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Archive for the ‘Tête-à-Tête’ Category

Life is like a camera

Monday, September 23rd, 2019

Life is like a camera. Focus on what’s important. Capture the good times. Develop from the negatives. And if things don’t work out, take another shot.

— Anonymous

Life is like a camera. Focus on what’s important. Capture the good times. Develop from the negatives. And if things don’t work out, take another shot. Image by Alexander-777 from Pixabay. www.walled-in-berlin.com

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: camera, develop from the negatives, focus on the important, take another shot
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Berlin’s International Congress Center

Monday, September 16th, 2019

Berlin’s International Congress Center (Internationales Congress Centrum Berlin) opened in 1979 and closed in 2014. From the outside it looks futuristic with its aluminum facade in the high-tech style of the 1970s. Inside it reveals lots of retro charm. With a length of 1,050 feet long, a width of 262 feet wide and a height of 131 feet, the International Congress Center can accommodate slightly more than 20,000 guests. A bridge links the “ICC” to the exhibition grounds across the street, the Messe Berlin. For 25 years, the International Congress Center made Berlin the No. 1 congress city in Germany and maybe even one of the top congress cities in the world.

Berlin's International Congress Center (ICC), opened in 1979 and closed in 2014. When and if it reopens agains remains uncertain. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Berlin’s International Congress Center (ICC), opened in 1979 and closed in 2014. When and if it reopens again remains uncertain. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Why West Berlin constructed an International Congress Center

At the end of the 1960s, Berlin was a divided city with West Berlin a capitalist island surrounded by a Communist sea. When experts predicted a steady increase in the number of conventions and trade shows held around the world, West Berlin jumped on the band wagon. It wanted to boost its economy, and congress centers can be a profitable source of income. Until then, West Berlin had hosted such events in its 1957 Congress Hall (Kongresshalle), which barely seated 1,200 participants. With a new and much larger International Congress Center, West Berlin hoped to redefine itself as a congress destination. Besides, East Berlin had built the Palace of the Republic (Palast der Republik) only three years earlier, and the West wanted to keep up. The ICC became the most expensive construction project in West Berlin since World War II, costing almost one billion marks.

Design Competition for the International Congress Center

In 1966, West Berlin held a design competition for the new congress center. Ralf Schueler and Ursulina Schueler-Witte, a young and relatively unknown husband-and-wife architect team, won the contest. Construction began in 1975. It was six years after the first moon landing, and the space-age may have influenced the design. The ultramodern building soon became known in West Berlin as the “spaceship.” Nonetheless, the design was a complete success. It received many awards. At its grand opening in 1979, German President Walter Scheel predicted that the ICC would still stand when the Pyramid of Cheops had decayed.

Asbestos-contaminated ICC and Palace of the Republic

Mr. Scheel may have been correct in assuming that the ICC’s concrete design might outlast the Pyramid of Cheops, but he was unaware of the dangers of asbestos. In 2014, the International Congress Center closed for asbestos removal, but the costs turned out to be prohibitive. The Palace of theRepublic in East Berlin, which had opened in 1976, was equally contaminated. While the latter was demolished in 2006 to give way to the construction of the Stadtschloss Berlin (Berlin City Place), the International Congress Center didn’t close to conventions until 2014. Aside from housing refugees between 2015 and 2017, it continues to remain closed while officials argue over who will foot the bill for asbestos removal and needed upgrades and how the center might be used in the future.

Tags: Berlin City Palace, Congress Hall, International Congress Center, Internationales Congress Centrum Berlin, Kongresshalle, Messe Berlin, Palace of the Republic, Palast her Republik, President Walter Scheel, Ralph Schueler, Stadtschloss Berlin, Ursulina Schueler-Witte, West Berlin
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Life in former East Germany then and now

Monday, September 2nd, 2019

Life in former East Germany wasn’t all roses. We know that. That’s why the East German people fought hard to tear down the hated wall that divided East from West Germany. Yet, thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, some former East Germans, now living in the eastern part of reunited Germany, say that life in former East Germany wasn’t all that bad after all. As proof they cite that current unemployment in their part of the country is still nearly twice as high as in the West. Pay is still lower. None of Germany’s biggest 30 companies is based in the east, and only one in five leading political posts is held by East Germans. On top of that, low rents are gone. So are inexpensive everyday groceries, readily available free child care and social security from cradle to grave. Also gone are state-subsidized inexpensive vacations. All true.

The Downside to Life in Former East Germany

However, the people who now say that life in former East German wasn’t all that bad seem to have forgotten that life also had a dark side back then. What about the long lines consumer had to stand in to buy almost anything? Back then, people had to queue up for everything from fresh fruit and chocolate to ordinary consumer goods, such as television sets, radios, appliances and spare parts. The reason for the shortages was that East Germany exported many of its products to the West for hard cash and operated outdated and inefficient factories. That resulted in many products not being available for purchase by the average East German consumer.

Typical line in front of a butcher shop in Eberswalde, former East Germany. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 1990. www.walled-in-berlin.com

A Consequence of artificially low prices in Former East Germany

East Germany’s socialist government kept the prices for basic consumer goods and groceries artificially low to ensure that everyone could afford essential goods. But it also meant that because basic goods were not always available, consumers stocked up whenever they could. They traded items they did not need for those they did need. Sales personnel often added to shortages by quietly reserving particularly desirable items for “special” clients and placing them under – not on top of – the counter. They then had to stoop down (“buecken” in German) to fetch the item. These cleverly concealed items were jokingly referred to as Bueckware (stoop merchandise).

A Tale of Resourcefulness in Former East Germany

Relatives of mine related a not uncommon story. They lived in a small town in former East Germany and grew raspberries in the backyard each summer. The government-owned stores (HO) sold fresh fruit at affordable, preset prices. I don’t remember the exact number, but let’s say raspberries normally sold for 1.00 Mark per pound. Whenever the HO did not have much fruit for sale but wanted to fill their shelves, they gladly paid the locals 3.00 Marks per pound for their berries. That was a good deal for my kin, but they could improve their lot even further by selling the berries to the store through the back door for 3.00 Marks per pound and buying them back at the front door for 1.00 Mark per pound. They now had the raspberries back and made a 2.00 Mark profit.

Is Life in East Germany Better or Worse since Reunification?

So, to the people who are disenchanted with their lot in reunited Germany, I want to say, “Don’t forget, life in former East Germany wasn’t all milk and honey either. Yes, life in reunited Germany has its problems, but so did life in former East Germany. Do you really want to deal with the Stasi, the travel ban, the lack of freedom and the shortages again? Wouldn’t it make more sense to work hard on fixing current problems?”

Tags: Bueckware, Eberswalde, Former East Germany. fall of the Berlin Wall, Inequities between East and West Germany
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Eiskeller Boy With Chutzpah Adds to Berlin Wall Drama

Monday, August 19th, 2019

Eiskeller is a tiny rural community along the western boundary of Berlin. The area of less than 0.20 square miles was a West Berlin exclave during the Cold War and connected to West Berlin proper by a narrow 13-foot wide road. Of course, both sides of the road were regularly patrolled by East German police to make sure that East German citizens would not defect to the west by way to Eiskeller. Also known as the coldest spot in all of Berlin (hence the name “ice cellar),” this small community added some intrigue to Cold War history. Here is what happened:

Eiskeller Boy is Detained by East German Guards

Erwin Schabe was a twelve-year-old schoolboy in 1961 when the Berlin Wall went up. He lived with his parents in their Eiskeller home and attended school in the West Berlin district of Spandau, just half a mile down the road. Every day, he rode his bike down the only road to Spandau. One day, he told his parents that he did not want to go to school that day because East German police had detained him the day before. Now he was afraid of riding his bike down that lonely stretch of road.

British Occupation Forces Provide Protection

Erwin’s parents immediately reported the incident to the British Occupation Forces since Eiskeller was located in the British Zone. In order to ward off an International incident, British military police quickly came to Erwin’s aid. For the next few days, a British armored reconnaissance vehicle accompanied the boy on his half-mile ride to school.

A British armored reconnaissance vehicle accompanies Erwin Schabe along the half mile from Eiskeller to Spandau in 1961, shortly after the construction of the Berlin Wall. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Without delay, the photo went around the world, showing little Erwin on his bike holding a sack lunch and followed by a British military vehicle. Instantly, he became famous and received letters of encouragement and praise from people throughout Germany. A West Germany civil servant even invited him to vacation in West Germany for a week. That’s as much of the story I was familiar with until recently.

My 2019 visit to Eiskeller

Imagine my surprise when I read that Erwin Schabe publicly admitted 33 years later that his story was pure fiction. https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/schulschwaenzer-gesteht-nach-33-jahren-seinen-streich–freiheits-kind–enttarnt-17280662 The Berlin rascal had invented the incident because he needed an excuse that would allow him to skip school that day.

Road from Eiskeller to Spandau in 2019 (now paved). The same road Erwin Schabe took to school in 1961. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Curious about what the half-mile Eiskeller road might look like today, I visited the tiny community, now home to three families, on a recent visit to Berlin. Located on the edge of the Spandau woods, it is just a short walk from the Berlin Wall Trail (Berliner Mauerweg). Along the trail, an info board shows the very photo I remember: A young school boy on his bike with a British military vehicle on his heels. It turns out, Erwin Schabe’s family home is still standing. He hasn’t lived there for many years. The current owner of the home sells beer, soft drinks and ice cream to passer’s by.

Tags: Berlin Wall, Berlin Wall Trail, Berliner Mauerweg, British Occupation Forces, Chutzpah, Cold War, Eiskeller, Erwin Schabe, exclave
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Berlin Wall Trail Retraces Former Wall

Monday, August 5th, 2019

The Berlin Wall Trail (Berliner Mauerweg) is a 100-mile hike and bike trail that retraces the course of the Berlin Wall, which encircled the western half of the city for 28 years. In many places the path makes use of old patrol roads formerly used by East Berlin border guards or West Berlin customs agents.

Cobble Stones Mark Former East/West Border

Immediately after the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Berliners wanted to forget that the “Wall of Shame” had ever existed. They could barely wait for it to be torn down. But a few years later they decided that some visual reminders should remain. After all, the 12-foot Berlin Wall is part of the city’s history. Following reunification, when massive new construction projects threatened to commit to oblivion the memory of the Berlin Wall, many Berliners wanted to make its former path more visible again. That is why double rows of cobble stones snake through the city today. The cobbles mark the former East/West border.

Cobble stone border markers showing the course of the former Berlin Wall. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Creation of the Berlin Wall Trail for Hikers and Bikers

In 2002, the city also began work on the 4.4 million Euro Berlin Wall Trail project. It consists of a 100-mile hike and bike trail that is divided into 14 segments, each between 4.5 and 13 miles in length. Along historically significant sections, the city installed information boards with photos, texts and maps. In some areas, remaining pieces of the Berlin Wall are left in place. The Berlin Wall Trail also cuts through forests and long stretches of natural beauty.

Berlin Wall Trail (Berliner Mauerweg) sign near Eiskeller. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Eiskeller – a Community near the Berlin Wall Trail

I was particularly interested in visiting Eiskeller, a tiny rural community and former West Berlin exclave not far off the Berlin Wall Trail. In 1961, a photo from this hamlet had gone around the world, and I will always remember the picture. It was taken the year the Berlin Wall went up when I lived in West Berlin. The black and white photo showed a young Eiskeller boy riding his bike to school along a narrow country road. A British military vehicle followed closely behind. The acompanying narrative became even more incredible decades later. I hoped to find the Eiskeller site by hiking the Berlin Wall Trail, and I was in luck. Get a chuckle when you read the full Eiskeller story in my next blog.

Tags: Berlin Wall Trail, Berliner Mauerweg, Cold War, Eiskeller, fall of the Berlin Wall, Wall of Shame
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Berlin’s Tiergarten – From Hunting Ground to Public Park

Monday, July 22nd, 2019

The German name Tiergarten translates to “animal garden,” but despite the name, it is not a zoo. Instead, it is Berlin’s second-biggest inner-city park. Only Tempelhofer Freiheit, the former Tempelhof Airport expanse, is larger. The 520-acre Tiergarten serves the same “green lung” function as London’s Hyde Park (310 acres) or New York’s Central Park (825 acres).

Relaxing in Berlin’s Tiergarten. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Friedrich I of Prussia (Frederick I), Elector of Brandenburg and later first King of Prussia, laid out the park in the 17th century. At that time, the land was located just outside of Coelln’s city wall, Berlin’s twin city. Today – redesigned and expanded several times – the Tiergarten is bordered by the River Spree to the northeast and the zoo to the southwest. It’s ideal for recharging. Small streams pass through grassy areas dotted with groups of trees and small lakes. Countless pathways cross the park and make it a popular place for jogging, cycling, boating, walking, family picnics and winter skating.

Royal History of the Tiergarten

Until 1881, the Tiergarten was owned and controlled by the various kings and emperors in power. Friedrich I (Frederick I) created the park to serve as his royal hunting ground. His successor, Friedrich Wilhelm I (Frederick William I of Prussia) began to transform the Tiergarten into a forested park. His son, Friedrich II, also known as Frederick the Great, (Frederick the Great) opened the area to the public. He commissioned many sculptures and created a pheasant house. The latter eventually became the core of the Berlin Zoo.

The Beethoven-Haydn-Mozart Memorial – one of many statues in Berlin’s Tiergarten. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

The Tiergarten in the 20^thCentury

WWII brought significant changes to the Tiergarten. Many statues were destroyed, and surviving monuments lay badly damaged on their sides. Berlin’s citizens even buried some of them near Bellevue Palace to protect them from destruction. In 1993, the statues were recovered, several years after German reunification.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Tiergarten became part of the British Occupation Zone of West Berlin. Because coal was in extremely short supply at the time, many of the park’s trees were turned to firewood. Every bridge in the park was destroyed, and there were plans to fill the small lakes with war debris. Only 700 trees survived. For a time, the deforested fields were turned into 2,550 plots of farm land to grow potatoes and vegetables. The once beautiful forest of over 200,000 trees had nearly disappeared.

Replanting the Tiergarten

In March 1949, Berlin’s first post-war major, Ernst Reuter, planted the first tree, a linden. Between 1949 and 1959, 250,000 young trees were planted. Most of them were donations from all over Germany. Thanks to those efforts, the Tiergarten is once again a green oasis in the middle of bustling Berlin.

Tags: Beethoven-Haydn-Mozart Memorial, Berlin, Ernst Reuter, Frederick I, Frederick II, Frederick the Great, Frederick William I, Friedrich der Grosse, Friedrich I, Friedrich II, Friedrich Wilhelm I, Tempelhof Airport, Tempelhofer Freiheit, Tiergarten
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Unter Den Linden – Berlin’s Grandest Boulevard

Monday, July 8th, 2019

Unter Den Linden (Under the Linden Trees) is Berlin’s grandest boulevard. It is located in the historic heart of the city and named for the 1,000 linden trees in its spacious pedestrian median and along both sidewalks. Friedrich Wilhelm I (Frederick William I), Elector of Brandenburg and later King of Prussia, originally planted the trees in the 17th century. But in the 1930s, Adolf Hitler had most of them cut down and replaced with Nazi flags. Following a public outcry, he had them replanted. Nonetheless, during World War II, the trees were either destroyed or cut down for firewood. The present-day linden were planted in the 1950s.

Under den Linden – Berlin’s grandest boulevard with the Brandenburg Gate in the background. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

History of Unter Den Linden

Unter den Linden stretches from the Brandenburg Gate to the Berlin City Palace (Berliner Stadtschloss). The famous boulevard began as an equestrian trail in the 16^thcentury to allow prince-elector Johann Georg (John George) of the Margraviate of Brandenburg to reach his hunting grounds in the Tiergarten. In the middle of the 17th century, Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia replaced that equestrian trail with a stately tree-lined boulevard.

Unter den Linden anchors

The Brandenburg Gate stands at the western boundary of Unter den Linden. Of the original fourteen city gates it is the only one that survived the ravages of time. During the Cold War, the Brandenburg Gate became a symbol of freedom. At the eastern end of Unter den Linden stands the City Palace, currently under reconstruction and slated for completion in 2020.

Points of Interest along Unter den Linden

Located immediately east of the Brandenburg Gate is the Pariser Platz (Paris Square). It was heavily bombed during World War II and became a no-man’s-land during the Cold War. But since German reunification in 1990, its pre-WWII embassies, hotels and banks have returned, including the famous Hotel Adlon. Further down Unter den Linden you’ll see the restored Berlin State Library, the renowned Humboldt University, the Bebelplatz (site of the infamous Nazi book burning in 1933), the State Opera, the Catholic St. Hedwig’s Cathedral, the German History Museum, the Neue Wache (now the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Dictatorship) and the Berliner Dom.

Tags: Bebelplatz, Berlin, Berliner Dom, Berliner Stadtschloss, Brandenburg Gate, Frederick William I of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm I, German reunification, Hotel Adllon, Margraviate of Brandenburg, Neue Wache, Unter den Linden
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Der Schwarze Kanal – Former Propaganda Program

Monday, June 24th, 2019

For almost 30 years, Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler hosted “Der Schwarze Kanal” (the Black Channel), a weekly East German television program that could also be received in West Germany. Der Schwarze Kanal’s main purpose was to rival the West German news program, Die Rote Optik (Red Viewpoint). During his 20-minute broadcasts, von Schnitzler edited, twisted and put a new spin on West German news stories. In his political commentaries he examined the West’s “fictional” truth and pontificated on the East’s “factual” truth.

Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler, host of “Der Schwarze Kanal” (the Black Channel), a weekly East German propaganda program. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Meaning of the name “Der Schwarze Kanal”

“Black channel” is a euphemism used by German plumbers to refer to the sewer. By choosing the name Der Schwarze Kanal for his show, von Schnitzler tried to create a visual image of black capitalist filth. In every segment of his show, he hammered in that evil lurked around every corner in the West. He relentlessly pointed to the wrongs of capitalism: exploitation of workers, capitalist greed, massive unemployment, etc. He fixated on the theme that the West oppressed the working man while vilifying peaceful and hard-working East Germany.

Viewership of “Der Schwarze Kanal”

From 1960 to 1989, the program aired around 9 pm, just before or after the Monday night movie. Timing was critical because von Schnitzler wanted viewers to be already tuned in without having to decide whether or not to watch the program. In reality, Der Schwarze Kanal was the least popular show on East German television. Some surveys concluded that viewership ranged in the 5% range. Von Schnitzler became known as “Sudel-Ede.” Ede stood for his name Eduard, and “Sudel” for the longing to wallow in mud.

About Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler

Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler did not come from a family of socialists. He actually was a great-grandchild of the Prussian Emperor Friedrich III. But despite his aristocratic background and his influential relations in West Germany, von Schnitzler was a fervent socialist. Following WWII, he worked for a short time in the West German city of Cologne. But in 1947, he immigrated to East Germany and became the regime’s most zealous propagandist.

Tags: Der Schwarze Kanal, Die Rote Optik, factual truth, fictional truth, Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler, propaganda, Sudel-Ede, the Black Channel, the Red Viewpoint
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Prora – abandoned former Nazi resort

Monday, June 10th, 2019

Prora is an abandoned former Nazi vacation resort of gigantic proportions. Located on the German island of Ruegen on the Baltic Sea, it was the brainchild of Adolf Hitler. The resort’s objective was to provide every German worker with an opportunity to spend a holiday at the beach. Construction started in 1936. But after three years, plans changed because the Nazis redirected their focus. Because World War II had started, all construction ceased. The seaside resort was never finished and remained untouched for decades.

Prora – an abandoned former Nazi vacation resort on the German island of Ruegen on the Baltic Sea. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia. www.walled-in-berlin.com

All about Prora

Clemens Klotz won the design competition that gave rise to Prora. Hitler’s chief architect Albert Speer administered the contest, and Nazi’s tourism operator, Kraft durch Freude – KdF (Strength Through Joy), planned the project. The group was well-qualified to run such a gigantic project because twenty-five million Germans had already participated in at least one of their trips.

The plan was for Prora to become a tourist destination for 20,000 working-class Germans, similar to the Butlins in Great Britain. Blueprints called for eight identical housing blocks with 10,000 rooms to stretch 2.75 miles along the shore of Ruegen. The project is so large that it still takes almost two hours to walk around the entire complex. Originally, its compact rooms measured 16 feet by 8 feet and accommodated two beds, a wardrobe and a sink. Communal toilets, showers and bathrooms were on each floor. All rooms overlooked the sea, with corridors and bathrooms on the land side.

Postwar uses of Prora

During Allied bombings during World War II, one of Prora’s housing blocks served as a temporary shelter for the people of Hamburg. In 1945, the Soviet Army took control of the region and established a military base at the unfinished resort. Two of the housing blocks were demolished in the late 1940s and rebuilt by the East German military in the 1950s. After the formation of the East German National People’s Army in 1956, the buildings housed several East German Army units. Following German reunification in 1990, the West German armed forces took over the building.

Prora Today

In 2004, following more than a decade of unsuccessful attempts to sell the site as a whole, the housing blocks were sold off individually. In 2011, the largest youth hostel in Germany opened its doors in one of the housing blocks. Five years later, the Prora Solitaire Hotel opened in another block. And the Berlin firm Metropole developed five-star vacation condominiums and spa in a third block. According to the developer, 95% of the flats are sold. Three more condo blocks are scheduled to follow. The Prora complex has a formal heritage listing as a particularly striking example of Third Reich architecture.

Tags: Adolf Hitler, Albert Speer, Butlins, Clemens Klotz, Kraft durch Freude (Strengh through Joy), Prora, Ruegen, Third Reich architecture
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Operation Osoaviakhim – German Scientists in USSR

Monday, May 27th, 2019

Operation Osoaviakhim was the Soviet counterpart of Operation Paperclip. Both missions were designed to scoop up German scientific know-how following WWII. In October 1946, the Soviets ordered at gun point selected German rocket scientists onto 92 trains bound for the USSR. The men were to assist with their missile production and design.

Soviet Scientists move to Occupied Germany

Following WWII, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin moved hundreds of Soviet rocket specialists to soviet-occupied Germany to work side by side with their German colleagues in order to gain experience in rocket development. Rocket science was virtually nonexistent in the USSR at the time. Soon, Soviet authorities became uncomfortable, however, with the idea that the Germans might find out too much about the status of Soviet efforts. Their second concern was that the Western allies might accuse them of noncompliance with the Allied Control Council agreements. Therefore, the Soviet and the German rocket scientists were relocated to Russia.

Operation Osoaviakhim

Relocation of rocket scientists and their equipment took place simultaneously across the Soviet occupation zone. Personnel to be moved included 2,200 specialists in aviation, nuclear technology, rocketry, electronics, radar technology and chemistry. Counting family members, the total number of people expatriated ranged between 6,000 and 7,000. Close to 100 special trains stood ready in various locations. In the early morning hours, soldiers ordered the selected specialists out of their beds and onto trains to the USSR. Wives of the scientists could choose to stay in Germany, providing their husbands agreed. Unmarried couples were allowed to choose to travel together rather than being separated. Soldiers loaded furniture and personal belongings onto separate trains.

Helmut Groettrup heads German Scientists in Russia

Helmut Groettrup, a German physicist and rocket scientist, was at the top of the Soviet list to be relocated. He had been one of the managers of Wernher von Braun’s V-2 rocket program. Groettrup gladly agreed to work for the Soviets because he hoped to become the leader of the Soviet program and did not want to have to play second fiddle to Wernher von Braun on the American team. Initially, the Soviet government settled Groettrup and his cohorts in mansions and vacation homes outside Moscow. However, the condition of the research facilities they were to work in was deplorable. Due to lack of storage space, the scientific equipment that had been confiscated and shipped from Germany was left lying beside the railway lines and quickly turned to scrap metal. Numerous documents and blueprints from the German facility were also lost in transit. Over time, the scientists were moved to different locations. Groettrup remained in charge of the more than 170 Germans from 1946 to 1953.

Operation Osoaviakhim was the Soviet counterpart of Operation Paperclip. Both missions were designed to scoop up German scientific know-how following WWII. www.walled-in-berlin.com

End of Operation Osoaviakhim

Beginning in the mid-1948, the group of German scientists was no longer actively involved in the development of next generation rockets. They were still receiving assignments but were no longer privy to the “big picture.” By the end of 1950, most of the Germans were sent back to Germany. Groettup remained in Russia until 1953.

Tags: Allied Control Council, German rocket scientists, Helmut Groettrup, Joseph Stalin, Operation Osoaviakhim, Operation Paperclip, Wernher von Braun, World War II
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