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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.

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: 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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What is loyalty?

Thursday, September 24th, 2015

Loyalty cannot be blueprinted. It cannot be produced on an assembly line. In fact, it cannot be manufactured at all, for its origin is the human heart — the center of self-respect and human dignity. It is a force which leaps into being only when conditions are exactly right for it — and it is a force very sensitive to betrayal.

–Maurice Franks

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 the home page of http://www.walled-in-berlin.com. Walled-In is a story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War.

Tags: allegiance, betrayal, bond, integrity, loyalty, respect, treachery
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Thought of the Day, Walled In Berlin | No Comments »

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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What wears you out?

Thursday, September 17th, 2015

It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out…  It’s the grain of sand in your shoe.

–Anonymous

Tags: grind, inconsequential, small things in life, trivial
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Thought of the Day, Walled In Berlin | No Comments »

Comrade Lenin is back

Monday, September 14th, 2015

Twenty-four years after the 62-foot statue of Communist leader Vladimir Lenin was buried outside of Berlin, Germany, its granite head was unearthed this month and placed in a Berlin museum. Just last year, in August 2014, the Berlin senate had claimed that the giant statue was lost. At that time, authorities had maintained that they knew the general location of its burial place but had no records of the precise location. Digging up the entire pit, long overgrown with shrubs, to unearth Lenin’s head had seemed too costly an undertaking. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/21/berlin-giant-lenin-statue-lost

Who was Comrade Lenin?

Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) was a Russian communist revolutionary and politician. He played a senior role in the October Revolution of 1917. Under his administration the Russian Empire was dissolved and replaced by the Soviet Union. His political theories are known as Leninism. Admirers view him as a champion of working people’s rights and welfare. Critics see him as a dictator responsible for civil war and massive human rights abuses. In East Germany, Lenin was held up as a model communist.

Where was Comrade Lenin’s statue located?

Designed by Nikolai Tomsky, Lenin’s giant sculpture was originally located in Leninplatz (Lenin Square) in the Friedrichshain district of former East Berlin. A gift from the Soviet Union to East Germany, the monument was carved from Ukrainian red Kapustino granite. Three days before the 100th anniversary of Lenin’s birth it was unveiled before 200,000 guests. The celebration took place on 19 April 1970. Subsequently, in 1992, the square was renamed Platz der Vereinten Nationen (United Nations Square).

Lenin statue at Leninplatz, Berlin,
photo Bundesarchiv, Germany

Why was Comrade Lenin’s statue removed?

The East German government had commissioned the statue to express East Germany’s reverence for and gratitude toward Lenin. But following the fall of the Berlin Wall, many Germans wanted to get rid of Soviet symbols, and Berlin’s then mayor Eberhard Diepgen ordered the statue to be removed. Critics argued that the monument was part of the history of the neighborhood and should remain. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/09/10/a-giant-lenin-head-was-unearthed-in-germany/ Nonetheless, two years after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall, demolition took place.

Since 1994, a bubbling fountain has taken the place of Lenin’s sculpture in the Platz der Vereinten Nationen (United Nations Square). Now, water bubbles from five roughly hewn granite boulders in a group of fourteen that grace the square.

Where was Comrade Lenin’s statue buried?

The demolition of Lenin’s statue began in November 1991 and took several months. It was split in 129 sections and buried in a sand pit at Seddinberg in the district of Treptow-Koepenick, a southeastern suburb of Berlin. It seemed that Lenin’s statue would remain buried forever until historians started campaigning for its excavation last year. When the Berlin government claimed not to know where exactly it was buried, Rick Minnich, a Berlin-based US filmmaker, stepped up. He told the media that he knew its precise location because he had it partially unearthed a few years earlier for his 1990 film, Good-bye, Lenin.

Where is Comrade Lenin’s head now?

On 10 September 2015, Lenin’s 3.5-ton granite head was transported from the Seddinberg sand pit to Berlin’s Spandau Zitadelle museum. It is scheduled to be the showpiece in the Zitadelle’s exhibition, “Berlin and its Monuments,” which will display more than 100 original Berlin monuments from the 18th century to the fall of the Wall. According to Berlin officials, Lenin’s head will remain the only part of the statue to be excavated. All other sections will remain buried.

Tags: "Berlin and its Monuments", Berlin, Exhibition, fall of the Berlin Wall, Good-bye, Lenin, Leninplatz, Platz der Vereinten Nationen, Rick Minnich, Seddinberg, Soviet Union, Spandau Zitadelle, Vladimir Lenin
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What are memories?

Thursday, September 10th, 2015

Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future.

–Corrie ten Boom

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: future, learning, memories, past, present
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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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The thing that impresses me most

Thursday, September 3rd, 2015

The thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey their children.

–Edward, Duke of Windsor

Tags: children, cultural differences, first impression, misbehavior, obedience, parenting, parents, respect
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Thought of the Day, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on The thing that impresses me most

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.