the people of East Germany?

• How do you think the leaders of East Germany felt about Gorbachev and his reforms?

Gorbachev’s Visit to East Berlin, October 1989

• Gorbachev was received like a hero by the people of East Berlin, who abandoned approved slogans and instead shouted ‘Gorby, help us! Gorby stay here!’ much to the embarrassment of the representatives of the East German regime.

• The leadership was unhappy. They knew that Gorbachev’s reforms were already threatening the stability of the regime, and could soon bring about its demise.

Removal of Honecker

• Even with public disturbances becoming more widespread, Erich Honecker refused to contemplate reform of any kind, which was making the people angrier.

• The rest of the East German Politburo realised that they needed to act. They forced the removal of Erich Honecker from office, in the hope that this would signal that they were ready to consider reforms.

People Pressure

• With mass demonstrations on the streets of East German cities, the pressure for reform now became unstoppable.

• How could the East German government put an end to these protests? Earlier in the year, the Chinese government had responded to similar demonstrations by using force – the massacre of protestors in Tiananmen Square had illustrated one method of dealing with the situation. (pictured right)

• Would the East German government take the same approach?

The Wall is opened: 9 November 1989

• The new East German leader, Egon Krenz, refused to sanction widespread repression, and, amidst growing chaos, decided to open access across the Berlin Wall.

• Due to a misreading of the instructions surrounding the travel conditions, people began flocking to the Wall immediately that its opening was announced.

Thousands flocked through into West Berlin and joyous celebrations began on the Kurfurstendamm and the city’s other streets. At the Brandenburg Gate young people climbed and danced on top of the Wall. Even if Krenz had not wished to open the Wall…the popular pressure was so intense that the final lifting of the Iron Curtain could not have long been delayed.

From Mike Dennis, The Rise and Fall of the German Democratic Republic (2000)

Scenes at the Brandenburg Gate as the Wall is opened

What happened next?

• Events followed quickly from the fall of the Berlin Wall. The government of East Germany was shocked by the pace of events, and revelations of corruption weakened the Communist Party.

• But would Germany be allowed to reunite? The USSR had been against this happening, after all, East and West Germany were members of different military alliances…

Germany reunited

• Following election results in East Germany in March 1990 that showed huge support for parties favouring unification, Gorbachev accepted that this was the desire of the people both in East and West Germany.

• The Chancellor of West Germany, Helmut Kohl, then persuaded Gorbachev to accept a reunified Germany with NATO membership.

• The USSR gave up any claim to occupy German soil.

German Reunification: 3 October 1990

Although I was their superior the people I was working with that night were experiencing what I was. They kept demanding that I do something but I was not sure what to do. So I kept asking them, ‘What shall I do? Order you to shoot?’ The situation was now so serious that we’d reached a point where we could go no further. All I was thinking about now was to avoid bloodshed. There were so many people and they didn’t have the space to move. If panic developed, people would have been crushed. I just did not want anybody to die. We had pistols, there were instructions not to use them but what if any of the men had lost his nerve? Even if he had shot into the air I cannot imagine what reaction that might have provoked. I called headquarters and said, ‘We will have to let them all out.’ The boss replied, ‘You know your instructions and you must do only what they say.’

I said to my men, ‘It cannot be held any longer. We have to open the checkpoint. I will let the people out.’ My knees began to tremble and I had a very bad feeling in my stomach. I went to the telephone and rang headquarters. I said, ‘Comrade, I opened the border. I couldn’t hold it any longer. I let them all out.’ He said, ‘It’s O.K.’

An account by an East German official at a checkpoint on the Berlin Wall. He is describing events in November 1989 when thousands of people gathered on both sides of the Wall and demanded to be let through. He was interviewed by a historian ten years after the events described.

Source A

A photograph of events at the Berlin Wall in November 1989.

Source B

Question:

Study sources A and B. Is one of these sources more useful than the other? Explain your answer using details from the sources and your own knowledge.