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Beate Ulbricht’s golden cage – Part 1

Monday, October 5th, 2015

Beate Ulbricht – alias Maria Pestunowa – alias Beate Matteoli, was the adopted daughter of Walter Ulbricht, former East German head of state, and his second wife Lotte. Beate was born in 1944 in Leipzig, Germany, under the name of Maria Pestunowa. The Ulbricht’s renamed her Beate and gave the girl their last name. Beate remained the couple’s only child. These facts did not become public knowledge until the Berlin Wall fell. http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-31900127.html

In many respects, Beate Ulbricht lived a privileged life. She went to the best schools, enjoyed splendid vacations with her parents and enjoyed many advantages in the socialist state – with one exception. Beate was not allowed to be herself. She was brought up to be the First Child of the Nation. Her parents expected her to be the perfect daughter, the impeccable student, the model pioneer. Her mother told her to always be “useful and cheerful.” Every aspect of Beate’s life was on public display. A slip-up was out of the question. The young girl came to feel trapped in her golden cage, had difficulty coping and finally succumbed to the unrelenting pressure. Shortly before she died in 1991, Beate Ulbricht said in the only interview she ever gave, “Ich hatte zu essen, zu trinken, anzuziehen – aber in diesem goldenen Käfig war keine Liebe – I had food, drink and clothes, but in this golden cage there was no love.” She died a few months later under mysterious circumstances.

The infant Beate Ulbricht

Beate Ulbricht came into the world as Maria Pestunowa, a citizen of the Soviet Union. Her mother was a Ukrainian forced laborer in Germany. The identity of her father remains unknown. Soon after Maria’s birth, her mother perished in a bomb attack. The baby was first placed in an orphanage, then with a foster family in Dresden. In January of 1946, Walter Ulbricht and his partner, Lotte Kuehn, applied to adopt the girl. At the time, Walter was still legally married to Martha Schmellinsky, although the couple had separated years earlier. As his political career was taking off, he planned to wed his personal assistant, Lotte Kuehn, once the divorce was final.

Beate Ulbricht’s adoption

Walter Ulbricht’s political star was on the rise (see last week’s post http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/image-challenged-walter-ulbricht/). Having a family was likely to further his career. Since Lotte was unable to bear children, adoption looked like the perfect option. It all happened quickly. Walter pulled some strings with the youth authorities in Dresden. Although not yet married to Walter, Lotte already identified herself as Lotte Ulbricht. In January of 1946, the youth authorities took baby Maria from her original foster family and placed her with the Ulbrichts. In 1950 the adoption process was finalized though Walter and Lotte Ulbricht did not legally marry until 1953. http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-31900127.html

Read about Beate Ulbricht’s tragic adult life at http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/beate-ulbrichts-golden-cage-part-2/.

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

Tags: Beate Matteoli, Beate Ulbricht, East Germany, German Democratic Republic, golden cage, Lotte Kuehn, Lotte Ulbricht, Maria Pestunowa, Walter Ulbricht
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Image-challenged Walter Ulbricht

Monday, September 28th, 2015

Walter Ulbricht was a 20th century East German politician who always knew which side his bread was buttered on. By instinctively understanding whom to defer to and which efforts to pursue, he became East Germany’s postwar leader. Loyal to Leninist and Stalinist principles, he was described by peers and populace alike as an inflexible, dull and unlikeable man. It didn’t help that he spoke with a squeaky falsetto voice due to a childhood diphtheria infection. Still, he remained East Germany’s chief decision maker until 1971 – a period of more than twenty years. A joke made the rounds in East Germany during those years. It went like this: An airplane crashes carrying the presidents of the United States and France and the British Queen. They all perish. Which country mourns the most? The answer: East Germany because Ulbricht wasn’t on the plane.

Who was Walter Ulbricht?

Walter Ulbricht came from humble beginnings. He was born in 1893 to a tailor in Leipzig, Germany. After graduating primary school, Ulbricht trained as a cabinetmaker. Since both his parents were active in the Social Democratic Party (SPD), young Ulbricht joined the party as well. He was 19 at the time. Eight years later, in 1920, he left the SPD and joined the newly created KPD, the Communist Party of Germany. By aligning himself with the “right” people he rose swiftly through party ranks.

Walter Ulbricht, East German Statesman
1950-1971

Walter Ulbricht’s political life

Walter Ulbricht quickly became an important member in the party. In 1923, he was elected to the Central Committee and five years later to the Reichstag (German parliament). He remained a member of the Reichstag until 1933 when the Nazis came to power. When they imprisoned other KPD leaders in connection with a high profile murder, Ulbricht fled to France, Czechoslovakia and finally Spain. Between 1937 and 1945, he settled in Moscow and resided in the famous Hotel Lux. While there, he worked on a variety of communist causes.

Walter Ulbricht – leader of East Germany

In April 1945, Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, chose Walter Ulbricht to lead a group of party functionaries into Germany to begin reconstruction of the Communist party in Germany. Within the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany and the Soviet-occupied sector of Berlin, Social Democrats were pressured into merging with the Communist party to form the new Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). After the founding of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in 1949, Ulbricht became Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers. In 1950, he became General Secretary of the SED Central Committee and First Secretary in 1953. After the death of Stalin that same year, Ulbricht’s position was in danger. However, the East German Uprising of 1953 helped him to gain the Kremlin’s support. With Moscow’s backing, Ulbricht suppressed the uprising and secured his position in East Germany. From that point on, Walter Ulbricht was East Germany’s chief decision maker.

Ulbricht continued to plot his course. By 1952, he had nationalized 80 percent of the industry, which resulted in an economy that was short of consumer goods and often produced goods of shoddy quality. When his economic measures proved flawed, millions of East Germans fled to the west. Aware of the possibility of a total collapse of East Germany, Ulbricht pressured the Soviet Union in early 1961 to stop the outflow or workers and to resolve the status of Berlin. This led to the construction of the Berlin Wall, only two months after Ulbricht had emphatically denied that there were such plans when he stated, “No one has any intention of building a wall.” https://www.berlin.de/mauer/geschichte/index.en.html The Berlin Wall became a public relations disaster for Ulbricht and the Soviet Union. By the late 1960s, Ulbricht found himself more and more isolated, both at home and abroad. His refusal to work with West Germany on Soviet terms infuriated Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev. In 1971, Ulbricht was forced to resign from virtually all of his public functions. He was only allowed to remain head of state as Chairman of the Council of State in an honorary capacity.

Walter Ulbricht was a survivor

Image-challenged Walter Ulbricht came close to being toppled several times, but he always landed on his feet. His private life was beset with difficulties as well. Next time, I will write about his relationship with his wife, Lotte, and their daughter, Beate.

Tags: Berlin Wall, East German Uprising of 1953, East Germany, German Democratic Republic, Hotel Lux, Joseph Stalin, KPD-Communist Party of Germany, Leonid Brezhnev, Moscow, Reichstag, SPD-Social Democratic Party, Walter Ulbricht
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Bueckware is Stoop Merchandise

Monday, September 21st, 2015

Bueckware is a German word that translates into “Stoop Merchandise.” It is a clever expression that alludes to the need for the sales person to have to stoop beneath the counter to unearth the goods.

Bueckware – WWII

The term originated at the onset of WWII when Germany’s Nazi government rationed certain items, in particular foodstuffs and textiles. Producers and shop owners reacted by holding back some merchandise and storing it out of view. Generally, these were luxury items, such as chocolate, eggs or sausage. By hiding the goods from view, they were officially no longer on hand. When it came to finally selling the coveted items – and they were sold only to a select group – the shop owner had to literally stoop (buecken in German) beneath the counter to come up with the goods.

Bueckware – East Germany

During the communist era of East Germany the situation was similar. Bueckware referred to items that were locally scarce, could only be obtained through bartering, or were intentionally held back for friends, relatives and important persons. In those days, Bueckware often consisted of daily necessities. Shop owners would stoop beneath the counter to unearth hard-to-come-by items, such as exotic fruits, building materials, electrical outlets and replacement parts for cars. Bueckware also referred to items that were sold illegally, such as record albums from West Germany. Matthias Kaiser in Der Eichsfeld Report, Art de Cuisine, Erfurt 2009, states, “the pigs must have grown up without livers during those years because these popular innards were so scarce that they were available only as Bueckware.”

Bueckware – West Germany

Bueckware also existed in West Germany during those days. But the term had a slightly different connotation. During West Germany’s post WWII economic miracle, Bueckware referred to illegal items, such as pornography.

Bueckware – Today

The term has not disappeared. These days, Bueckware refers to the cheaper no-name brands of merchandise that are located on the bottom shelves at your grocery store. While the pricy brand-name products with higher profit margins are located at eye level, customers are forced to stoop down to the lower shelves if they wish to purchase the less expensive items. http://www.abendblatt.de/region/norderstedt/article132543192/Bueckware-ist-oft-billig-aber-meistens-wirklich-gut.html

Learn a new word and let me know if you need help with the pronunciation.

Bueckware at Ralphs,
Photo © J. Elke Ertle 2015

Tags: brand-name products, Bueckware, Der Eichfeld Report, East Germany, no-name brands, stoop merchandise, West Germany, World War II
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Zur letzten Instanz – Berlin Restaurant

Monday, September 7th, 2015

“Zur Letzten Instanz” roughly translates to “The Last Resort.” It is the name of one of Berlin’s oldest restaurants, located in the heart of the city. If you want to try some authentic German food, put Zur Letzten Instanz on your list. The current owners bought the place after the Berlin wall fell. Their daughter manages it. Her brother is the cook. During the days of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), the State owned the restaurant, and East Germans were not allowed to own businesses.

Zur Letzten Instanz is located in the Waisenstrasse 14-16, not far from the Alexanderplatz, the television tower and Berlin’s red City Hall. Supposedly, Napoléon rested by the restaurant’s tile stove. In 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev, last leader of the Soviet Union, enjoyed a beer here, and in 2003 German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder treated French president Jacques Chirac to a meal at Zur Letzten Instanz. http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/germany/berlin/restaurants/reviews/zur-letzten-instanz-35605

Zur Letzten Instanz – history

First documented in 1561, a residence for two or three tenant families stood at this site. In 1621 a servant of the Great Elector opened a pub in its basement. The pub eventually turned into a restaurant. Over the years, the building changed hands several time, and the restaurant was renamed each time. Since 1924, it bears the name Zur Letzten Instanz.

“Zur Letzten Instanz” is the name of one of Berlin’s oldest restaurants. It is also a place where you can enjoy authentic German food. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2017. www.walled-in-berlin.com

During World War II, Zur Letzten Instanz was badly damaged. Then, in 1961, East Berlin authorities decided to reopen it to attract tourists. To increase the seating capacity, the original building and the two neighboring properties were taken down to their foundations, reconstructed and reopened in 1963. Unfortunately, most of the medieval elements and the historical layout of the original three buildings were essentially lost during reconstruction. But parts of the medieval city wall can still be seen in the back of the building. Zur Letzten Instanz currently seats up to 120 guests in its three dining room. The building includes eight hotel rooms with a total of thirteen beds as well as an apartment for the owners.

Zur Letzten Instanz – name

Zur Letzten Instanz owes its name to a court battle in the early 1900s. According to legend, two farmers fought a long-drawn-out litigation in the nearby courthouse. Unable to settle their differences in court, they took their dispute to the pub and reached an agreement over a glass of beer or two. For them, the pub became “the last resort.” Hence the name.

Menu Items Named after Legal Procedures

The menu features authentic German cuisine and includes some Berlin specialties, such as Eisbein (pork knuckle). Each menu item is named after a legal procedure so that you might find menu items, such as “Beweismittel – Evidence” (cabbage roll with mashed potatoes and salad), “Kreuzverhoer – cross-examination” (calf’s liver with shallots, apples and mashed potatoes) or “Zeugen-Aussage – witness testimony” pork knuckle with sauerkraut, pureed split peas and smoked bacon.

Guten Appetit – Bon Appetit – Enjoy Your Meal

Tags: "The last resort", "Zur letzten Instanz", authentic German cuisine, Berlin, Eisbein, Gerhard Schroeder, Jacques Chirac, Mikhail Gorbachev, Napoleon
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Who really opened the Berlin Wall?

Monday, August 31st, 2015

On 9 November 1989, East German Politburo member, Guenter Schabowski, stated during press conference televised from Berlin that a new travel law was going into effect. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/schabowski-sparks-the-fall-of-the-wall The new law was to remove a longstanding restriction to travel West. The Central Committee’s intention had been to announce the change overnight and phase in the new ruling the following morning. Instead, Schabowski, blurted out the plans prematurely. When journalists Peter Brinkmann of the German Bild Zeitung and Riccardo Ehrman of the Italian news agency ANSA asked for an effective date, Schabowski compounded his error by adding that the new rules would go into effect “unverzueglich – immediately.”

Schaboswki’s statement together with Brinkmann and Ehrman’s queries changed history. They sparked the opening of the Berlin Wall. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/brinkmann-or-ehrman-the-crucial-question/ But it was a border guard who actually opened it.

Harald Jaeger opens the Berlin Wall

Upon hearing the news, people headed for the border. Quickly, their numbers grew to several hundred. Demands to open the gate became louder. The crowd continued to grow. Soon, several thousand people had amassed. The guards, under order to stop anyone from crossing the border, called headquarters for direction. Nothing. The standoff between armed guards and the people grew tenser by the minute. The tide seemed unstoppable. Twenty thousand people were demanding to cross checkpoint Bornholmer Strasse to the West.

Lieutenant Colonel Harald Jaeger, in charge of passport control at checkpoint Bornholmer Strasse that night, recalls almost choking on his dinner when he heard Schabowski’s statement on the guard’s cafeteria TV set. He was that surprised. He immediately rushed to his office to get clarification on what his border guards were supposed to do. To ease the tension, he was told to let some of the rowdier people through, but to stamp their passports invalid so that they could not return. But the departure of the few only fired up the crowd even more. Pressure from both sides mounted on Jaeger. http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/11/06/361785478/the-man-who-disobeyed-his-boss-and-opened-the-berlin-wall

At 11:30 p.m., Jaeger ordered his men, “Macht den Schlagbaum auf – Raise the barrier,” despite the strict orders from his superiors not to let more people through. With that command, Jaeger allowed East Germans to cross to the West. With that command, he opened the Berlin Wall that had been impervious for 28 years. http://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/bornholmer-strasse-das-gute-an-der-boesebruecke/1623798.html

Disobedience can be a good thing

Lieutenant Colonel Harald Jaeger disobeyed his orders during those dramatic hours. That disobedience could have had serious consequences for him and for his family. We have to thank him, his men and also the people waiting at the border for their levelheadedness. Had just one shot been fired, the outcome might have been very different. By breaking all the rules, a potential bloodbath could be avoided.

Lieutenant Colonel Harald Jaeger apparently was not the only guard who had the presence of mind to make the critical decision to disobey orders. In 2009, a former East German Stasi officer, Heinz Schaefer, came forward and claimed to have ordered the opening of the Waltersdorf-Rudow border crossing hours before Jaeger opened the Bornholmer Strasse crossing. Schaefer stated that he began to allow crossings at 8:30 p.m. or 9:00 p.m. Since the Waltersdorf-Rudow crossing was only a small checkpoint without television coverage, Schaefer’s account cannot be verified. However, it would explain reports of the presence of East Berliners in West Berlin hours before the opening of the Bornholmer Strasse checkpoint by Harald Jaeger.

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: Historical or current events, people, places or food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall, and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

Tags: Bornholmer Strasse checkpoint, East German travel law, fall of the Berlin Wall, Guenter Schabowski, Harald Jaeger, Heinz Schaefer, Peter Brinkmann, Riccardo Ehrman, Waltersdorf-Rudow checkpoint
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Brinkmann or Ehrman – the crucial question

Monday, August 24th, 2015

To this day, two men claim to have asked the crucial question that led to the opening of the Berlin Wall: Peter Brinkmann and Riccardo Ehrman. Brinkmann represented the German tabloid, Bild Zeitung; Ehrman worked for the Italian news agency ANSA. In 2008, German President Horst Koehler awarded Ehrman the Federal Cross of Merit for having asked the question that tore down the Iron Curtain. But was it really Ehrman? Brinkmann says he asked the decisive question.

What happened on 9 November 1989

On that day, Guenter Schabowski, spokesman for the East German Communist Party Politburo, gave a press confererence in East Berlin. It covered many agenda items. The last was the East German travel law. The room was jam-packed with journalists representing domestic and International news services. Television covered the event. Schabowski was supposed to announce a temporary bureaucratic procedure that would make it easier for East Germans to travel abroad. In the face of mass demonstrations, the East German government was trying to appease its people with the new law.

An hour after the press conference had started journalists were given the opportunity to ask questions about the new travel law. Of course, they wanted to know when the law would go into effect and whether it would cover West Berlin. Schabowski looked through his notes and hesitantly replied, “Unverzueglich (Immediately).” http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/schabowski-sparks-fall-of-berlin-wall/

Schabowski’s answer spread like wildfire among the populace. The law was not supposed to become effective until the following morning – November 10 – to give border guards, police and security time to set up a system. But Schabowski hadn’t caught that. Within minutes of hearing the news that the new travel law was effective immediately, people raced to the border crossings. But the guards had no orders to let them cross to West Berlin. Soon, thousands had amassed at the Bornholmer Strasse crossing, the most popular checkpoint, ready to visit West Berlin. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/boesebruecke-a-bridge-with-history/ Unable to get hold of their superiors, the guards surrendered to the pressure from the crowd. Bornholmer was the first border checkpoint to open. The others followed. Unintentionally, the wall opened up for good.

So who asked the crucial question?

Ehrmann says it was he who brought up the subject of travel restrictions, and it was he who followed up by asking the crucial question as to when the new rule would become effective. Brinkmann agrees that Ehrman brought up the subject of the new travel law but insists that he, Brinkmann, asked the defining question. Who is right? According to Guenter Schabowski the crucial question came from Peter Brinkmann. As he puts it, “It’s like playing football. The one – here Riccardo Ehrman – shooting the ball from the side of the penalty area, and the other – Peter Brinkmann – then shooting the ball into the goal.” http://www.euractiv.de/wahlen-und-macht/artikel/die-mythen-des-riccardo-ehrmann-002269 To watch an excerpt from the press conference, click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8GzptqhT68/

Summing it up

On 13 August 1961 the Berlin Wall was raised to stabilize East Germany. On November 9, the unintentional demolition of the wall was meant to save East Germany. In the end, it was a communication error that tore the Iron Curtain apart. There is no doubt that the question, “as of when?” changed the course of history. But only one man asked it. Was it Brinkmann or was it Ehrman?

Tags: Boesebruecke, Bornholmer Strasse, fall of the Berlin Wall, Guenter Schabowski, Horst Koehler, Iron Curtain, Peter Brinkmann, Riccardo Ehrmann
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Unique Berlin Wall Segment in D.C.

Monday, August 17th, 2015

A unique Berlin Wall Segment arrived at the State Department’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. last Thursday, August 13, 2015. It arrived on the 54th anniversary of the closure of the border from East to West Berlin. https://www.voanews.com/a/berlin-wall-segment-arrives-in-washington/2916901.html/

Plans call for the piece to be put on display in the State Department’s Museum and Education Center, which is currently under construction. The Center is scheduled to open to the public at the end of 2017.

What did the Berlin Wall really look like?

The actual Berlin Wall actually consisted of two walls: The eastern so-called Hinterland Wall, and the western wall, which we usually think of when we speak of the Berlin Wall. A death strip separated the two. Today, the graffiti-decorated western wall segments are more popular with tourists, collectors and investors. Although souvenir shops sell small pieces of the Berlin Wall for just a few dollars, an entire wall segment measures 10.5 feet in height, 4 feet in width and weighs 2.9 tons. Between 1961 and 1990, around 54,000 of these concrete slabs made up the western side of the Berlin Wall. Their costs, even without shipment and handling, can be astounding.

Typical stretch of the western Berlin Wall,
Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2014

The Berlin Wall is all over the world

Berliners started chiseling away at the wall immediately after the border opened on 9 November 1989 and continued to do so for the next few years. I hammered out a number of small pieces myself. But some people immediately looked beyond mementos. They recognized the profit-making opportunity. A Bavarian businessman, for instance, made an offer on an entire wall Berlin Wall segment only one day after the border opened. The bidding went from there. A Japanese company offered $185,000 for a single section. So far, around 600 segments have found new homes outside Germany. Twenty-six years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, more pieces are scattered across the globe than remain in Berlin itself. South Korea acquired five sections of the Berlin Wall for a different reason. For South Korea the Berlin Wall segments symbolize their country’s hope that North and South Korea may also peacefully reunite one day. http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/oct/28/-sp-where-on-earth-berlin-wall-25-years-fall

Why is this Berlin Wall segment so unique?

The Berlin Wall segment that arrived at the U.S. State Department on Thursday bears twenty-five personal signatures on its front face. These signatures belong to statesmen who played key roles in the reunification of Germany. The section of the Berlin Wall that just arrived in D.C. was signed by former US President George H.W. Bush, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, former US Secretary of State James A. Baker, former prime minister of the German Democratic Republic Lothar de Maiziere and others. Initially, the German energy company Verbundnetz Gas AG owned this particular wall segment. Verbundnetz Gas presented it to the Atlantic Council, a think tank devoted to international affairs, and the Atlantic Council put it on temporarily display at the German embassy in Washington. Last Thursday, the Atlantic Council gifted this unique Berlin Wall segment to the U.S. State Department, its permanent home.

Tags: Angela Merkel, Atlantic Council, deathstrip, George H.W. Bush, German reunification, Helmut Kohl, Hinterland wall, James A. Baker, Lech Walesa, Lothar de Maiziere, Mikhail Gorbachev, South Korea, Unique Berlin Wall segment, US State Department, Verbundnetz Gas AG
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Schabowski sparks fall of Berlin Wall

Monday, August 10th, 2015

Guenter Schabowski was a former official of the East German Socialist Unity Party (SED). In 1989, his name became a worldwide household word when he committed a colossal blunder during an international press conference. His faux pas sparked the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

Guenter Schabowski in a Nutshell

Born in 1929 in Pomerania, Schabowski studied journalism in Leipzig, became editor of a trade union magazine, joined the SED and became chief editor of former East Germany’s leading newspaper, Neues Deutschland. In 1981, he became a member of the SED Central Committee. Four years later, he became the First Secretary of the party’s East Berlin chapter and member of the SED Politburo. In an effort to improve the regime’s image, Schabowski and several other members of the Politburo forced party leader, Erich Honecker, to step down in October 1989 in favor of Egon Krenz. Schabowski became the regime’s spokesman and held daily press conferences to announce changes in the system.

9 November 1989

Live press conferences were a novelty in communist days. Shortly before the 9 November 1989 meeting with the press, Schabowski was handed a note that stated that East Germans would forthwith be allowed to cross the borders to the West with proper permission. No one told him that the new rules were to be phased in the following morning to allow time for informing the border guards.

The following is an excerpt of the pertinent section of the announcement:

(“Guenter Schabowski’s Press Conference in the GDR International Press Center,” Making the History of 1989, Item #449, accessed June 14 2015, 6:36 pm). http://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/items/show/704

Schabowski: A recommendation from the Politburo was taken up that we take a passage from the [draft of] travel regulation and put it into effect, that, (um)—as it is called, for better or worse—that regulates permanent exit, leaving the Republic. Since we find it (um) unacceptable that this movement is taking place (um) across the territory of an allied state, (um) which is not an easy burden for that country to bear. Therefore (um), we have decided today (um) to implement a regulation that allows every citizen of the German Democratic Republic (um) to (um) leave the GDR through any of the border crossings.
Reporter: At once? When? When does it come into effect?
Schabowski: That comes into effect, according to my information… immediately, without delay.

West German television broadcast Schabowski’s announcement as the lead story at 8:00 p.m. Within minutes a trickle of East Berliners arrived at the border crossings. The guards had been given no instructions on how to handle the situation. Their standing orders were to stop anyone from crossing. They called their headquarters for orders, but the government officials had gone home already, unaware of the situation. Their standing orders were to stop anyone crossing. By 9:20 p.m. the border guards at the Bornholmer Strasse crossing http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/boesebruecke-a-bridge-with-history/ yielded to the pressure from the crowd and let the most belligerent people leave for West Berlin. Soon the numbers of people wanting to take advantage of their new travel right grew into thousands. By 11:30 p.m. the crowd was so unwieldy that the guards – still without orders – finally raised the barrier. Over the next hour, around 20,000 people crossed the Boesebruecke into West Berlin.

The Boesebruecke, Berlin, seen from the East (2015) Photo © J. Elke Ertle

Schabowski Today

After German Reunification in 1990, Schabowski became highly critical of Soviet-style socialism and his own role in it. He was charged with the murders of East Germans attempting to flee and was convicted in 1997. After serving less than one year in prison, he was pardoned and released in December 2000. He says that he does not consider himself a hero for having helped to open the border. He was still a committed communist at the time, he says. But he is glad now that he helped – even if unintentionally – to bring the confrontation between east and west to an end.

Tags: Boesebruecke, Bornholmer Strasse border crossing, East-West confrontation, Egon Krenz, Erich Honecker, fall of Berlin Wall, Guenter Schabowski
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Boesebruecke – a bridge with history

Monday, August 3rd, 2015

Between 1961 and 1990, the Boesebruecke at the Bornholmer Strasse border crossing in Berlin, Germany, was one of seven former East/West crossings in Berlin. It made history when it became the first crossing to be opened during the events of 9 November 1989 – the day of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The riveted steel arch bridge spans crosses the tracks of long-distance and suburban trains and connects Berlin’s districts of Pankow and Gesundbrunnen. The actual border between East and West Berlin ran along the rail lines, crossed by the Boesebruecke. The checkpoint at Bornholmer Strasse was the most northern border crossing in the city and was to be used by West Germans crossing into East Berlin.

Boesebruecke – one of seven former border crossings in Berlin. It became the first crossing to be opened during the events of 9 November 1989
Photo © J. Elke Ertle

History of the Boesebruecke

The riveted steel arch bridge was opened in 1916 and originally named Hindenburgbruecke, after Paul von Hindenburg, the second President of Germany. In 1948, the bridge was renamed Boesebruecke in honor of Wilhelm Boese, who had fought against the Nazi regime and was executed by the Nazis in 1944 for his involvement.

Most of the Boesebruecke was located in the former East Berlin. Less than 100 feet were in West Berlin. When construction of the Berlin Wall began on 13 August 1961, bridge traffic came to a halt.

The Fall of the Wall

At 8:00 p,m. on 9 November 1989, East German politburo member Guenter Schabowski announced a change in travel regulations for East German citizens at a press conference. East and West German stations reported the announcement live. Within minutes a trickle of East Berliners arrived at the Bornholmer Strasse border crossing. They wanted to take advantage of their new right to travel. Soon their numbers increased to thousands. The guards were unable to contain the crowds and raised the barrier. Around 20,000 people crossed the Boesebruecke bridge into West Berlin that night. It was the beginning of the fall of the Berlin Wall. http://www.berlin.de/mauer/

Historic Reminders

On the north side of Bornholmer Strasse, you can still see a 650-foot-long section of the Hinterlandsicherungsmauer (inner security wall) that once marked the East/West boundary. Commemorative plaques at both ends of the Boesebruecke call attention to the former checkpoint, and information boards have been put up.

Tags: Berlin, Berlin Wall, Boesebruecke, fall of the Berlin Wall, Guenter Schabowski
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Cold War Spy Tunnel under Berlin

Monday, July 27th, 2015

During the height of the Cold War, US and British Intelligence Services constructed a secret spy tunnel under Berlin, just twenty feet beneath the surface. The project was known as “Operation Gold” in US Intelligence circles and as “Operation Stopwatch” among their British counterparts. The plan involved tapping into Eastern Europe’s communication cables. The spy tunnel was to serve the western Allies as an early warning system by keeping them abreast of Soviet military intentions in Europe. Spying operations were far from unusual during the Cold War. The Soviets were tapping a cable that served the American garrison in Berlin. It was located near Potsdam.

Spy Tunnel Construction

To be able to listen in on Soviet conversations, US and British Intelligence Services constructed a 1,476-foot long spy tunnel from a point in the West Berlin district of Rudow to Altglienicke in East Berlin’s district of Treptow. Construction of the tunnel was a major engineering feat. One of the cables was located only 27 inches beneath the surface and along the edge of a major highway.

The tunnel tube segments were constructed in the British sector of the divided city, at Airport Gatow . By May 1955 the first cable tap took place. Wire-tapping continued for eleven months. During that time, the Western Allies listened to close to 443,000 calls, which were recorded on 50,000 tapes. http://www.faqs.org/espionage/Ba-Bl/Berlin-Tunnel.html – ixzz3cz0f2d1YThree hundred specialists were involved in transcribing the tapes in London and Washington.

Spy Tunnel Discovery

Then the big surprise! The Soviets had known about this top-secret operation since inception. A mole in the British Secret Intelligence, who had been involved in the project from the beginning, had alerted the KGB of the CIA’s plans. The double agent’s name was George Blake. To protect his identity, the KGB kept knowledge of the tunnel close to their vests and did not even alert Soviet authorities of its existence.

Eleven months into the wire tapping, the Soviets claimed to have discovered the spy tunnel and turned its “discovery” into a successfully orchestrated propaganda blitz. Over the next six months, they carted around 30,000 “deserving” East German citizens to the entrance of the tunnel (Geheime Orte in Berlin by Claus-Dieter Steyer, © 2014) and pointed to America as a nation of warmongers and to West Berlin as a breeding ground for espionage. The Soviets used the discovery of the spy tunnel to demonstrate the effectiveness of socialist security.

Spy Tunnel Segment in Allied Museum

A 7-foot segment of Berlin’s spy tunnel can still be seen in the Allied Museum at Clayallee 135 in Berlin’s District of Zehlendorf. The segment was unearthed in 1997.

Tags: Allied Museum, Berlin, British Intelligence, CIA, Cold War, George Blake, KGB, Operation Gold, Operation Stopwatch, spy tunnel, US Intelligence, wire tapping
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